Zune HD demos

[Apollo]

Absolutely stunning. I have always loved the Zune, they have always done the best work at Microsoft, while constantly being underated. Seems now even the most hardened MS haters can't ignore how awesome this device is going to be.

http://vimeo.com/6096791
http://vimeo.com/6102017

http://gizmodo.com/5337532/zune-hd-...media-center-for-your-pocket?skyline=true&s=x
http://gizmodo.com/tag/zune/

 

[Apollo]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JtMnkNh8jY&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

 

[Apollo]

The only thing is that it seems like they're always a few steps behind. This is going to be their first touch-screen player, set to compete obviously with the iPod Touch which will soon be on it's third iteration. The device is extremely sleek, but it is lacking a few features, like Apps, which will put a few people off. I already own a Zune and I would have purchased a ZuneHD as well, but the storage is too low for the price.

The price is cheaper than any iPod Touch on the market. For both sizes.

And the finally getting to touch screen doesn't seem to have hindered them. They did it right the first time unlike Apple. Which didn't want a App platform to begin with. Steve Jobs wanted web apps only, but he eventually had to conceive.

But beyond that, MS is reaching out to devlopers to devlop for the Zune HD, and Zune already has a Game devloper community.

edit://and there are rumors that a 64GB version will be coming out soon.

 

[Apollo]

Personally I wouldn't buy the iPod Touch either, and it's mainly for the same reasons. I have too much music and videos for these new flash players, which is why I'm still using my 80GB Zune. It's because we're caught in between this switch to flash based players. The price is still too high to go up to 80GB. They did mention a 64GB version in the future, but it would be over $300 and I don't feel it's worth that.

I'm familiar with the Gaming Developer community for Zune as well. A lot of it started off with people attempting to hack the player, but MS has it on lockdown. Some of the games have been fun, but MS has not done much to include those developers in the Zune system, like adding the ability to sync and uninstall those games using the software. The only time that was available was when MS released games through one of it's firmware updates. It's just not very integrated at the moment.

I'm not knocking the ZuneHD or anything. It's a great player focused on the music. The artist info and plays that they have done with the software is superb. I love the Now Playing Screen and the artist screensavers and it's awesome that they've brought that to the device. I guess I just don't fit the demographic for this Zune.

Yeah, that's true.

I got into the Zune trying to buy a Zune 80 and they were sold out so I got a 30 instead. Loved that thing. Then I lost it and had to get a 8 (poor) and I love it. Fucking awesome.

But I would say my music collection is 13 GB so I would be fine for me. And with a movie or two on it, all my pics, this fits snuggly for me.

 

[Apollo]

But to add, the people reviewing it for the TV and stuff (it outputs 720p) have figured out that this also doubles as a completely portable media center.

 

[kayman23]

Well, I might just looking into a Zune afterall since I've been on the market to purchase another multimedia player since my old multimedia player can't be uploaded with new files on my laptop because it has Vista.

 

[JB3]

The price is cheaper than any iPod Touch on the market. For both sizes.

And the finally getting to touch screen doesn't seem to have hindered them. They did it right the first time unlike Apple. Which didn't want a App platform to begin with. Steve Jobs wanted web apps only, but he eventually had to conceive.

But beyond that, MS is reaching out to devlopers to devlop for the Zune HD, and Zune already has a Game devloper community.

edit://and there are rumors that a 64GB version will be coming out soon.

In this market, a headstart is what determines whether a player will succeed or fail. While the Zune HD is certainly brilliant (and FAR better than the original Zune), it may be too late. Microsoft also needs to finally address Mac support for Zune; they're really denying themselves a part of the market that they need. As it stands right now, Mac owners can either choose the Touch or, well, nothing else if they want a touchscreen player. I know if I had the choice, I'd use a Zune HD over a Touch, but since I have a Mac, I wouldn't have a choice.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with the 3rd gen iPod Touch, because it usually portends future upgrades for the iPhone. If it gets a better screen and more storage, the Zune HD might have the wind knocked out of its sails. (especially with an iPod event rumored for the week before the Zune HD goes on sale)

 

[Apollo]

In this market, a headstart is what determines whether a player will succeed or fail. While the Zune HD is certainly brilliant (and FAR better than the original Zune), it may be too late. Microsoft also needs to finally address Mac support for Zune; they're really denying themselves a part of the market that they need. As it stands right now, Mac owners can either choose the Touch or, well, nothing else if they want a touchscreen player. I know if I had the choice, I'd use a Zune HD over a Touch, but since I have a Mac, I wouldn't have a choice.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with the 3rd gen iPod Touch, because it usually portends future upgrades for the iPhone. If it gets a better screen and more storage, the Zune HD might have the wind knocked out of its sails. (especially with an iPod event rumored for the week before the Zune HD goes on sale)

Well the reveal on the new Touches will be out sometime in September before the release of the Zune HD. Most likely the Zune HD will have some wind knocked out by the announcement. The rumors are that it will have a camera in it finally, and I don't know what else.

