Zune HD getting previewed at select Best Buys this weekend
By Paul Miller 
posted August 21st 2009 12:28PM
posted August 21st 2009 12:28PM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in. Warning: PDF link]
posted August 21st 2009 12:28PM
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no cleveland?
Sorry, I had to do it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZzgAjjuqZM
OMG that is the funniest thing ive seen online in a long time.
TY Field +1
Can't wait to see it at other locations. Nvidia is really hyped about this all.
Man, that thing is go sexy, way to go Microsoft, you really have made a winner here. I can't wait to sell my iPod Touch to get one of these.
Can't wait to give away my old Zune 80, everyone laughed me out the door when I wanted to sell it to them :(, to get this or possibly the new Touch.
The TV connectivity is beastly.
I'll take it!
I sold my iPod Touch last week and pre-ordered this.
Does anyone know if the zuneHD is gonna have that nifty feature like the ipod touch where you can control your computers music like a remote?
Field -
Yep, only if you use Zune music software.
Hopefully I can get it in China ASAP.
china will get the "Zone HD", would match your blockberrys (ies?) fairly well
...not to mention the nokLa and HTG
Is this thing coming to the UK yet?
Until then: What's a zune?
@fanman
i think they announced that it's supposed to be coming out in the US, UK, and Australia as definite locations. but you know... they said this about the other zunes too, haha
well im in the US anyways so im fine =D
no really, i was in china and their own people hate fakes, i can't believe but in shanghai i didnt saw any fake phone or fake car. they love audi and nokia and apple and bmw and everything but just original ones. i think they sell the crap ones to the poor people or other countries
I was certain Conetoe (kuh-NEE-tuh) North Carolina was going to have one at the nearby Best Buy. The universe has foiled me, yet again.
Heck, not even Raleigh! Sometimes, the universe foils us all...
An idea: How about you and me carpool down to an Atlanta Best Buy? On the way, we can come up with a plan to incapacitate the Best Buy security dude and make off with the display Zunes.
Unhindered by NDAs, we could then post videos showing things like, oh I don't know, the web browser on a working wifi connection, the OLED screen performance in daylight, and some comparisons with the iTouch screen.
This time, universe, WE will foil YOU.
Looks interesting. Hopefully it does well, as competition is always good. ;)
I wonder if the preview is in major cities since HD radio is more prevalent there?
HD Radio may have played a role, but I'd assume it's in major cities because the most people are there.
it's in plenty of cities, check the list here http://www.hdradio.com/#stationGuideWidgetry
Des Moines has HD radio! Come there Zune!! :-)
Anybody wanna road trip to the Twin Cities?
Thanks for the linky. I had no idea Indianapolis had so many HD radio stations. I just assumed they were on pace with T-Mobile and their 3G rollout here. ;)
Just like Sony, no love for Canada :(
...And I can't wait till you say something that doesn't make you look dumb, or get downranked. Or, when you learn how to spell and use proper grammar.
*sigh* people will eventually learn to not be such huge nerds.
Yay old orchard!
Lucky. I have to stick with the LAME Hancock Center store. Seriously, worst Best Buy EVER.
Yeah I'll be at Old Orchard too.
engadget, you should have a place where people can send their in-store experience with the zuneHD. I think the readers here will be able to test some things that have not yet been demonstrated on the HD. It's just a thought.
there is a place like that. gdgt.com, don't know if i can put websites on here but it was started by engadget and gizmodo guys.
No previews in Nvidia's home city?! Man I live right down the street from nvidia's hq but they're only showing in SF.
I was thinking the same thing. No love for San Jose or the rest of Silicon Valley.
"HOw do I launch the browser like on my iPhone"
You know this has a browser right?
30 mins is too long of a drive. I will wait till it comes out.
Because I'm a huge nerd I drove an hour to Pleasant Hill Best Buy and checked this out. Very baddass little device, surprisingly small and very light once you put it in your hand. Didn't get to listen to HD Radio on it because the antenna is in the headphones but the navigation was FAST and video on device and on 40" HDTV looked excellent
wtf!?!? the dallas area showings don't include dallas itself? that doesn't make any sense at all.
It's the same for the "boston area". Apparently the boston area means anywhere in MA. I'm excited for the zune HD, but not excited enough to drive over half an hour to go see one. There's a Best Buy right in Boston! Why not go there?
Michigan officially sucks...
We are kind of close to Chicago... but yea not the best place for these events.
Tell me about it. We get no love whatsoever from the gadget gods.
I hope they are displaying them in darker rooms as OLED sucks in bright light situations (like direct sunlight), it gets washed out really easily, one of the main reasons Apple decided to stick with the current reflective LCD screens.
Where is this improved battery life they've promised with OLED and Tegra? The specs match the current iPod touch, which is ancient technology.
Can't wait to see all that 720p glory... Oh wait, the iPhone 3GS can already handle 1080p. Apparently Microsoft is always a step behind.
I was wondering the same thing... turns out they were comparing it to netbooks.
NVIDIA Tegra processors feature always-on operation for instant access to the Internet, which compares to that of cell phone-class power management, and up to 5x the battery life of current netbooks—making days of HD mobile Internet experiences a reality.
So, in a cellphone/mid, you get about the same as we already got. "yay"
The zune HD has a smaller battery than in the iTouch and iPhone - so it is using less power, but it has less to use in the first place. I guess that it helps keep costs down and allowed the zune to be smaller/lighter whilst having a good battery life still (would have been nice to have more life though).
OLED I won't argue, matter of taste.
Battery life wise, you'll notice it actually gets 2 1/2 hours better battery life for video(more than 40% better), so you're just plain wrong there
For the claimed 1080p, no, it cant. What it can do is do a very bad job at downconverting 1080p video and play a 420x272 video. The Zune HD can output native 720p smoothly.
"Can't wait to see all that 720p glory... Oh wait, the iPhone 3GS can already handle 1080p. Apparently Microsoft is always a step behind."
Did you actually read that Iphone video article? The Iphone was falling all over itself trying to play 1080P in more then 1 of the tests (720P got the best of it in another). I think the 3GS hardware is nice (I currently have a 3G) but I think you should see the difference in frame rates and overall experience with the Tegra equipped phone before you make the judgment that the Iphone is "One step ahead of Microsoft" in terms of HD playback. Especially since you have all of 0 experience with the Zune HD.
One is a platform with a dedicated hardware setup just for this purpose (including delivery to a monitor/TV via HDMI).
The other is a phone that happens to have a CPU that has just enough juice to muster playback in some instances but is running at full tilt to do so.
I'm not taking anything away from the Iphone, it's pretty cool that it can do this but just because my beater Buick can probably move my race car trailer if I attached it, doesn't mean I should start telling people it's going to out pull their diesel trucks (that come equipped with hardware and engines to tow).
In the mean time you enjoy your "one step ahead" 3GS and the 720P video being played on the 3.5in screen... Although it's really going to suck every time someone calls you and the video dies >_
" hope they are displaying them in darker rooms as OLED sucks in bright light situations (like direct sunlight), it gets washed out really easily, one of the main reasons Apple decided to stick with the current reflective LCD screens."
yeah, and they they told everyone using the 3GS software to keep the units out if the sun or they may overheat.
...so, what was your point again?
(first)
The Zune HD doesn't have an HD screen! What blatent LIES!
(then)
Oh, the iPhone plays 1080 content. It plays HD! HOW AMAZING IT IS.
I feel like saying something mean and negative, but why rub salt in the wounds -- of a stinking, bloated corpse? You will see what I mean come the second week of September.