Zune HD video hands-on quickie
By Paul Miller 
posted Jun 24th 2009 5:44PM
posted Jun 24th 2009 5:44PM
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this is as good as in skyblaze's hands.
That UI is quick. very very nice. I am quite pleased with its size.
I hope Microsoft does well with this. But, its obvious iPod touch is gonna continue kicking everyone else's ass until someone comes up with more features Apple can't get.
hopefully the HD will have special exclusive Xbox live features and special features on Games for Windows.
I like what you did there with the 3rd person reference. Very crafty.
That's very beautiful device.
i hope. i pray there's an adapter for the Lexus when this zune comes out!!
the only reason i bought the ipod was because there are none, except for ipod. :(
LISTEN UP ALL. I know a leak, and there will be an interview released around 8pm Pacific time TONIGHT covering everything you could want to know about the Zune HD.
As long as MicroFail continues to require the Zune software, this is DOA.
@bandigolo
FINALLY someone who appreciates my third person skillz... thanks for not bein a jerk like -some- of the peeps here :)
The only thing that bothers me is that 'Marketplace' can't fit on the whole screen.
@Jacobs69
Price, shipping date to my country and answer to the question "why the hell it doesn't have a high-res screen and HDMI-out"?
love this! but why couldnt they get "marketplace" to fit the screen???
The problem is no phone= carrying 2 devices. If this was a zunephone I would be all over this.
All you Marketplace haters, you guys have no sense of style.
Wow, you people have the nerve to gripe about Apple fanboys? I've never seen such a collection of joyous adulation about a quick product demo that shows almost nothing.
And what takes this guy 4 swipes in music takes me one touch on my iPhone. Not counting his 4 swipes to get back where he started.
Pure eye candy with zero intelligent design. Not surprising.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, the 200 non-Microsoft-employees who will buy one of these are the 200 people fapping about it in the comments section in this post.
Now vote me down, Winbot Horde.
@ Quiz
Intelligent design? How hard is Music>Artist>Play All?
@Shini
The only answer I know is in regards the question of resolution. OLED is the new hotness, so either MS doesn't believe the cost/benefits of a higher resolution OLED screen were there, or else they thought they could convince consumers as such. I don't know what it looks like in person, but it's uncanny how rock steady the colors and brightness are throughout different viewing angles in that video. It almost looks superimposed.
Lets hope they ditch IE and adopt an optimized webkit browser like everyone else...
Really Quix? Cuz I just took my iPhone out of my pocket. First I had to push the home button, then I had to swipe to unlock, then I had to push iPod, then I had to push artists, then I had to select an artist, then I had to select a song, and then it finally played.
@rv- God gave you two pockets for a reason. Besides, it's thin and light enough (half the weight of a Touch) that I'm sure you won't have much of a problem carrying it around... If you're going to complain about having to switch devices between making a call and listening to music, I might say that it's rude to listen to music while calling someone.
@ shaunisadirty:
OK, let's count together. We're going to follow the Zune HD demo, selecting Music, digging down to Artists, then back up to Playlists. Ready? Let's go!
Zune HD:
Home button to power on
Swipe up to reveal menu
Touch Music
Swipe Playlists > Songs
Swipe Songs > Genres
Swipe Genres > Albums
Swipe Albums > Artists
Swipe Artists > Albums
Swipe Albums > Genres
Swipe Genres > Songs
Swipe Songs > Playlists
TOTAL TOUCHES/SWIPES: 11
My iPhone:
Home button to power on
Swipe to unlock
Touch iPod
Touch Playlists
Touch Songs
Touch Playlists
TOTAL TOUCHES/SWIPES: 6
But hey, these are Windows users - they're used to cumbersome, so no big deal right?
@quix, All the extra swipes are because he was just playing with the UI. The interface on the regular Zune 30 works great, and this appears to be much improved.
You just automatically hat it because it doesn't have an Asshole logo on it. Get. Over. Yourself.
@Quix
I'm almost certain that those menus loop on the Zune HD.