The thing is, it won't have the OLED screen and Tegra chip that the Zune HD has. The only new thing it will probably has is an upgraded processer, a camera, and the apps store (which admittedly is still a huge factor to buy a Touch over a Zune). Apple would never allow their iPod Touch line to be better than the iPhone. That would interfere with the sells of the cash cow.

I think, if MS makes tight intergration between Zune and Xbox, then the sells will take off quite spectacularly. iPhone/iPod Touch have games on them, and good games no doubt. But it doesn't have a Xbox of similar to intergrate with the increase the enjoyment.

And tight intergration with Xbox is inevitable. Especially since they have combined the Xbox and Zune team together, and Zune Video Marketplace is now on the Zune, not to mention a few other things you get by having both.

 

[Apollo]

I don't know. Apple owns a relatively small amount of the OS market. Assuming MS could just tap into a larger portion of their own consumers they would have much better sales. When iTunes first came out it was not on Windows. It was exclusive to the Mac. Trouble is, Apple needed to reach more people and the only way to do that was to make it available on Windows (which they did a few years after the first version was released). Can you imagine how the sales of the iPod and iPhone would be if Windows users were still locked out? I don't think that Microsoft needs Mac users to succeed, and they probably don't either since they have yet to add support.

The majority of iPhone and iPod users are PC users, not Mac users.

 

[JB3]

]

The thing is, it won't have the OLED screen and Tegra chip that the Zune HD has. The only new thing it will probably has is an upgraded processer, a camera, and the apps store (which admittedly is still a huge factor to buy a Touch over a Zune). Apple would never allow their iPod Touch line to be better than the iPhone. That would interfere with the sells of the cash cow.

That isn't exactly true. The 2nd Gen iPod Touch had internals that were actually a step ahead of the iPhone 3G. (components which then found their way into the iPhone 3GS) It is entirely probably the that 3g Touch will also carry new parts that will also find their way into the next iPhone. I doubt it will be go as far as an OLED screen or anything like that, but it is very likely that an upgraded screen would be present. Apple wouldn't wait to include those components, because the Touch actually helps drive iPhone costs lower thanks to the parts sharing.

The new Touch will also receive the updated processor, and may even utilize the newest version, which hits the same 1 ghz as Tegra. (Samsung purposely designed the processor to fit into existing applications, like the iPhone and Touch) Don't get me wrong, Tegra's a beast, but the processor from Samsung is right up there with it. It will also get the higher capacity RAM that helps the 3GS run faster. (trust me, I have an iPhone 3G, and the 3GS DESTROYS it in pretty much everything)

 

[Apollo]

That isn't exactly true. The 2nd Gen iPod Touch had internals that were actually a step ahead of the iPhone 3G. (components which then found their way into the iPhone 3GS) It is entirely probably the that 3g Touch will also carry new parts that will also find their way into the next iPhone. I doubt it will be go as far as an OLED screen or anything like that, but it is very likely that an upgraded screen would be present. Apple wouldn't wait to include those components, because the Touch actually helps drive iPhone costs lower thanks to the parts sharing.

The new Touch will also receive the updated processor, and may even utilize the newest version, which hits the same 1 ghz as Tegra. (Samsung purposely designed the processor to fit into existing applications, like the iPhone and Touch) Don't get me wrong, Tegra's a beast, but the processor from Samsung is right up there with it. It will also get the higher capacity RAM that helps the 3GS run faster. (trust me, I have an iPhone 3G, and the 3GS DESTROYS it in pretty much everything)

We'll have to see. No doubt, Apple definitely designed the new Touch to the Zune HD. And they will probably price that way as well. Then again, this is Apple, and like MS, they hardly concern themselves with the other, but the Zune HD has the potential to take a chunk of the market, which Apple won't like so who knows.

