Exclusive: Steve Ballmer demos the Zune HD for Engadget!
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted May 28th 2009 12:41PM
posted May 28th 2009 12:41PM
Update: Microsoft just pinged to let us know that the Zune HD is still set for a Fall release, not next month.
A few quick impressions we took away:
- The device was a pre-production model, and Steve had to boot it up -- which can be seen in the shots below.
- Hardware was surprisingly thin.
- There's what appears to be a solitary hard button below the screen.
- Interface was basically the same Zune UI with touch navigation, but very colorful and pretty snappy.
- The OLED screen looked great.
- We'll obviously be badgering Microsoft in the coming months for a longer, closer look at the device, but at least it's not just a render anymore.
Um, by the combined sales numbers of iTouches,iPods,Zunes,Zens, I would say the vast majority of people don't mind having multiple devices. No everybody wants a phone/mp3 combined player that runs out of battery in a few hours of heavy use.
Agree?????
Yeah bro. We are all going to carry 2 devices and shove them both up your ass. :P
1) You understand computers so well, but you don't know the difference between spacebar and Enter (Return on a Mac) key.
2) You have attacked what I write a few times now. I guess when you don't have real arguments, you attack the amount of text, that I did not hit enter, etc. I guess it means you do not read much, being you could not finish 9 lines of text without your eyes hurting. But I guess it could be a problem with your computer. Try using a screen other than the one with your Mac, and see if that helps.
3) You certianly rail against them quite a bit. But if all it takes is to own both and that makes you a non-hater, then all those times you called me a hater is invalid; as I own a Mac Mini, an iPhone, an iTouch, a Zune 16, a Zune 80, as well as a number of Dells. So I have experience with all. If anybody saying something negative towards Apple is hatred, then every point you make is hatred.
4) Not aiming for the future? HD radio, OLED, HD aspect ratio, HD output, is not thinking ahead? Why didn't Apple think ahead, or think different, and add these features? Hell, they don't even think behind and add older tech that I use quite often, like FM.
5) The touch pad is not anything like the click wheel, it is much better. Want to scroll down, press down, not rotate your finger 30 times. I have 641 artists on my Zune. I can create a playlist, but if I had not, how many revolutions of a finger on the click wheel would it take to get to Perfect Circle? U2? Pink Floyd?
6) Aflame with rumors such as the rumor of FM on iPhone or iTouch like have been spread over the past few weeks? What an invention! Apple created their own radio wave protocol! What imagination and forward thinking! Or the rumor of a 3.2MP camera? Wow! I guess Apple is finally getting near HD, unlike their old camera which was sub-HD. Making it faster, adding extra RAM? I wish they would have thought of that on my PC.
7) "Don't hate the playa, hate the game" - said by those with no game.
And BTW, I am 6' 5" Only those with self-image issues would have said something like that.
"You won't hear Apple Fanboys complaining about "bias" when Engadget makes a post about defective mag safe connectors or hinge problems"
Um, yes, there have been times when it was said Engadget was biased. But usually, when there is the very rare article critical of Apple, the argument is that they treated the product badly (burnt mag power cord), or that it could not possibly be Apple's fault (such as with NVidia cards - how about testing the video cards in a few prototype rigs before shipping it?). It is called personal responsibility - Microsoft had it with the Jan 1 Zune bug, a bug in a 3rd party driver, but you did not see them blaming others. Something Apple, and the faithful, do not follow.
Good Stuff from Mr. Softie. But this summer is gonna be hot with releases, let's see if they can keep the buzz going till those Zunes hit the shelves. So far so good. I'm just saying.
WTF? Is the space bar on your keyboard broken? Dude, seriously, there are places that will sell you a new one.
http://www.apple.com/keyboard/
Hey, is this argument open to everyone? Or just trolls and the people who don't learned to ignore them yet?
Mark, Nohone, and Mike, know that Paul is a terrible person. Looking through his comment history reveals more than his staggering denial skills and ability to overlook the crux of any argument. I like arguing too, but Paul has too great of an advantage.
You three must prove that Paul has taken a mismatch of facts (although most of them are opinion pieces from BLOGS, not tech news sites) and synthesized a conclusion which contradicts the entirety of facts known about the ZuneHD. However, Paul will never accept that his "facts" are neither definite and nor comprehensive.
