Microsoft's Zune HD AV Dock and Power Pack up for pre-order
By Darren Murph 
posted August 13th 2009 8:24AM
posted August 13th 2009 8:24AM
[Thanks, Thomas]
Read - Zune HD AV Dock
Read - Zune HD AV & Power Pack
posted August 13th 2009 8:24AM
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They selling this in the UK?
Not yet - when they do i'll be one of the first in line for one though.
Amen, Brother bear.
If i'm made to wait too long, I'll be forced to get an iPod touch. Got the PMP fitted in with smartphone buying schedule and too long a wait would mean the purchase of such an item would be superfluous. (October at the latest)
Really want the Zune!!!
Here we go, overpriced accessories. yeah!
Okay, I'm confused...will I need BOTH to play my videos and music on my TV?
No - both come with an AC adapter and tv cables - the more expensive one has a dock and remote included, whereas the cheaper one just has the tv cables (which don't need the dock) and a power adapter.
No, the AV Dock should include everything in the power pack.
I honestly don't know why the power pack even exists. It's not like the current docks have HDMI, do they.
The $90 price for HD out might be a deal breaker for me.
Little confused on this one myself... From what I can tell so far though, it looks like both will output to TV/Monitors but the more expensive AV Dock gets you USB connectivity as well as a remote.
Anyone seeing this differently?
Now I get it.
The Sync dock is $50, and doesn't include the cables.
The power pack is $50 and doesn't include the dock or remote.
The AV dock is $90 and includes everything.
You need the Sync dock for the for the power pack to work.
I really hope the Zune HD itself comes with a dock adapter for the existing universal dock, because all I really want out of it is syncing and charging. I'd be really annoyed if I had to purchase a new HDMI dock just for that.
MS, please make docks for cars tooo! especially the ones with navigation. mine easily docks with the ipod for music and videos. too bad its only for ipod though.
Madness? This is Sparta!
TELL ME ZUNE HD HAS AN INTERNAL SPEAKER (just like iPod Touch 2G)
It's a critical matter of buy/dont.
It does not. Sorry.
+1 Apple
(Not an apple fanboy, but a gdgt enthusiast!)
Yes this feature is paramount to those of us highly invested in fart applications! What are we to wear headphones and laugh quietly to ourselves! This is madness!
But seriously what is the use of such a space/battery wasting feature?
A speaker of that size uses little battery life, and allows you to let your friends (and yourself) listen to music without extra cables of any kind on your device. In short, the device is virtually useless without SOME kind of external peripheral at this point and time (whether that be a speaker, headphones, or a Wi-Fi router). Without an internal speaker, this cannot be used as a standalone device for anything.
I had an iPod touch 1st gen, and I can honestly say the thing drove me insane. No speaker, no go.
Cause we all love to listen to the kids playing music on the bus/subway/train/street
Dohnuts please, this thing could legally print money and you wouldn't buy it.
yes... camera is vital, especially when u got access to facebook etc on the device
maybe the zune phone can bring it all together
Yeah..becuase that speaker in the iPod is so nice and loud and the sound quality is just amazzzzzing. It's so critical to have a cheap crappy speaker in my music player.
The problem with that argument is, tweens already have phones with cameras, and those don't need wifi to send pictures.
Just the reality of the situation.
i waited for the ipodtouch to get an internal speaker before i bought one. so good luck msft.
I for one am happy this thing does have a speaker or any of the other garbage. Am disappointed it doesn't have bluetooth though (kind of like having the wireless option).
I would rather have it small and sleek than have a shotty speaker. My phone already has a nice speaker for playing music (not that I ever use it, and a 3mp camera like all the cameras do currently.
It's a PMP simple as that. If you want all that stuff just wait till Windows Mobile 7.
You need an external speaker for apps and video. It eliminates the possibility of showing a YouTube video, for example, to friends without hooking it up to something. It also means if you want audio with a game, you have to headphones on. It really should have an external speaker.
Please god, no speakers on pocketable DAPs! The last thing I want to hear while in public is someone's spectacularly crappy built-in speaker. If you're out and about, use headphones. No one wants to hear your music. If you're at home, get a speaker dock. Your ears will thank you.
@Templarian :
"It's a PMP simple as that. If you want all that stuff just wait till Windows Mobile 7."
I think that is why it will ultimately fail. The era of PMPs is over. It at least needs as much functionality as an iPod Touch (Apps, etc) and even then, that may not be enough since the Touch has ridden on the coat tails of the iPhone. If it is just a fancy MP3 player with a great screen and Wi-Fi, it will fail. To steal a line from Tom Merritt:
This is the best product of 2006.
Now if the get a proper SDK and tie it to Windows Mobile Marketplace, and get a phone version, maybe they have something, but an MP3 player really has little place in today's market.
@cashmonee: I disagree. There are many people that don't want to bother with a large cellphone plan. Even teens. A cheap phone that works will do, and they'd rather splurge on a nice PMP too. While an all-in-one gadget may be ideal, there's still worries about battery life, multi-tasking, losing all portable functionality when you break/lose your gadget, etc.
