We've witnessed a very interesting development cycle with the
Zune HD, getting to witness the software at
various early
stages of development, instead of a completed device all at once. Our latest glimpse of the player is along the lines of what's been cropping up the last week or so: wild transitions, fun motion graphics and plenty of beautiful media to show it all off with. We did get to touch the new keyboard briefly, and while there's no telling what sort of predictive text Microsoft has worked in, since we only had a URL bar to work with, it's a passable (and certainly beautiful) attempt to cram a full QWERTY touchscreen keyboard into such a small device. Reports are conflicting as to whether there will be a landscape keyboard in the final build of the device, but it's been spotted in some iterations of the device -- it didn't show up when we tried to rotate the player, however.
Unfortunately, while the
browser is up and running, the hotel we were at wasn't able to offer us a working internet connection -- hopefully we'll be able to rectify that soon. For now hold tight, check out the gallery below and the peep the video after the break for a magical exploration of the Zune HD's truly impressive interface.
posted Aug 11th 2009 4:52PM
If you were using an S60 phone, you could have simply used Joikuspot to create a wireless access point. You are not true geeks, Engadget.
FAIL.
I know! It's a little disappointing that the guy wouldn't let them connect it to the internet. Those menu shots look amazing though. They really reveal the power behind that Tegra. Woooeeee.
The new iPod/ iPhone interface looks downright jittery next to that.
@ iLoveApple
or even an android handset would provide tethering
Winmo phones have wmwifirouter, too.
WinMo phones have:
WMWiFiRouter (free tethering hack with pure "Data" connection)
or
HTC WiFi Router (free tethering hack with "Data" connection)
At any rate, agreed Mike.
The iPhone/iPod Touch look extremely dated next to thing thing, both in terms of interface, and in terms of hardware.
Bring on the Zune HD to retail already.
Seriously.... I was just about to say that. In this day and age, how is it possible that weren't able to do that. Somebody hook these guys up with a Mifi lol.
@Mike10010100
1) My iPhone 3GS is hardly "jittery". It's interface is silky smooth, and yes this Zune interface does look good.
2) You don't a need Tegra to have a decent graphics accelerated interface. The difference has always been in the software (or lack thereof).
3) For a great example of poor software, see the terribly outdated Windows Mobile, an OS that in 2009 still does not have a UI capable of utilizing the graphics acceleration available in every three dollar ARM SoC. (Not to mention still compiles to ARMv5 with no FP)
You mean I'm not the only one still using S60 all the time?
...Yes, that was a stab at S60, despite me having multiple S60 phones.
If Windows Mobile had an interface half as smooth and slick as one of these, I'd just on board in a heart beat. Sadly, it's not even close right now.
So I guess Chris wasn't there ;)
losslycoupled,
The uninformed/misinformed really should NOT speak.
In your case, you wrongly assume that every WinMo phone has the proper drivers for its 3D graphics chips, but you couldn't be any wronger.
MOST WinMo phones are HTC's.
MOST HTC's use Qualcomm chipsets for graphics.
MOST HTC's (i.e. 90% +) do NOT have the proper drivers for the 3D Qualcomm chips because HTC was most likely too cheap to fork over the cash for that feature.
There was even a class-action lawsuit in the works over this very publicized issue.
You just make yourself look ignorant when making these sorts of outlandish arguments.
Let's wait for Tegra based WM phones to hit the market before we jump to such impetuous conclusions again, mkay.
How's that marketplac working out for you all?
@loosely_coupled
"1) My iPhone 3GS is hardly "jittery". It's interface is silky smooth, and yes this Zune interface does look good."
I apologize. I'm certain that I was comparing apples to oranges (some pun intended). I meant to say the iPod Touch's cover flow. That's still very jittery. And I'm pretty sure that even your iPhone 3GS doesn't manage to throw together 2 panes of 3-D album art on top of each other. That's pretty impressive rendering my friend. Not to mention the feedback. That was pretty slick.
"2) You don't a need Tegra to have a decent graphics accelerated interface. The difference has always been in the software (or lack thereof)."
Decent, no. But this level? Yeah. You kinda do. If you're going to sit there and say that the hardware on the iPhone 3GS (600 MHz) would do just as well as Tegra (1 GHz or more), you're sadly deluded.
