Xbox Zune Video Marketplace demo

The team from Xbox Australia yesterday showed off the upcoming Zune Video marketplace to Aussie tech journos.

Microsoft Upcoming Apps

First, let’s start with quote directly from Microsoft from CNET:

"We have games on the Zune today and those will carry forward to Zune HD, but that's not where we'll necessarily stop."

Looking good, looking good.

Another quote:

“Games came pre-loaded on the current version of the device, but we made a decision to take them out of the firmware update and let people choose what games they want to have for themselves--and it made sense to do this via Marketplace. As before, games are free; the only difference is that people get to choose. Right now, we don't have anything further to say regarding Apps functionality beyond what we've already shared.”

Can you feel your face twisting into puzzlement?

To recap this past weekend, the Zune HD was out in the wild at select Best Buy’s and the rumor mill began churning at an intense rate when the Marketplace revealed an inaccessible Apps function that left pretty much everyone bewildered. Throw in an apparent confirmation that the Zune will be getting an SDK (Software Development Kit) and you have a punch bowl full of craziness.

Today, Microsoft acknowledged what people had found and went above and beyond, stating that the Apps section will contain games found on the past Zunes. Can you sense the sarcasm?

However, that first quote definitely shouts out “yes, something else beyond games is coming” and the suspense has started to become unreal. In all honesty, it is really hard to imagine that they would be keeping this a secret so close to the launch date in September if they planned on rolling out an SDK with full-on applications from the start. Maybe they don't want Apple to take the wind out of their sales?

Read more:

http://www.examiner.com/x-8134-SF-Gadgets-Examiner~y2009m8d25-Microsoft-mum-about-apps-for-upcoming-Zune-HD

ZuneHD on HDTV

The price for 16GB will be 219.99 and The price for 32GB will 289.99.. im getting one. The price is from Microsoft Store, Amazon, and BestBuy. Plus watch on HDTV

Zune HD lands September 15th, up for pre-order today

Do you want a Zune HD real bad? Well you're in luck, because the wait is nearly over. Microsoft announced today that the heavily hyped media player will be making its way into retail channels come September 15th, and will be up for pre-order at select spots (Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, and the Microsoft Store) today. That's right... today. The Tegra-packing, HD Radio-playing, 720p-outputting device will come in a black, 16GB flavor for $219.99, or a beefier, "platinum" finish 32GB version clocking in at $289.99 (apparently the player will come in five additional colors, but no word on which ones, exactly). If you're super impatient and in select markets (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis / St. Paul, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.) you can head into a Best Buy on August 22nd and 23rd to play with a device and drop $25 on a pre-order. Otherwise, you'll just have to sit tight till the ZHD makes its way into the wide world... which is actually pretty soon. Check out more info about the player at our Zune HD hub, and after the break you can enjoy a recent video we shot of the device in action and the official PR.

Source:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/13/zune-hd-lands-september-15th-up-for-pre-order-today/

Hands On with the Zune HD, Plus Video

Earlier today, José Piñero, Zune's new senior director of marketing, swung by the PCMag.com Labs to preview the brand-new Zune HD for us. And we really liked what we saw.

While there are still lots of unanswered questions (Piñero wouldn't confirm pricing or capacities, for instance, but Amazon.com leaks suggest a 16-Gbyte player for $219.99 and a 32-GB version for $289.99), our first in-depth look at the device was impressive. The multi-touch OLED screen works very much like the iPod touch's, and it plays back both HD video as well as HD radio broadcasts. To cap it all off, the device is incredibly thin.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2351459,00.asp

Zune HD's Bing-powered Web browser

Last Tuesday, I shared my positive impressions of the mobile Web browser Microsoft is including in its upcoming Zune HD portable media player. What I didn't share (not because I didn't want to) were the photos I took of the Zune HD browser in action.

The following photo gallery includes four shots of the Zune HD browser doing its thing. The first shot shows the browser in portrait mode, the second shot shows how bookmarking is handled, the third shot shows Facebook in landscape view, and the final shot demonstrates the keyboard in landscape mode.

That last shot shows off another feature Microsoft has been keeping under wraps--Bing. Yep, the Zune HD's Web browser includes a search button for instant queries using the Bing search engine. Granted, it's not an earth-shattering or completely unexpected announcement, but it's one more detail for all the Zune fans and haters to sink their teeth into.

Checkout the gallery @ CNET:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12519_7-10306769-49.html

ZuneHD from Wired.com

The upcoming Zune HD was the talk of the GDGT launch event in San Francisco last night, and we got a look at the device. First impressions: It’s compact, lightweight, good-looking and has a very slick interface.

Microsoft’s newest media player has a bright, crisp OLED display that the dark lighting of the nightclub showed off to very good effect. It’s fast and responsive: Video looked great on it. Its 480 x 272 pixels are a far cry from HD, but they present a 16:9 aspect ration and they’re bright and contrasty, with deep, rich blacks, so you won’t mind much. Also, we could zoom and swipe between photos with great speed; the screen never stuttered or paused no matter how quickly we zipped and zoomed the images around. The source of that visual oomph? The Nvidia Tegra chip inside. (”I know it’s not the Microsoft software,” quipped one bystander.)

Read more:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/hands-on-with-the-zune-hd/

Cnet: Hands on with ZuneHD

I'll admit right off the bat that I've been a pretty big fan of the Zune ever since I bought my first one back in 2007. I've also had some disappointments, which I haven't been shy about sharing--and last year's half-hearted Zune hardware refresh had me losing faith that Microsoft would be able to steer this one out of the ditch.

Well, having just geeked-out with a pair of Zune HDs for about an hour, I am tentatively reaffirming my faith in Microsoft. This thing was worth the wait, folks. Mind you, it's not going to crush the iPod Touch--a product that for all intents and purposes is more mobile computer than media player--but it's safe to say that the Zune finally has the power to make good on the promise of delivering one of the richest music experiences on a portable device.

Read more:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12519_7-10303243-49.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=Crave

New Zund HD Photos

We're sure you have seen the Zune HD by now, but this new gallery of pictures is quite nice.

The shots are a little small, but they give you a nice taste as to what the device will look like and some more looks at the new UI and marketplace.

View full gallery here:
http://t03.us/2009/08/new-zune-hd-pictures-surface/