Zune HD has a Tegra processor, confirms official Zune podcast

You can stop wondering what exactly is powering the new Zune HD. On the official Zune Insider podcast, host Matt Akers confirmed the rumors: yep, it's rocking a Tegra. No surprise, that announcement came with a heap of praise for NVIDIA's chip, so much so it's almost painful to listen. "So sick, so much better battery life, graphics acceleration. This thing is like a mini laptop in your hand, right, it's so awesome." We'll have to see about that for ourselves (in September, maybe?), but we are indeed encouraged by the news. Hear it for yourself just below.



[Thanks, Jon]

[papari @ Jun 19th 2009 6:21PM]

Nice!

[qwack @ Jun 19th 2009 6:22PM]

thats what she said.

Zune Tegra eh...?

still cant fit marketplace on the screen, fail.

[insky @ Jun 19th 2009 6:30PM]

ZOMG they still can't fit a whole apple on the iPhone!!!!

[iFargle @ Jun 19th 2009 6:33PM]

@ inksy: lolwut?

[derrik @ Jun 19th 2009 6:37PM]

So the Zune HD huh? lets see if it can hit the two million mark like its earlier version ha ha! What does the HD stand for? Huge Dissapointment!

[Phoenix @ Jun 19th 2009 6:35PM]

the logo on the back has a chunk out of it...

[pedro @ Jun 19th 2009 7:18PM]

do want

[Macbeth @ Jun 19th 2009 7:41PM]

I like that the zune hd has power under the hood but that podcast was truly painful and painful to listen to. Especially the bing.com shameless plug, a coup de grace to an ear-bleeding experience.

[General_Trelane, (retired) @ Jun 19th 2009 9:24PM]

AHAHAH!!!

Microsoft still has not made a phone because they know they are impotent compared to Apple.

[alexicov @ Jun 19th 2009 9:56PM]

AHAHAH!!!

Apple still has not made a game console they know they are impotent compared to Microsoft.

[johnsushant1 @ Jun 19th 2009 10:05PM]

AHAHAH!!!

Apple still has not made a game console they know they are impotent compared to Microsoft.

Good going microsoft we non apple fanboys are sure to help you.

[iphonerulez @ Jun 19th 2009 11:35PM]

But.... It's still a Zune. Which still leaves more than a few people with unhappy memories. As good as the Zune HD might as well become, the iPod Touch will likely put much more on the table. By the end of summer, game developers will likely be pushing the iPhone processor and graphics to the limits and there will definitely be some sweet games. The iPod Touch will only up the limit. Apple could just upclock that 833 MHz ARM chip to the hilt. No doubt, the fall is going to bring added excitement to PMP users.

[Elisha A. @ Jun 20th 2009 1:01AM]

@alexicov
lol, nice one

[Asha @ Jun 20th 2009 1:39AM]

You are still stuck with Windows Media Player which is a terrible program. iTunes is poorly written (it is too big of a program and runs to hot for what it is supposed to be), but at least the user functions make sense and are easy to use.

[Richy @ Jun 20th 2009 2:04AM]

All that power, and the waste it on just being a media player? Hopefully the Zune will becme so much more, and we can finally have a credible alternative to the iPod Touch and iPhone.

[kojo87 @ Jun 20th 2009 2:18AM]

@Asha: Zune does not use WMP numbnuts

i hope they make a HDD based Zune HD. but they won't...

[Bonqueesha @ Jun 20th 2009 3:07AM]

What are you people bitching about? The device looks fine in this picture! I still argue that I wish it was a mobile phone. It would be excellent.

[Garst @ Jun 20th 2009 12:49PM]

@derrik
Is that like how iPhone 3GS stands for iPhone 3 for Gullible Saps?

[fsphl @ Jun 20th 2009 1:28PM]

@qwack: it's a stylistic design choice not to "fit" 'marketplace' on the screen. using my brain ftw.

[va jj @ Jun 21st 2009 12:07PM]

AHAHAHAHAHA

[adamantypants @ Jun 19th 2009 6:24PM]

Purchase confirmed

[Jeff Lewis @ Jun 19th 2009 6:23PM]

Wow.. couldn't have found a less flattering photo if you tried.. and I'm sure you did.