"3) For a great example of poor software, see the terribly outdated Windows Mobile, an OS that in 2009 still does not have a UI capable of utilizing the graphics acceleration available in every three dollar ARM SoC. (Not to mention still compiles to ARMv5 with no FP)"
Yep. Absolutely right. Just ignore all the video of the new interface coming after 6.5 that's going to be more graphics centric. Not to mention that up until now, there hasn't been much of a need for graphically advanced phones. The phone power race has just started up, with the iPhone the spur of it all. Now companies are coming out with truly revolutionary devices that are pushing the realm of what's possible. We will see much more when the whole industry starts adopting Tegra and Snapdragon. Windows Mobile 6 was released only a month after the original iPhone. Now that they've seen that people like power underneath the hood, Microsoft and other companies are going to jump on the visual presentation bandwagon. This is proof of that first step.
@iJames White
Living in your own world loser. First of all, Microsoft didn't copy iPhone interface at all. They made their own interface which is much different faster, better, innovative and revolutionary(Unlike Cut, Copy and Paste. And no, iPhone can't do 1080p at all, even with a hack.
Actually, the Tegra 600 is the one in the Zune HD, ARM 11 running at 600MHz not 1GHz
@johnsushant1
Neither can the ZUNE!!! XD
yay ! S60 ftw !
Most ppl underestimate s60 for its not so good interface. Look beyond that and you have a fairly fast and very powerful OS .....
Also
Joikuspot rocks :D
Seriously! Get a portable hotspot from Verizon or Sprint or even use WirelessHotSpot on a regular phone. Make sure you have internet everywhere. Note that if you use the Migo or Vigo along with the iPod Touch then you can stream Slingbox and have a slimmer phone (though you have to add a mic and use Skype on the Touch).
Damn all i see is a Lego piece where the videos supposed to be.*
*Yes I am on my iPhone :P
wow those are deep black :O
That's what she said...
So they looked really deep on your monitor? Cool...
I was watching my TV the other day, and saw a commercial for some new TV that looked so much better than mine! The picture quality was just amazing!
lol
@Jon: while that was a ridiculous comment, in all fairness you actually can tell how deep the blacks are by comparing them with the colors of the rest of the room and such in the video.
My monitor is a plasma TV, and yeah, those blacks looked pretty good.
Actually Jon when someone says that a screen they are viewing on a screen looks good they are speaking in relative terms. They mean that a particular screen looks compared to another screen as viewed on their monitor. Make sense?
OLED FTW
Those blacks should be nearly perfect. This is an OLED.
That's obviously why their UI is so dark, and heavily based on black backgrounds: White ones gobble up power.
Yeah man, my Cowon s9 has an AMOLED screen. not sure about the difference, but it does look really beautiful
Yeah they look good... because there is _no_ ambient light to reflect off the screen.
The moment you add that in, then LCDs look as good if not better. And use less power.
I mean FFS they're doing this demo in candle-lit conditions (look in the background). Misleading much?
Is this the giveaway? I will take one please.
I wouldn't hold your breathe. They never sent my t-shirt, so I wouldn't count on them for send a Zune.
What, Engadget can't afford to put you guys in the Ritz?
looks damn smooth
=O
mmmm...Windows CE
Could be a variant of WM running on top of CE. Would be really cool if WM apps could be ported with a few lines of code.
I hope they dont port the current crop of WM apps. They are good dont get me wrong but most use the horrid interface.
I say they introduce WPF framework first and have new apps created.
Hope we see the WM 7 beta this year at least they need to keep riding the current MS buzz. Windows 7 -> Zune HD -> Windows Mobile 7 -> Natal (not sure about this one).
Hey! Whatdayaknow? A compelling product in the Zune line. It's about time. Nice work MS, I sincerely hope it does well.
The other zunes were pretty amazing too...
Right. That last gen was actually quite slick. The navigation pad feels smooth and the interface is very responsive. It feels like you're using a touchscreen--but your screen never gets smudged.
pretttyyyy
I'll stick with my superior Sony X-Series Walkman thank you.
Nice try though MS, just stick to doing what you do best.. fixing (or not) RRODs on your failed console.
A SONY fanboy? Well this is a refreshing change from the usual apple screamers! Lesser of two evils, I suppose.
HAHA @ this guy.
KILLZONE IZ TEH SEX
@ Rory,
wow, someone does really have to mention the word "Apple" in here, right?
please, u r such a troll, worse than Jakko.
Failed console? Last time I checked the xbox 360 had a much bigger share of the console market than the ps3...
Hahahaha, is funny because Jason took seriously!
i actually gave you +1! your sony fanboism is quire refreshing.
That UI is SLICK! DAYUM! My iPhone is showing its age right about now. Sigh.
The Zune has come a long way