In other words, Playlists >> Artists >> Albums... and so on.
Guess what? You just helped this article become more popular, thus increasing the likelihood of people seeing it and wanting to buy a Zune. Congrats. You just defeated yourself.
Quix you just destroyed yourself. You have clearly never used a Zune. There wasn't any music on that Zune, like they said. Had there been, when it was on Artists, you would see all the Artists. The swiping to "genre" "song" etc etc is just different ways to browse what is on the Zune. Dumbass.
@quix
The negativity in your comments is astounding. There was very little crap talking till you threw up all over the post. Let's see how many swipes it took:
Press the Hater button
Swipe at everyone around you.
Touch a nerve.
Touch a soft spot.
Be defensive.
Spew hate and negativity.
Die a lonely sad sad death.
Count it... 7! 7!
Dude, it plays music. Do you need to be so angry over it?
Wanna back massage?
@quix
If it works like the current generation Zune then the list is circular. Therefore your scenario is more like:
Zune HD:
Home button to power on
Swipe up to reveal menu
Touch Music
Swipe Right Playlists > Artists
Swipe Right Artists > Playlists
TOTAL TOUCHES/SWIPES: 5
My iPhone:
Home button to power on
Swipe to unlock
Touch iPod
Touch Playlists
Touch Songs
Touch Playlists
TOTAL TOUCHES/SWIPES: 6
So looks like Zune wins. ^_^
Anyway, I think arguing over the number of swipes and touches is a little premature at this point, since we know nothing about the OS aside from these videos. For example, it seems to me that you can in fact touch the word without scrolling to it, as in the video he touches "songs" it lights up, then he scrolls, which leads me to believe he could touch genre as well.
Anyway, I never found this interface daunting on the current zune, and prefer it immensely to the click wheel of the classic iPod.
@quix and kazbaeden
My Walkman Phone:
Shake.
(Music starts playing)
Total: 1
Unless I'm not understanding, it looks like you can pick which way you want to list your music, and that you don't have to actually swipe 11 times to get to a song, i.e. you pick music, then you can just select song and pick a song.
You are correct, Demo. Quix here...well he is just obviously an Apple user who can't grasp concepts of how to use their products, hence the reason he uses Apple products.
The NEW iPhone 3GS will have Voice Control. Swipes/Touches = 0. ZUNE LOSES :-(
The NEW MS-iClone >might< be able to catch up with Apple circa two years ago (except minus the phone part) ZUNE LOSES AGAIN :-(
* * * * * * GAME OVER THANKS FOR PLAYING * * * * * *
The Zune, or any MP3 player for that matter, can take 100 swipes/touches as far as I'm concered as long as I don't have to look like a complete dumbfu** walking down the street talking to my MP3 player. And then repeating when it does the wrong thing. And then asking what's playing before just simply looking at the screen, because looking at the screen has bothered so many people all these years apparently. Forget voice control, it's just a lame attempt for another "lightyears ahead" update.
@Dave did you know your head has uses other than keeping your throat dry when it rains? Such as thinking, which you clearly don't do much of.
This thing (the Zune) looks rather nice, but I hope Microsoft will do two things:
1. Try (at least) to make the OLED screen visible in bright light, all the other OLED screens I've seen untill now have had this problem.
2. Release it, Xbox Live and the Zune Marketplace in the rest of Europe.
"Guess what? You just helped this article become more popular, thus increasing the likelihood of people seeing it and wanting to buy a Zune."
My bad - now they may sell THOUSANDS of these things!
Frankly, I couldn't care less about the Zune. If it floats your boat, buy it, use it, enjoy it. Enjoy the feeling of exclusivity. But the MICROSOFT RULEZ APPLE SUXORS mentality of the comments section on this blog reached Ludicrous Speed about 6 months ago. The MS fanboy foppery that goes page after page for this simple, almost nothing demo just shows you tools for the hypocrites you are.
"Did you say Redmond? MUST HAVE!!!!"
Hilarious.
"Pure eye candy with zero intelligent design. "
I don't care for proponents of intelligent design. This shit is the evolution of MS.