An option for people who want an all-in-one smartphone and a separate PMP for others would be the best approach. The iPod Touch is an example of a gadget that's selling quite well despite it runs along with the iPhone.
Say you're out with some friends (note the plural there) and want to quickly show them something on youtube or a video of your pet on your device. That experience would be pretty lame without a speaker.
@Scott
That's what my phone is for, I don't rely on wifi for connectivity.
great, cause what I need is MORE idiots on the train blasting highly-distorted hits-of-the-minute.
I get that an internal speaker is a big plus, but a dealbreaker? Seriously?
So you'd rather have a PMP with a crappier screen, crappier sound in the headphones, and a weaker processor but with a speaker than the reverse, just so you can occasionly play a YouTube video for some friends without needing a peripheral speaker?
What?
Will patiently wait for the next revision. (THAT + Slimmer ? Bluetooth? )
I whole-heartedly disagree with the assertion that the portable media player is on it's way out. If all of your devices are packed into one thing you get a diluted version of each device essentially. A camera in a phone for example is only a few megapixels...what about the person who wants to take high quality photos? I think I'll keep my sony DSC-W100. Sure for pictures on the go, it will suffice, but when you really want to take good pictures you aren't going to use your crappy phone camera with digital zoom. And what about when you get a call on your iPhone and end up talking for an hour or two only to find that your battery is drained and you can't listen to your music anymore. I would like a device that uses its battery to play music and nothing else. No I don't want youtube videos on my phone. No I don't want to "share" my music via a piece of shit speaker with my friends...I'd be doing them a disservice by doing so. If I want my friends to hear my music I want them to hear it in high fidelity so maybe they'll love it as much as I do in it's true form.
People keep knocking this device for having no camera, no external speaker for youtube videos...that's because that is not the intent of this device to be an iPod Touch. I want a MUSIC FOCUSED DEVICE because that's what's important to me.
Until there is a device that includes a full featured phone, full featured camera, full featured PMP, and full featured web browser with EXCELLENT battery life I will still be buying them all separately. It's like we're reverting ourselves back to 1999 by using a bunch of crappy devices...all for the sake of having them crammed into one enclosure.
@Scott
So when you go out to hangout with friends it is always at a coffee shop or McDonald's? I can't imagine where you would be "going out" that's worthwhile where you'd want or feel the need to pull out a device to show off a youtube video. If you are at their house then... just use a computer?
My phone has an external speaker on it and I really wish that it didn't. I would never, ever use it intentionally and I really hate that off chance that the headphone cable might get accidentally pulled out while I'm at work and my music will start blaring in the office. It would just be super embarrassing, I see no upside to the feature at all.
Does it come with cowbell?
Here's my thoughts, for what they're worth (maybe not much). I remember when the iPod was the new game in town (and really up until the introduction of the Touch/iPhone) everyone ragged on it for not including an FM tuner or various features that they personally wanted. That was the vocal minority that wanted something the device didn't have and complained about it not having it. They would then go on to discuss product X which had said feature and a bag of chips. The iPod crowed then made the argument that they didn't need these various features. Their PMP was strictly a PMP and nobody could tell them it was incomplete... and they were right. It did what they wanted it to do and they were willing to pay for it.
Then the iPhone and iPod Touch made their debut. Now you could have a phone that was also an iPod, and along with that you had other features that were completely new to the iPod line-up, including built in speakers (which I'd heard champions of other PMPs complain about the iPod not having in the previous generation). Suddenly we heard from the vocal minority of the non-iPod crowd that they wanted their PMP to be only a PMP, kind of a "keep your peanut butter out of my chocolate" thing. But the iPhone/Touch folks felt that this was what they needed, and they, too, were right. The features the iPhone/Touch offered were what they wanted, and at a price they didn't mind paying.
Now, we've reached the point where a competitor with a good bit of weight and marketing plus a genuinely nice device that does what it does well without needing a million other features. And now the vocal minority of the iPod crowd is simply seeing what it believes are holes in the device, and they're right. These are holes... for their personal use. However, so are the Zune HD crowd. The device has the features they want at a price they are willing to pay. If a speaker were a make or break deal for them, they obviously wouldn't buy it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, we all need to stop assuming that we're right. Talk about the positives and negatives of a device, don't tell people they don't know what they want.
No love for the 30
say what u want... the zune is one sophisticated, sexy looking biatchhh
I think it looks very uninspired and retro. Too many sharp corners on everything, especially the Dock.
This zune looks badass. I wonder if anyone will buy it? I want it, but that iPod Touch sure it sexy... Which one to get?
I have not much choise if that damn Microsoft isn't releasing it in Europe..
I have not much choice if that damn Microsoft isn't releasing it in Europe..
Now I get it what people say about Engadgets comment system.
Microsoft Sync with Zune HD will be my dock of choice.
'wireless remote' glad we cleared that up...wireless.
I'm waiting for the wired Zune HD AV Dock. Less response time than stupid wireless.
The dock is wired. I was taking the piss out of the remote control description.
My concern: does Zune HD's browser support Flash, and if so, does it do audio/video streaming?