[Joshua Topolsky @ Jun 19th 2009 6:31PM]

Right, because of our secret plot to destroy Microsoft.

[gonintendo @ Jun 19th 2009 6:33PM]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.
(pleas don't tell me that I need /s.)

[Gad Get @ Jun 19th 2009 6:34PM]

No doubt. Mr. Miller, please practice your unbiasedness (it's a word if people use it enough).

[Mike Hayes @ Jun 19th 2009 6:37PM]

i dont think its that bad, btw thats the famous joshua topolsky of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. we are in the presences of a celebrity.

[insky @ Jun 19th 2009 6:38PM]

Sometimes you guys really make me laugh. That's a perfectly flattering picture. There is no bias here whatsoever.

[doubleyewdee @ Jun 19th 2009 6:39PM]

The smarmy writeup didn't help. What would you guys have said if $apple_guy said that the 3G S hw rev was "like holding a mini laptop in your hands"? Would you have agreed? :)

[Gad Get @ Jun 19th 2009 6:41PM]

"Right, because of our secret plot to destroy Microsoft."

What? Secret? :P

I kid.

[Nohone @ Jun 19th 2009 6:48PM]

Just be glad that they did not post a picture of the Zune 30 and try to pass it off as the latest version, as they are apt to do with the Zune.

[Chris @ Jun 19th 2009 6:51PM]

Agreed. Why use a photo taken with an iphone? We all know you would never Post a pic of the Ipod Touch taken from an iphone so why with a Zune HD.

[Richard Glitter @ Jun 19th 2009 7:01PM]

even though the post heaps praise and anticipation...

you're a tool, Jeff Lewis

[nikster @ Jun 19th 2009 7:48PM]

Hello alternate-reality people, this is a totally normal picture. It's not Engadgets fault that the accompanying video is as horrible as it is.

I am grateful Microsoft keeps making the Zune. It's pretty much the only company out there which can afford lose money on a product for years on end, and the iPod needs some competition. Even if it's just a square-ish rip off of the touch.

[Mike Hayes @ Jun 19th 2009 7:58PM]

gee wiz inno8sky! your awesome

[Jeff Lewis @ Jun 19th 2009 8:05PM]

@josh

Look at the picture. Compare it to other pictures Engadget's posted here of the ZuneHD. Is it flattering? No. The angle and shading makes it look thick and chunky. The front glass is smudged and badly lit. An amateur could have taken a nicer photo.

All I said was that that photo was surprisingly unflattering. It is. Did it need to be? No - you've had other shots of the ZuneHD here that look much nicer. Since I also know there aren't many photos of the ZuneHD in the wild, you'd have to go *looking* through your collection of photos to find one that unflattering for this post.

Now, please, tell me with a straight face that you didn't have ANY photos of the Zune that weren't more positive than that one?

Considering that the post is about the ZuneHD using a Tegra chip, which, correct me if I'm wrong, the Engadget staff mostly has tent for - it seems odd that because the ZuneHD has it - some way to made to make it look a little less nice.

Trying to insult me isn't really a compelling counterargument. (And it won't work - I always consider the source of the insult before being offended... :)

So, is that because Engadget has a 'secret plot to destroy Microsoft'? Personally I couldn't care less.

Now - what's the odds Engadget's wonderful message system will misfile this - or just not accept it?

[DirtyVegas @ Jun 19th 2009 8:27PM]

Oh come on, you guys are seriously squabbling about a picture? How long were you planning to look at it anyway?

[WizardK14 @ Jun 19th 2009 8:35PM]

@ kwikit (aka tikiwk)

Let me know what other site you find. I'm sick of these pretentious Apple fan boys and I'm a Mac and iPhone owner. They don't need endless posts about the lines or constant reminders about the new iPhone. They don't need an in depth review of the new macbooks, what's new about them that's changed since the last macbook review? Is the new SD card slot really justification for an in depth review? Engadget needs to stop basking in Apple's shadow.