@Quix
Riiiiight. You care enough to post multiple responses, but when you lose, you don't care any more.
It's the same way with all the Apple fanboys (Zak, Paul, I'm talking to you!)
You must be ADHD like Paul. We already figured that out.
i find it funny how people argue over points thats really if you think about it makes sense. any way
project XYZ = zune hd
project pink = zune phone (unofficially)
zune = entertainment device (not just a mp3 player)
zune is the most powerful hand held devices to come out (yes iPhone 3gs and others are weaker)(zune officially has the nvidia tegra chip in it)
the reason why the resolution is so called low on the device is because IT IS PHYSICAL IMPOSSIBLE WITH TODAYS TECHNOLOGY TO GET A SMALLER PIXEL DENSITY.
zune band has made more ground in the market then and other company in the mp3 player business with in its first 2 years
because of the zune success people hate on it when there are other companies that coyed iPod more but no Microsoft is so evil. even though they help there customers and respect them
Microsoft will not stop there growth when they aim for some thing the do it and they will not stop.
zune will keep gaining popularity and market share.
because of Microsoft's empire they can do things other companies can only dream of it shows in both xbox and zune divisions.
how many companies risk billions of dollars for the customers to allow them selves to gain footing with in the market.
well all i am saying is that Microsoft's here to stay and to grow. and theres nothing that can or will stop it.
Microsoft will in time break down ipod's hold on the market
if you notice that Microsoft on both zune and xbox they over engineer and under price there products to allow growth will they take the finical stress not the customers.
if you don't know the original xbox lost profit for 5 years and the xbox division never made i signal penny until a year or 2 after the xbox 360 came out. (thats just crazy)
just saying by looking at the facts ipod is screwed if they keep screwing there customers.
wow, i had never realized how awful iphone is until i saw it next to this new zune.
i really thought iphone has a good design, but it is now clearly outdated
Wow you guys have way too many button presses to go through. All I have to do is insert my B-52's cassette into my Walkman and press play.
@Quix
Zune stays in the category you left it in, so if you normally browse by artist...it will already be in artist when you go to go into the menu. If you normally browse by albums...same thing....
power-up the screen
unlock swipe
music
swipe to selection
tap (or double) to select
finished.
wow this defenitly looks good, and sure to push awesome vid with that oled ^_^
@dave
swiping might be annoying to you but heres how to look at it.
iPhone 3gs: 0 swipes
ZuneHD: 5 swipes
Watching some dumb @ss yell at their phone all day: Priceless
Dont screw with Zune when you have no idea what you are talking about
@quix
"Home button to power on
Swipe up to reveal menu
Touch Music
Swipe Playlists > Songs
Swipe Songs > Genres
Swipe Genres > Albums
Swipe Albums > Artists
Swipe Artists > Albums
Swipe Albums > Genres
Swipe Genres > Songs
Swipe Songs > Playlists"
Why would I swipe away from playlists just to go back to it in a circle, that seems awfully counterproductive. In actuality if you wanted to be on playlists and it was on playlists when you pressed music, you'd already be on playlists so = 3 touches?
@shaunisadirty
If you don't have a particular song in mind (which I usually don't) you can hit the home button twice on your iPhone and tap the play button that appears, insta-tunes!
...well I guess that's technically still 2 steps (3 if you count pushing the home button twice).
@Quix
"And what takes this guy 4 swipes in music takes me one touch on my iPhone. Not counting his 4 swipes to get back where he started."
Seriously? That's a general concern when you're trying to choose which device is right for you?
You've got some serious issues if that's the case.
@The other Apple fanboy who brought the 3GS' voice capability into this discussion.
Guess what?
No, I insist, guess.
The 3GS? Yeah, it's a PHONE. And the ZuneHD? Yeah, it's a MP3 player, a MUSIC PLAYER. Of course the iPhone is going to have a large set of features, it's supposed to. Not to mention you pay for it as well. So go ahead, you buy your "Pay large upfront and pay a monthly fee just so I can listen to my music" iPhone, and bitch about wasting money to everyone. Us, on the other hand, will enjoy our lower-than-what-you-paid price, and enjoy our music free of a monthly charge.