Cliffs: You must prove him wrong, but he accepts his wrongs as truths. You are fighting shit with more shit (albeit the latter is less shitty), and all I see a huge pile of pointlessness.
This is just me doing my part to annoy the troll and add another e-mail to his inbox.
Any info on capacity for this thing?
I wonder how much storage it'll have.
I hope a good 120, I mean, it's HD. HD movies are rather large.
Oh, yeah, I'm such a lying troll.
/s
These are direct quotes from Nate Anderson at ArsTechnica, who did an interview with Brian Seitz, the group marketing manager for Zune:
"Microsoft tells us it is a "version of IE 6 that has been highly customized and optimized for multitouch."
"The Zune HD Web browser is still in early builds, but Seitz says that Flash support doesn't look likely."
"Zune HD has an OLED 16:9 touchscreen with a resolution of 480x272. That sounds sweet, but it's not high-def. The "HD" in the product name refers to support for HD radio..."
Daniel Ionescu at PC World, revealed the fact that the ZuneHD runs on WinCE. Here's the quote:
"The new Zune will be based on a custom version of Windows CE, while the iPod Touch runs on the already popular iPhone platform, for which thousands of applications are available."
The fact that there's no camera is obvious from the photos, which have been splashed all over Engadget. So explain, exactly how revealing these fact is trolling?
Hung, I definately believe in the "Leave the trolls alone" argument. The problem is that when you have people like Paul spouting incorrect information and specifically claiming they are fact, especially when they conflict with documented information, then it can be misleading to other people who just want to find out some information about the device to make an informed decision. If they have all the details, and make a decision to purchase something else, then more power to them. People deserve to hear what is good and what is bad with a device. Honestly, the iTouch or iPhone are damn good devices - not the panacea that some make them out to be (there are problems, believe me), but all products have their plusses and minuses, even the Zune HD.
When Paul says that the only thing related to HD that this device has is HD Radio and it has no value in it (but will if Apple ever releases a device with HD Radio), then that is factually incorrect, even if his "facts" say otherwise. Is the display HD? No, it follows the HD aspect ratio meaning that you will get an undistorted picture from an HD source, unlike the display on iPhone, iTouch, or currently released Zune products. It outputs an HD format, unlike the iPhone, iTouch, or currently released Zune products.
And when new features exciting to many are completely ignored, such as HD radio, HD output, Wi-Fi capability available from day one, etc. and it is said that Microsoft does not think ahead but Apple does (in actuallity, both do), then he is putting out information that is not correct.
Hey, Nate Anderson at ArsTechnica said the ZuneHD wasn't high def, not me. If you want to call someone a troll, send him an e-mail. First you guys were saying I was lying about everything, including the fact that the web browser is based on Internet Explorer 6, and won't be compatible with WinMo. Okay, maybe I should have added "apps," but I don't really see how it makes a difference. If an OS is incompatible with another OS, it's because the apps are not compatible. I thought that was just common sense.
But does this misunderstanding really justify you guys telling me to "Die Bitch" or calling me "Paul Dumbass Chapel." If an Apple Fanboy had said those things, his comment would have been reported and he would have been banned before he got out a second comment.
That's not Engadget's fault, but that's on the heads of the MS Fanboys. My conscience is completely clean.
Check the new software update 3.0 in action on an iPhone. enjoy it.
http://www.alcancetecnologico.com/2009/05/el-nuevo-software-30-para-iphone-en.html
And it's Running PIXAR's Film!
Hot Damn that screen is sexy...
Might a Zune be in my future? It just might....
If the Zune HD has an OLED screen, then I wouldn't be surprised if the iPhone had one soon. If not in this coming update, then most definitely next year.
I really want to know how this is gonna work with Xbox Live other than XNA Community Games.
You know what, I was going to stop here, but I have to call you out on your BS, Nohone. Or I should say Microsoft's BS and the fact that you fell for it hook, line and sinker.
99.9 percent of the time HD refers to screen size or capture size, it has nothing whatsoever to with output ratio, at least when it comes to branding a device. High def is usually used to brand televisions or cameras that display or capture at that ratio, but almost never with a portable device. Microsoft's decision to throw HD on the end of this non-HD product is disingenuous and marketing propaganda and the fact that you eagerly accept it, shows your lack of character. You're just as much a Microsoft Fanboy and shill as the Apple Fanboys you stalk.
