Zune HD interface and media playback demoed on video
Looks like Microsoft wasn't able to keep all the cameras away from the Zune HD at the gdgt launch party in San Francisco after all -- we just got tipped this video of a hands-on demo showing the interface and media playback. The OLED screen looks lovely as always, and the UI appears to be fluid and smooth, but we're a little bummed that the multitouch browser doesn't make an appearance. Still, it's definitely intriguing stuff -- hop on past the break to check it out.
[Thanks, alf]
[Thanks, alf]























iPoop, stfu and go play Sudden Attack you no life.
I definitely concur with the fact that Microsoft doesn't have the marketing skills. Also, since Apple has the major share of 'PMP' market, it'll be even harder for competitors...
You mean poor marketing skills in the way they have made Office the #1 suite of office productivity tools in the world? You mean the way the only managed to make Windows the preferred (by a ridiculous margin) OS on the planet? If you really believe that MS could not pound Apple with their nearly limitless resources if they chose to, I have a saddled unicorn here for you take a ride on.
Someone WILL eventually unseat Apple in the PMP market or possibly devise some new unforseen technology that will make the iPod look like a dot matrix printer (see Lisa and the original MacIntosh). The only constant in the world is change and you either stay ahead or eventually get left behind. Hence my previous post about competition being good for Apple. We should all cheer for MS (or Sony, or iRiver, or whomever) to be wildly successful in their attempts or Apple will eventually eat itself.
Long live innovation!
...I should come clean and say that I think the Zune HD is slammin' hot and I will be asking for one as a gift for X-Mas, my birthday, etc...
why do people demoing capacitive touchscreen devices have ridiculously tiny fingernails? :(
or do humans in the west have ridiculously tiny fingernails?
or maybe i had ridiculously long fingernails by human standards.... :(
so why the hell does it matter that i can find out where the hell to be lost at in another country thanks to an app on the appstore from apple. I just want to listen to music, watch videos and get online every now and then. Which ever does a better job is what I would go for. And after all the bad experiences I've had with ipods I think the zune is getting me this time.
Spinning platter HDD's are notorious for not dealing with vibration and shock (bad choice for that morning run) and they don't deal with temperature and humidity changes well. I, for one, am glad to see everyone moving to flash or SSD's or whatever because the sheer volume required for the PMP/smartphone market will eventually drive the prices down and the capacities up.
That OLED screen is just right for this upcoming zune, the black one looks very sexy, i might just buy one when it comes out..
just jizzed in my pants
This device has me excited... about the next generation iPhone, that is.
I'm serious. If the Zune HD is as beautiful and as responsive in real life as it is on YouTube, it will seriously raise the bar.
Apple will respond, with matching and innovative features on its iPhone and iPod models.
Microsoft will then react with a better Zune. Maybe a Zune phone.
And so on.
I love competition. And next year's iPhone will be AWESOME!
Please don't make a version with a 160GB+ HDD and lossless audio support, I'll have to buy it...
Not going to happen.
Wait, did the guy in the video say they were going to sell a seperate doc to display the 720p video on a TV? I thought the Zune HD was suppose to have an HDMI output build in to connect directly to a TV. I hope the doc isn't overpriced like Apple's stuff.
It does bro.
i dont see why microsoft takes it over board and packs this thing with a camera, with hd video built in!! i mean if this thing had a camera with hd video?? imagen the sells it would get?? now if this ipod touch 3rd generation rumors are true this thing just went down the toilet, hd video on mp3 players...... revolutionary, microsoft should do this first in the zune, NOW THAT'S AN IPOD K I L L E R
Look,
regardless of what you like or dislike (I'm on my third iPhone and have had every single iPod since the 1st gen) This is a nice move from Microsoft. I'm not usually a fan and the old zune was dismal. This thing is gorgeous. I make no attempts and predicting how good the UI will react,etc, but this is finally a sexy device from Microsoft. The OLED screen alone is bloody beautiful.
that being said the #1 main reason that there will not be an iPod killer in the near future is not because people buy blindly. I propose it's quite the opposite in fact.
when I walk through any big box electronics store there is a made for iPod sticker on nearly any kinda of periphery gadget you could want. Speakers, receivers, some tvs, cars stereos, etc. Something like 75 percent of automakers are building iPhone/iPod integration right into their cars now. you can't deny that this is an overwhelming factor. I can buy most any other entertainment gadget and know that it will work with my player. even my xBox!
