Zune portals close up shop for the day, should re-open with Zune HD launch
By Darren Murph 
posted Sep 14th 2009 2:32PM
posted Sep 14th 2009 2:32PM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted Sep 14th 2009 2:32PM
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i reallyyyyyyyyy want one :(
I'm giddy with anticipation!
yeh i'll be going to bestbuy to pick one up tomorrow. want to get the 32gb but its silver and i want the black one, and thats only 16gb.
i think i'll just use this for video and games and leave my music on my zune80 til a 64gb zune hd is released... in black or any color that isnt silver
Really? You might change your mind when you see the battery spec of Zune HD.
5 HOURS of video for Zune HD vs 80 HOURS of video for iPod Touch. Zune HD
battery sucks big time ;) Tell me you still want it. ;)
Totally.
In addition to 80 hours of consecutive video playback, the iPod Touch also dispenses orgasms and kills terrorists.
@Derrick
you thought the 80 hours of video stat was about battery life? really? i mean, REALLY?
@Derrick: Hmm can't figure this out, was that sarcastic? you do realize it's 8.5 hours for the 'HD and 6 hours for the iPod touch right?
Just pre-ordered the 32 GB with Dell's 15% discount. Thanks for the tip, Engadget! I can't wait to get it!
@Typical
Doubt you were around for the launch of the Titanic and even if you were most people were quite ecstatic over the launch of the ship as it was quite the luxury liner of its day. You wanted to be on it in a cabin or working on it regardless of the job. Mid way through the voyage or waiting on the New York side it is understandable that your enthusiasm may be slightly decreased.
@Spartan
Hope your patient or the 6+ week out delivery time was a typo or put up to deter people from ordering more. I saw 6+ week wait and decided I could pay 15% more to get it sooner if the new edition turns out to be all they say it is.
Derrick, yes, the iPod has 80 hours of video - it holds 80 hours of video. From Apple's store:
Playback time
Music playback time: Up to 30 hours when fully charged
Video playback time: Up to 6 hours when fully charged
It is sad how concerned you Apple fans are about the Zune HD putting a dent in the iPod dominance that you have to make up crap like this. Seriously? You are comparing how much video the iTouch holds compared to how long the battery lasts in a Zune HD when playing back video? Even at that, the Zune battery life is in playing back HD video, more data to read from storage, more data to decode, more data to render on the screen - and they still have 2.5 hours more playback than the iTouch.
Desperation, plain and simple.
fuck the ipod touch this look better for a pmp...
and i have a 3gs...
@NohOne: I hate to point out something that detracts from your otherwise great post but according to the official Microsoft store listing of the zune hd: "Battery life was tested by Zune in August 2009 using preproduction hardware and device software. Battery tests are conducted with specific Zune units. Actual results may vary. Audio content used was WMA 128 Kbps. Video content used was 320x240 WMV9 500 Kbps total bit rate.". It's probably roughly what Apple used(if they did any tests at all since their numbers are notoriously inflated), but it wasn't HD.
@Mark
The web site I looked at had a sentence stating that the playback was HD and 8.5 hours battery life. There was not a comma in between those two statements, so I thought that was the data file used for testing. But corrections are always welcome, if I make a mistake and it can be shown that I was wrong, then I am willing to accept responsibility for that. But it was also an honest mistake, unlike the completely ridiculous claim made. Will we see Derrick stop by and accept responsibility for his claims? Thank-you Mark for correcting me.
BTW: One other thing, the 80 hours of video is for the 64GB iTouch, Apple says 40 for the 32GB. The Zune HD 32GB has listed 48 hours.
BTW: One other thing, the 80 hours of video is for the 64GB iTouch, Apple says 40 for the 32GB. The Zune HD 32GB has listed 48 hours.
The Ipod and Zune use different set of codecs everal of which are propietary and wrapped into the whole .mov .wmv package. I have noticed that you can make smaller sized WMV at the same quality as higher bitrate quicktimes. Thopugh I would never want to use these for editing for playback it is ideal. In this case it is most likely VC-1(Video Codec-1).
redspear, I was just including that bit of information to cover all bases, so claims that the iTouch holds more can have a true 1:1 comparison and compare the 32GB Zune HD to a 32GB iTouch.
But yes, the WMV codec does produce smaller files. For example, a video I recorded on my 5G Nano produced a file of 201MB and 10:39 in length. Using Windows Live Movie Maker I was able to convert the file to 165MB WMV without any apparent loss of quality and the same resolution. To be fair, the processing power of a Nano is not as great as my desktop Core2 Quad, so I would expect a desktop being able to compress a video more than the Nano would - unless the Nano does the encoding in hardware.