Please, leave the jealousy at the door, I don't want you to get anything on the new carpet.
And one last thing, @Quix -
I want to see a video of you playing your music with "one click". Pictures or it didn't happen. Aight?
I'm amused.. The iPhone can NOW do voice command... and MS has to CATCH UP to Apple on that, eh?
Sounds like a feature I used 2 years ago on my Windows Mobile 6.0 T-Mobile Wing. And if we want to compare steps with that one...
iPhone:
Tap Home to turn on
Swipe to Unlock
Touch Voice command
Steps: 2
Wing or Sprint Mogul
Press Voice command
Steps - 1
@insky
Rock Lobsterrrr!
Way too much glare everywhere to judge the quality of the screen fairly. =/
Did anyone check the level of brightness on the screen? I thought it would have been brighter (though, to be fair, most of the time the screen was black).
Well, who knows what the screen brightness was set to. Probably set to the factory default that's usually about 1/2 way or a little less for such devices.
Have you ever tried filming a device of any sort? You will invariably get crappy contrast. You seriously can't make a judgement on the screen's brightness with this video
The quality of the screen from that video is less than or equal to that of your laptop screen.
I love black on a (o)Led screen... saves energy.
sweet
wow
indeed, however a lil bummed that the earbud jack is on the bottom.
bottom jack = put it in upside down = it's already properly oriented in your hand upon pocket/holster/armband removal. Makes perfect sense.
agree with bandigolo. Its a good lookin device! And i like that its smaller than iPhone...
The bottom-jack cuts both ways. For the most part, it makes a device more pocket-friendly because it's properly oriented when you take it out. However, it also means that you can rest it on a surface when it's in use and still have it upright. Since video on this device is meant to be viewed in landscape anyway, I don't think it's a big deal, and the bottom is probably a better location for the jack.
one would hope that the device could be set to display 'upside down' since it would (in theory) be a trivial software tweak.
My 2nd gen Nano has a jack on the bottom. It's upside-down in your pocket, but your headphone cord runs a shorter distance when it's flat on a table. Doesn't bother me at all.
TOTALLY AGREE...the headphone hack should always be on the bottom of the device. naturally when you grab the device in your pocket, you grab it and pull straight out and are able to immediately view it. if it were on the top of the device, you'd have to pull out, flip upside down, then view. this is why i always put my phone in my pocket upside down.
I agree with others about it being on the bottom: definitely a good thing! What I don't like about it is that it's on the left side of the bottom. My Zune 16GB that I have has the jack on the right side of the bottom, allowing me to flip the zune horizontally to the left ( | > \ > - ) and hold onto it with my right hand, using the jack almost like a handhold. It's actually very comfortable. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say... =/ But I'm definitely buying this sexy device anyway! Zune Pass ftw!!
Be-a-utiful
If that had been a phone I would buy it in a second.
What a beauty!
Why dont anyone make phones as gorgeous as this?
That black version does look much better than the silver mock-up did.
As someone said before -- Microsoft should fire their entire company and leave the Zune team in charge of everything.
OLED, Tegra, and a slick UI is a gorgeous combination.
i want one already!
the only thing that could make me more excited about this is if it had a hard drive in it.
i see they have internet so hopefully they will have a new good mobile browser
Last I heard it was a new version of mobile internet explorer. So... umm... yeah...
mobile ie isn't complete trash
I'd still love to see some Fennec support. Well, one can dream, can't they?
If its a beefed up version of the windows mobile 6.5 browser im more than happy with it!
its webkit-based like the ipod touch.
Weird, it was a Portrait-mode video. But I believe that video was a sneak-peek at upcoming Zune HD advertisements. Thanks for the video, guys, it's great to see this thing in action.
the zune 120 comes with a portrait video but everything else is landscape
Yeah, it seems like the video was tailored so it could be used while the Zune was vertical in the dock. I could see it kind of weirded out the guy holding it, though xD
It was probably played in Landscape mode but the actual video was flipped. Or the videos dimensions were 9:16 instead of 16:9.