Either way, at the end of the day, the Touch will still win (inevitable) but the Zune HD will definitely gain ground. It's inherent cheapness compared to the iPod Touch. It will be more of a battle in that market than anything. Zune HD is in it's first iteration, and as time goes, it will simply be approved upon.

This will cause Apple to have to innovate again. You can say what you want, but since iPhone/iPod Touch 1.0 they have not innovated on the devices. Simply added more power and added stuff that should have been in version 1. Apple didn't even feel compelled to change the design of the iPhone 3G S

 

[JB3]

We'll have to see. No doubt, Apple definitely designed the new Touch to the Zune HD. And they will probably price that way as well. Then again, this is Apple, and like MS, they hardly concern themselves with the other, but the Zune HD has the potential to take a chunk of the market, which Apple won't like so who knows.

Either way, at the end of the day, the Touch will still win (inevitable) but the Zune HD will definitely gain ground. It's inherent cheapness compared to the iPod Touch. It will be more of a battle in that market than anything. Zune HD is in it's first iteration, and as time goes, it will simply be approved upon.

This will cause Apple to have to innovate again. You can say what you want, but since iPhone/iPod Touch 1.0 they have not innovated on the devices. Simply added more power and added stuff that should have been in version 1. Apple didn't even feel compelled to change the design of the iPhone 3G S

Haha. The main reason they didn't change the design is because they wanted users to upgrade from a 3G, which might have required all new cases. It also made it cheaper for case manufacturers, and for Apple itself. (Apple usually screws them, so it was a bit out of character for them)

You also have to look at Apple's history to understand how they're treating the iPhone program. V1, 2 and 3, were all pretty similar. V4 will be greatly different, with an all new case, and most likely a new (and probably larger) screen. Its almost exactly the same as the original iPod.

I really do wish Microsoft would include Zune support for Mac. Like I said, I'd take one over an iPod touch any day. (for music players, the Zune's interface is SO much better than the iPhone OS)

 

[Apollo]

Haha. The main reason they didn't change the design is because they wanted users to upgrade from a 3G, which might have required all new cases. It also made it cheaper for case manufacturers, and for Apple itself. (Apple usually screws them, so it was a bit out of character for them)

You also have to look at Apple's history to understand how they're treating the iPhone program. V1, 2 and 3, were all pretty similar. V4 will be greatly different, with an all new case, and most likely a new (and probably larger) screen. Its almost exactly the same as the original iPod.

I really do wish Microsoft would include Zune support for Mac. Like I said, I'd take one over an iPod touch any day. (for music players, the Zune's interface is SO much better than the iPhone OS)

Apple will have to change the design after v3. If they kept the same design AGAIN, they would loose all credibility. People would start to wonder if they don't know how to change the look of the phone. Then again, they could just change the back case again, they really designed the ultimate phone. It's hard to one up the current design, but it is old.

I gotta agree, and the Zune Pass is better than anything iTunes has for pricing. Eventually Apple will follow along with a subscription model, and people will think they came up with the idea.

MS will eventually support the Mac, but to gain market share, they don't truly HAVE to.

 

[JB3]

Apple will have to change the design after v3. If they kept the same design AGAIN, they would loose all credibility. People would start to wonder if they don't know how to change the look of the phone. Then again, they could just change the back case again, they really designed the ultimate phone. It's hard to one up the current design, but it is old.

I gotta agree, and the Zune Pass is better than anything iTunes has for pricing. Eventually Apple will follow along with a subscription model, and people will think they came up with the idea.

MS will eventually support the Mac, but to gain market share, they don't truly HAVE to.

They don't have to, but it would go a long way in showing that they're serious about challenging the iPod. As an iPhone user, I view it as a sort of 'fuck you' from Microsoft to me, when they should be trying to get me as a customer. (and would get it if Zune would support Macs)

Just for the record, I had a Zune 30 I got off of Woot when I still had a PC. I loved it.

 

[Apollo]

They don't have to, but it would go a long way in showing that they're serious about challenging the iPod. As an iPhone user, I view it as a sort of 'fuck you' from Microsoft to me, when they should be trying to get me as a customer. (and would get it if Zune would support Macs)

Just for the record, I had a Zune 30 I got off of Woot when I still had a PC. I loved it.

Oh no doubt it is a fuck you to mac users. And as MS, they can do that.