Zune HD Confirmed

by Neville Williams | 5/26/2009 in E3 Coverage, newswire, ZuneHD |

The Device:

The Specs:

HD Radio receiver

Find stations in your area at www.hdradio.com
Regular FM still works as well

OLED multi-touch screen

3.3 inch screen, 16:9, 480x272 resolution

HD video out capabilities

Up to 720p using a HDMI A/V dock

Optimized internet browser for the device and touch

Tap to zoom technology,
Built-in accelerometer
Touch screen QWERTY keyboard
Significant browser customization based on IE

Wi-Fi enabled

Wireless streaming
Browse Zune Marketplace
Thanks to the web browser you can now connect to airport Wi-Fi and other sites that require a web page to login

The Takeaway:

Things just got interesting boys and girls. Along with a new device the Zune service is also heading across the pond (Europe) via Xbox Live (in addition to Canada and the U.S.). Welcome to the Social everybody! More details as we get them. Steve was not too far off when he said to pay attention to E3 this year.

It does look like there are at least three colors so far, Black, Silver, and a ~~Bronze/Champagne~~ Platinum tint. The latter two colors could be the difference between RGB and CMYK coloring. Also, zune.net/zunehd is live and I recommend you have a look at portable perfection. It looks like these puppies, along with the spread of Zune to Europe will be landing this fall. However, stay tuned next week as Marques will be live at E3 will all the latest Zune and Xbox updates.

Press Release

Photo source [Zune HD] [Zune Press]

24 post(s):

Rick Taylor on 5/26/09 5:57 PM
GIMME GIMME GIMME

NOW!!!
Marques Lyons on 5/26/09 6:01 PM
Patience, my friend. All good things come to those who wait :-)
Nexus on 5/26/09 6:19 PM
GIMME!
Marques Lyons on 5/26/09 6:28 PM
Well I think this going to make for some positive feedback from people :-)
Anonymous on 5/26/09 7:56 PM
Xbox Live Arcade gaming and the iPod is toast....just bring it on!

Ricardo Dawkins
Jon on 5/26/09 8:39 PM
No buttons? :( Am I the only person that despises full touch? I liked how Google did the G1 with both a qwerty board and touch.
Dolfin on 5/26/09 8:40 PM
If anyone catches any details about the extent of the outside-US upgrades (Marketplace, new device (not), etc) please update. We're still living w/ 2nd rate devices up here in Canada.
Julio Angel Ortiz on 5/26/09 8:48 PM
Must... contain... excitement...
Julio Angel Ortiz on 5/26/09 8:51 PM
*AND* Engadget just name-checked Inside the Circle. Hey, Marques / Neville, don't forget us little people. ;-)
Marques Lyons on 5/26/09 9:12 PM
Hey, Julio -- you know darn well this blog wouldn't be what it is without the stuff you and Alfa bring to the table.

We are the Fantastic Four. Nothing changes that! :P
Julio Angel Ortiz on 5/26/09 9:19 PM
Sweet. We know who Alfa is, so where does that leave us? LOL

Very excited about this news, and yes, I will be upgrading this fall / winter. I hope that the touch interface is solid and that there is some analogous album view to Cover Flow, which I really loved playing with.
Marques Lyons on 5/26/09 9:25 PM
You know Julio. I stare at the album view in the software and I think about Win 7 and it's compatibility with touchscreen monitors. That's gotta be fun to play around with.

Now if only you could tap the album and it would flip around and give a track listing, haha. Now *that* would be sweetness.
Neville (Solar257) on 5/26/09 9:43 PM
You know what would be a real cover flow? The album listing in the device-centric market place. I love how it displays a grid of albums and is scrollable. Combine that with a tap-and-flip track listing system and that would be a cool way to browse albums or playlists on the new devices.
Avatar X on 5/27/09 12:25 AM
i hope that the "full North American release" they talk about does include all of North America and Mexico can get the services too.. at least the Zune Marketplace for the device.
PESMERGA7 on 5/27/09 5:49 AM
Did you hear about the new trade-in program for old Zune 30 owners? IGN has an article up about it.

I'm thinking there is not going to be any more updates for 30 gig Zunes come this fall.
*alfa* (Raiderette_87) on 5/27/09 12:48 PM
i heard about the ZHD this morning on the radio. the dj (Mat Diablo from 91X) apparently has a pink Zune; co-dj's called him gay. he went on to say that he loves it and the Marketplace, etc and cant wait for the ZHD. he said that iPod Touches will not be able to measure up to the ZHD.
they're supposedly dropping in time for the holiday season, right? i know what i want for Xmas! i SO cannot wait!!

LAMO!!!! @ Julio and Marques: so im obviously The Invisible Woman. it think Neville can be my "brother," The Human Torch. and then Julio, you're The Thing and since Marques is started it all, i suppose he can be Mr. Fantastic.
..just dont let it go to your head! =P

@ Avatar X: i always wonder why people refer to the US as North America when N America is everything from the Panama Canal to Canada. 0.o

a trade in program for Z30 owners would be kick ass.
PESMERGA7 on 5/27/09 5:24 PM
Well it looks like it might be in the works, but nothing is concrete. I read up on the Gear page of IGN that Microsoft is considering a trade in value for older Zune 30 owners to trade in for a current 8, 16, 80 and 120 Zune.

It would make sense and I don't think they are going to support the Zune30 come this fall for that reason. They are trying to get as many people on the bandwagon that won't be able to upgrade in September to a new firmware.
Marques Lyons on 5/27/09 9:31 PM
@Alfa -

I think that's what Julio was afraid of when I called us the Fantastic Four. Although, in the second film, Thing ended up with a pretty nice looking girlfriend :-)

And Neville, he's definitely a "brother", haha.
Lisa Bianco - Songwriter on 5/28/09 3:43 AM
The silver looks pretty good!!! My Nano should look like that. lol.
Marques Lyons on 5/28/09 7:15 AM
Hey, Lisa -

How about we just switch you fully over to Zune? We still have to get your stuff onto the Marketplace though -- lots of Zune Pass users are missing out on your talents.
Anonymous on 8/21/09 12:26 PM
Can I trade my Last Gen Zune For the new HD Zune?? Because if you could answer this it would be very kind of you lol.
Marques Lyons on 8/21/09 1:08 PM
I don't know of any trade-in program like that. The only official news is about the pre-orders that you can do with some of the major vendors.
Learn and Master Guitar on 10/7/09 7:14 AM
Is this available in the market? Is it compatible for electric or maybe an acoustic guitar because I'm into guitar lesson and I want to hear my sound in a different way. Just to see the difference.
Marques Lyons on 10/7/09 8:28 AM
Er, the Zune HD isn't that type of device! It has nothing to do with acoustic or electric guitars -- unless you're talking about the music you hear while using it as a PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYER. Sheesh.