I am seriously thinking of getting one of these though. I think it's looking to be a really nice product. I've rarely felt compared to buy another product besides my iPods/iPhones until now.
give me a zune phone and im all yours bill
sexy ui
this thing will sell reasonably well just from xbox owners alone... xbla is a good bonus for this device
Jubei
do u realize that the xbox is standing on a overall profit right now?
10 years ago nobody would have thought that sony would get spanked by microsoft in the console war... ps2 sold 120 million worldwide, xbox sold 20 million worldwide... sony were invincible, a household name. what happened?
the zune aint affecting ipods sales anytime soon, but microsoft are simply putting out a QUALITY device that will get people (inially non casuals) talking about it, they will easily secure no. 2 spot with this device, over time they can think about competing with ipod... this is chess not checkers
don't listen to them apple is for sheep who eat sh!t and live where there master tells them to they don't look around for greener better pastures u know brand-washed (not a typo) or like kids with a coloring book trying not to go out of the lines
The Truth:
There is no ipod killer and there is no windows killer. Its what the companies are known for. So lets deal and sit back and enjoy all the new gadgets coming our way in the next couple months.
Its beginning to look a lot like christmas :)
How awesome would it be if Netflix was available on this? and the ability to plug it in to your tv??
Cute device, but I'll pass and wait for the next gen ipod touch probably being announced next month. If the Zuen HD is anything it is a creative Zii killer, not an ipod touch killer, just like Google Chrome won't kill off windows 7, zune hd isn't going to touch the ipod touch market.
Wake me when MS is serious and comes out with a zune HD phone on all phone carriers, now that would cause a ripple in the iphone market.
Where r the third party apps? oh dont have any? that sucks
How is this any different than Apple bragging about how the Iphone now has 'copy and paste'?
wow.. that looks sleek.. now. Microsoft.. use that as your next os for the Phone!..
YES finally :D
Wow, nobody at Microsoft seems to be listening to the complaints made several months ago.
Make the text initially fit the screen on the menu. The 'e' on 'Marketplace' doesn't fit the screen. For any marketers who say it doesn't matter or try to explain it away, they are probably trying to make this product fail.
The second problem is the OLED screen. Of course the video quality of this demonstration is bad, but I can tell that that video image is blurry. When the customers see that blurry music video, they will immediately walk away from the Zune HD.
Instead, developers still think that people will care if there is an HD radio and video out to a big monitor. This product will fail.
Before you dismiss me, know that I'm trying to help MS.
The whole 'e' on the Marketplace is all opinion, but a blurry screen? You obviously have not viewed better videos and screenshots of this thing in action, because it is not blurry one bit. Do you think they put in the OLED screen, saw the image was blurry and thought "well maybe nobody will notice." Please... You fail at trolling if your arguments for Zune HD cons are that the screen is blurry. This screen will most likely be better looking compared to an overwelming majority of other PMPs and cell phones out there.
I would go as far as to say that probably 90% of people who have a PMP with them also have a cell phone if they aren't already the same device. As for the crap about Apple always being the intuitive one, look at all the smart phones before the iPhone that had this incredible idea for this space age technology called 'copy and paste'.
why no Zune phone yet?
I hope Microsoft exploit the potential of their Zune software. Its probably their biggest tool seeing as its very hard to compete wit the ipod on the hardware side of things. The software on the other hand is probably the best around compared to its competitors. MS did say this would be the last Zune and that they would be software orientated afterwards so i hope they carry on improving it.
Better UI Does not promises better sound quality.....I wana say remove tegra chip,or even you can give a black and white screen ,and to the most give a poor battery backup and after it give it the price tag of above 250$ ..... But but but please give me a non chalent sound quality.....,and bet wat im ready to buy it..... For ipod/zune....
Pretty, and being that the Zune HD will probably offer the same overall experience as my Zune 80, I definitely would enjoy this.
I'm happy there is finally an iTouch-like device being released that doesn't use iTunes. The only reason I will never buy an iPod/Phone...no drag and drop support means no buy for me.
Companies cannot produce failures and continue to fund it? Hasn't Apple been proving that wrong all these years with their anemic computer lineup and OSX? Push all those untold millions into their line and continuing to fail at gaining anymore marketshare in the computer market?
Yeah, but in all seriousness, Microsoft hasn't lost anything on the Zune, there was an initial investment in R&D and marketing as well as production, but that's no different than with any other product, but they've certainly made that back by now and their ever increasing marketshare shows that.
Make it available in Europe, and replace the HD Radio with DAB+, then it would sell.