Dear Microsoft, Why the HELL can't win mo be as smooth as that? FUCK
WinMo devices aren't running Tegra. :)
Cus' it's 10 years old...
Obvious reasons aside, Kaitou makes a good point. Microsoft clearly recognizes the appeal of smooth devices, which is why they are plunking Tegras in these things. Now I realize that MS doesn't control what processors go into 3rd party mobile phones, but they don't exactly help things with clunky old WinMo. What we have here is a PMP that is really going to give the iPod a run for its money if they can properly execute the marketing. If only they'd apply that same logic to phones, the iPhone would be obsolete already. Don't get me wrong, some WinMo phones are stellar, but the door is wide open for MS to drop an OS bomb that rules the world and for some reason they just refuse to do it. I don't get it... maybe there's just not enough monetary incentive for them?
Well seeing as Tegra will be the major chipset for WinMo 6.5 and above...you won't have to worry about it much more. And also of course Snapdragon being on board too. We're going to be seeing alot of good phones for WinMo in the future.
It almost makes me want to go back to WinMo...if I didn't have Android which is also supported by both Tegra and Snapdragon. Ugh...awesomeness.
@iDavey
Forget WinMo, I just want the HTC version of Android to find it's way on the Diamond2 form factor!
@bandigolo
You and me both. I'd take the TD2 or TP2 form factor. But it seems they will forever keep the chin on their Android devices.
Don't blame Microsoft for not putting Tegra on WinMo devices. First of all, MS didn't manufacture those WinMo phones, they only put OS on it. Genius.
It looks nice enough. I'm just disappointed that it comes in 16gb or 32gb capacities. 64gb would have been nice.
Like my Zune 80, I expect this to have its line out audio locked down for some strange reason as well.
The capacity(ies) haven't been announced yet, 16 and 32 are just rumors.
@Mark
Why doesn't someone from Engadget when they are messing around with a Zune HD go to settings-about-storage to see how much space the thing has?
Don't ask me, I'd love to know as well(although that would only tell us 1 capacity so all others would still be up in the air)
It needs 64 GB and a adapter to the ipod dock. I can't be buying 50 new dock connectors.
I think considering they came out with the 32gig NAND chips recently (That Apple currently uses in their newest iteration of the iPhone) , it'll probably have an upper limit of 64gigs, assuming they have enough space to fit two of them in...
At least, I would hope.
Maaaan that thing is sick.
@Dkarageo
Microsoft probably isn't letting anyone get near Settings on the device. Can't say I blame 'em. However I'm thinking 32gb if you're going to be storing and outputting HD video.
"Like my Zune 80, I expect this to have its line out audio locked down for some strange reason as well."
Locked down? As in no EQ?
No EQ leads to audiophile grade sound quality.
Looks cool but if they don't have a model that has an EQ and art least 64GB of capacity it will be useless for me and a lot of people
64gb is overkill...and judging by iPod sales you probably mean "a few other people" instead of "a lot of people".
IDK I can easily fill up 80gb but I do have a lot a videos. The EQ isn't much of a problem for me but the storage space is. My Zune 120 has about 30gb free.
Yes we are in a minority, but calling 64gb overkill is absolutely wrong. I have filled 80gb easily.
Oh, wow. Though it was short, it looks incredible. I'm really glad that they kept the twist menus. They're very nice when you misclick.
The video playing looked like it was incredibly sharp.
This is definitely my next device.
That is absolutely stunning.
I'm sold.
*takes out bank card*
CHARGE IT!
alright sir, youre just going to have to give me that card numbers and security code. name and address for verification, and this Zune HD will be yours :)
PHISHING SCAM DETECTED.
Sir, I'm afraid that if you give L.Y.L.M.P your credit card details, he may use them for nefarious deeds.
In order to safeguard your money, I suggest that you give the card to me for safekeeping.