[birthday is 1990 @ Jun 19th 2009 8:55PM]

I hope this reply wont got lost, but I think the picture isn't that bad. If you took a real-world picture of the iPod Touch's backing, it would look a hell of a lot worse than a few smudges placed on the screen. The Touch has those as well as an awful backing. For those of you saying Microsoft has terrible designs for their products, look again at the iPods. The aluminum backing is awfully annoying and is almost impossible to not get scratched immediately after purchasing it. I myself have a Touch and I am extremely disappointed in the software as well. Overall, looking forward to replacing it with this. I at first thought maybe I would wait for the new Touch announcement, but Apple wouldn't add anything in the Touch that isn't in the iPhone, meaning no Tegra and such. This means the Zune HD has no competition at all.

[Dave95 @ Jun 19th 2009 9:09PM]

I always look forward to the countless and useless complaining on every Apple and Microsoft related posts. And you guys complain about the iFans? :-/

[iofthestorm @ Jun 19th 2009 9:10PM]

The picture isn't that bad, but I find it hilarious that all this time Engadget has been gushing over Tegra, and when it's confirmed to be in the Zune HD they're skeptical all of a sudden. I mean, the power of a laptop is stretching things, but hell, the way netbooks are going it's bound to be around as powerful as one.

[Joshua Topolsky @ Jun 19th 2009 9:17PM]

@Jeff Lewis -- I took that picture after I managed to hustle a hands-on out of Steve Ballmer at the D Conference. I assure you it wasn't my intent to show the Zune HD (a product we actually broke the news of to begin with) in a bad light -- rather, I was only given a VERY small window of time to handle it and take shots. Did I mention it was in a room with awful lighting filled with tons of people?

But you can go on believing whatever childish crap you want, and go on pretending that the editors at Engadget don't work their asses off trying to bring totally offensive and ungrateful people like you scoops like that because it jibes better with your pedantic and pathetic worldview.

Enjoy your weekend.

[skyblaze @ Jun 19th 2009 9:31PM]

no worries, josh. skyblaze's got your back. most of us realize you had limited resources to work with as far as pics go... its really a no brainer that youd use one of the only live shots you had. even with the bad lighting, etc. it still sums up the tech pretty good imho.

and don't let the naysayers talk you guys down. you're all balls to da wall swaggnificently awesome. keep up the great work :)

[Decoy @ Jun 19th 2009 9:31PM]

Whereas the banner for the 3gS guide uses glossy, beautiful official pics. Because Josh will be damned if they use a crappy photo of the jebusphone.

[Sisyphus @ Jun 19th 2009 9:32PM]

Jeff Lewis was quite angry today
Came out swinging and bitching away
Oh, but a sight to see
He got owned by Josh T
Gadget bias he'll still cry all day.

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 19th 2009 9:47PM]

Wow, thirty something comments ranting about a stupid picture. And you guys say Apple Fanboys are crazy.

Remember kids, you can call Apple users stupid and insult the writers of Engadget on a regular basis, but it's the Apple users that are the douche bags. Yeah, right.

[skyblaze @ Jun 19th 2009 9:49PM]

@decoy

...apple's released tons of official pics for the 3G S.... its out in retail already. not only that but engadgets had plenty of time to play with it and take the quality pics they need... while the Zune HDs hardly got any info released... and wont even be out till this fall. we dont even know the capacity or type of hard drive its got.. let alone have any quality pictures... not only that but the one ballmer had was just a prototype! its not even a finished product. why expect "glossy, beautiful, official" pics from something that was only just recently announced?

[birthday is 1990 @ Jun 19th 2009 9:51PM]

I am with Josh. It's a picture. It's not his job to take the best shots that show the product as something other than what it is. This is what the product looks like, not a bunch of perfect press photos. It's his job to inform, not advertise.

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 19th 2009 9:59PM]

I get the feeling reading some of these comments that some of these guys would kill you where you stand if you insulted Microsoft in their presence, no doubt with a Halo pulse rifle.

[skyblaze @ Jun 19th 2009 10:18PM]

@TareX

oh there you are, dude... i was expecting you to be the first to comment on this article, lol

[erik1080 @ Jun 19th 2009 10:18PM]

@Paul
"And you guys say Apple Fanboys are crazy."

They ARE crazy.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/19/steve-ballmer-dodges-eggs-at-hungarian-university/