There are going to be a couple of very pissed off people who buy the Zune only to find out they've been snared by Microsoft's lies. I hope you're happy with yourself.
Paul, you have sat here and criticized the Zune HD for not having a camera, not being true HD, having HD radio, having, having, having. Then put the iTouch up as the greatest device made by man (or, in this case, god as that is how you hold Steve Jobs up for all to see). And yet, first, it must not be that great as you do not have one yourself, but the iTouch does not either. You talk about the name is disengenous, and yet where is the TV in AppleTV? Is that not a marketing fallacy to have TV in the name, and yet no TV attached to it? We have years of Apple ads claiming something that does not hold true - the G4 is a super computer, that Windows needs disclaimers and yet it is Apple that has disclaimers pasted all over their 3G phone ads, complaints that Microsoft is using actors in their ads but what does Meghan, Justin, or the other guy do in real life? We have ads saying how hard windows is to use, and yet they need to bring out a Genius to figure out how to fix problems with a Mac, and so on, and so on, and so on.
You little act of everybody is a fanboy, except for you, is laughable. Despite your protests, everybody knows that you are the run of the mill Apple fanboy, not the general, happy Apple customer. Am I a Microsoft fanboy? I guess if you want to argue that then maybe I am. But I use Apple products when they make sense, and as I said earlier, they have their problems, but Apple makes a damn good product at times - not perfect, but damn good. Just like Microsoft.
But what I think is that we have hit a nerve, because what we are witnessing is, with your last post, you having a meltdown. Let me go get some popcorn...
Since you like bringing up quotes from other web sites, take a trip to Engadget's competitor for some of their quotes, some I like:
"The device is tighter and more physically beautiful than the iPod Touch and it's got a better UI, the main menu's scrolling so natural through the swipe gestures.
"You really get High-Def, there"
"The home button is nice and prominent, a bar rather than a round button on the Touch."
"It's smaller. [than the Touch]"
"And the accelerometer is more swift"
Their complaints, which are valid:
No Mac client (which is understandable as a problem for those who only use Mac)
Not as many apps as available for the iTouch (if people have not been able to use it yet, of course there would be fewer apps for it).
But I guess they are just Microsoft shills, right?
Hot!! I'm seriously interested . . .
Watch out Apple, here comes Microsoft!
The writers at Gizmodo (I guess you're talking about them, I don't know), probably have the same experience as Engadget does with the MS Fanboys like you. They throw tantrums if the writers don't throw Microsoft a bone now and then.
And dude, you think you hit a nerve? With me? Who came into this thread to once again complain about me? Who called who a troll, because he can't deal with the facts I point out? Who keeps following me around and ends up writing novellas that no one reads just to look like he's saying something of substance? Who keeps getting owned with logic? It's you, Nohone. It's you. When was the last time I jumped on a comment you made and totally made an azz of myself? It looks like you have the hurt nerve.
And I'm still waiting for you to disprove the points I made about Psystar. You won't do it because you know I owned you.
Paul, by your own admission, you did not read my post. So no wonder you did not see my response to you about Psystar. But here it is again: In the United States, you are innocent until proven guilty. The only people that can deem somebody guilty is a Jury, a Judge (if there is no Jury), or you can plead guilty. They did not plead guilty, so only the Judge or Jury, not you nor me. Your opinions have no bearing on the case, so whatever you claim is fact, is really just opinion. And the only fact, is that what the Judge aproves, and the claim of guilt or innocence can only be made by a Judge or Jury. Again, not you.
So in other words, when Engadget or Gizmodo write anything positive about anything Microsoft does, it is because there are people yelling bias? If Engadget or Gizmodo does not like something anybody writes, they have the ability to ban those people (you are no stranger to banning, correct?). Engadget has made it perfectly clear they write what they want, and have made it clear that if people do not like what they write, they can go elsewhere. So if they are not worried about losing marketshare over what they write, why would they throw in a bone every once in a while? Perhaps it is they like the device? I know, somebody that likes something Microsoft, who is not a shill, or fanboy like myself, is impossible.
I am following you around - right. Just yesterday you said you don't make posts in Microsoft threads anymore (it has been a long time), and yet here you are. I make myself out to be an ass, who keeps getting downranked, who is upranked? You jump on comments of mine all the time - this started with me making a little joke with that PS image, and you start having a fit. You need to get over your superiority complex.
And yes, I tend to write a lot. One of my side hobbies is writing books, three of them in fact. What have you done with your life that makes you stand out? You were one who switched, and that's it?
For anyone stupid enough to think the "HD" branding is some foul trickery, that Windows Mobile is somehow a completely different OS from Windows CE, and that the IE6 mentioned is equivalent to the one on desktop, please read:
The HD moniker mainly refers to the 720p video output using an HDMI dock, but probably moreso out of necessity to distinguish it from the rest of the Zune products. It's branding people, get over it.
IE6 is also a branding of IE. It is named this way because the browser and the OS are released in tandem. All the 6 after this Internet Explorer means is: "the version of IE that comes with Windows Mobile 6". Which, by the way, IS Windows CE with the bells and whistles (a few custom drivers, custom GUI) that an OEM chooses to add for that device. A lot of people seem to have Windows Mobile and Windows CE rather confused. It is explained here: http://blogs.msdn.com/mikehall/archive/2005/03/15/395958.aspx
Apps that work in CE will run on a Mobile device, although a developer will obviously want to design an app for touch devices in general, or even a specific device.
And yeah, kids, IE6 on Mobile supports Flash.
Now you can all calm down, get back on the Failbus, and head back to Reactionary Idiot Land hopefully to never be heard from again.
That first paragraph is just a load of BS. It has nothing to do with my Fair Use argument as pertains to Psystar and the corporation they started with the express purpose to resell Apple's OS without a proper reseller license. What you wrote sounds like something Alan Keyes would say when he's backed into a corner.
And when I said I would no longer come into Microsoft posts, I was talking about Windows 7, which I've decided not to use. The first Microsoft OS in fifteen years in which I won't be using the retail version. You'll also remember that I reserved the right to come into any post anytime I damned well pleased. I don't give a crap what you think I should or shouldn't do. Who do you think you are? My mother?
And try as you might, you won't get any personal information from me, despite your varied attempts to do so in the past. Come on, dude, you have a problem. You have admitted that you've searched for dirt on me on Google. You really need to go away to a place with padded walls because you take these forums way too seriously.
As a matter of fact, I'm sure you're a psycho.
Too bad Microsoft's anticipation usually ends in disappointment. Vista? WinMo? Zune? The company itself?
Ballmer seems mighty pleased with a Microsoft product that exists as a response to, and is a direct ripoff, of an Apple product. Of course, nothing new there.
Hah! With that Flickr link, you just outed yourself as P.A.C Man. Of course I already suspected you two were the same idiotic Apple loving troll, Paul a. Chapel (Man) a.k.a. P.A.C Man.
Paul the biggest problem is you're posting half quotes and then using them as arguments. Let me finish the quotes for you...
"Zune HD has an OLED 16:9 touchscreen with a resolution of 480x272. That sounds sweet, but it's not high-def. The "HD" in the product name refers to support for HD radio on the one hand and, on the other, support for outputting HD video to TVs over an HDMI connector."
"One of the touch's key features is Apple's App Store. Microsoft sounds ready to launch something similar for games, but what about other applications? Seitz says that the company looked at the top 20 apps people used on the touch and found that most were games. Without a cell radio and constant Internet, this makes sense. The Zune team also wants to avoid duplicating work being done by the Windows Mobile team, and it doesn't make sense to have two separate app stores."
As for the whole calling it HD thing, you're comparing the HD of a 40" screen to the HD of a 3.3" screen. HD on gadgets this size is not the same as other electronic equipment. If Apple was to release a iPod Touch HD and an iPhone HD and it didn't have at least a 720p screen what would you say?
Make it a phone.
Omg he's so old ?! WTF
Am saying.. This device looks awsome, imagine if it had a camera, at least a 2.0 MP, ahhh it would kill ipod touch in a blink of an eye lol
But does it blend?
OMFG. You guys like the pics? Go look at the specs for this thing! *orgasm*
Ballmer, you clueless old fart, you big, slow-moving animal, hopeless bald f*ck - retire already!
It's awesome that he's showing a movie produced by a company headed by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. He just can't escape...
cool looking device.. Um it would go good with a led projector - Win a ZVOX 325 - Single Cabinet Home Theater System. http://www.nuteav.com/2009/05/the-nuteav-giveaway/