Nohone,
no worries. I wasn't attacking you or even trying to disprove you. I just know at some point somewhere on this thread someone is gonna say why is the Ipod only 30 hours and the Zune 38 hours of video for 32 gb. One of them must be fudging their tests. So I figured I would pre empt that post. Thats all.
PS your posts have been awesome especially for as bad as an MS/Apple engadget article can get.
I didn't think you were attacking me, you were adding more data to clarify which is always good and I was further explaining my point.
Its all good.
Oh ya, it's game time.
Just curious - do you have a job? Every article on here you always are the first to comment...
That IS his job.
maybe thats his job jackass.
j/k :D
@Greg N.: I do, it's just not very demanding(Boss has been gone for about 1 1/2 weeks so not much to do)
Send me an application.
I freaking pre-ordered it at best buy weeks ago, they call me today and say I can't pick it up until 2 weeks... WTF IS UP WITH THIS? I pre-ordered it I should get a GUARANTEED product, what's with this " i need to wait 2 weeks bullshit"? they could take their pre-orders and shove them up there ass. anyone else have this problem? I mean seriously...best buy is ridiculous.
@AvA :
i pre-ordered mine off amazon and got the release day shipping and was notified that it shipped overnight mail so it should be at my wifes house in like 12 hours :)
4.0 En route
why are they STILL holding back details on the 4.0 software and Zune HD?
Going to be a huge blast of articles tomorrow outlining all the changes. That could be good press.
To piss off all the Apple fanboy/MS haters with tons of articles on the 4.0 software tomorrow.
I think they are going to copy Apple's marketing scheme a little bit for tomorrow.
"Today, we have announced this, this, and this, and all this stuff is available for download or in stores now".
Yeah, it does seem to be a page out of the apple marketing plan. Kinda surprised they have been able to keep everything quiet for so long.
ive seen microsoft do this at a lot of previous e3 events, same with sony,
i thought apple only started this trend recently?
i haven't followed apple for as long as any of those companies though, i wouldn't know :/
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
:(
I don't want to wait...
Spec heavy and sales shy. People, it's a Zune with a dozen app developers onboard. End of story. They don't call it the RMS Zune HD for nothing.
@Typical Engadget Tech-Nerd: I* don't call it the RMS Zune HD for nothing.
*There, fixed it for ya. Also, please note the 32GB Zune HD's ranking at amazon(the only place that has such stats) on the bestseller MP3 player list. And then note the ranking of the equivalent 32GB 3rd gen iPod Touch. And then cry.
@Mark
If you were to fairly gauge sales between Apple and MS's competing product you'd need to include iPhone sales in your comparison due to the touch and iphone's identical features.
@Shotgun: Amazon doesn't allow that. And since the Zune HD isn't out yet, nothing else does either. All that aside from the fact that the issue of whether or not to include the iPhone is quite complicated since it's both a cell phone and a PMP, and is heavily subsidized by AT&T. It certainly seems unfair not to count it but at the same time it seems unfair to count it. Bit of a quandary really... at least until there's a Zune phone out.
@Mark
You're right, its a bit of a double edged sword to compare it either way. I believe the touch was only released as a no frills option to those who just wanted a touch screen ipod. MS should be coming out with a phone eventually, they purchased Danger quite a while ago with what I imagine to be intent on making their own phones.
@ Shotgun
Ipod is not a music player first it is a phone first its called Iphone your forgetting the phone part if your going by specs than add a few other categories to the mix such as netbooks, pda's, smartphones etc.
@ Mark:
You also have to take into account the fact that the Zune HD has been up for order on Amazon for much longer and actually has a release date unlike the iPod touch at the moment. Additionally, there is no 64 GB version of the Zune. I am sure many people opted for the 64 GB touch (which is currently 11th on Amazon's list) instead of the 32 GB version. Finally, like someone else said, the iPhone takes sales from the touch. Even with all of these stipulations, the 32 GB touch is still in 3rd place right behind the HD 32 GB. If you added the 64 GB sales of the touch to the 32 GB sales and ignored the rest of the stipulations, I have no doubt the touch would be in 1st.
@cmsb55: Add the 64GB stats? Why? It costs more than $100 and is a completely unrelated player. Might as well add the 16GB HD to the Zune HD's stats. Let's stop with the conjecture and trying to pull in unrelated products. The 32GB Zune HD is outselling its direct competitor on the iPod side. 'Nuff said.
@Shotgun: No, they haven't got identical features!
The iPhone is not A GREAT GAMING MACHINE!
Don't slap El Jobso!
@ Mark:
It counts because people who are currently ordering the 64 GB (like me) would most likely order the 32 GB touch if the 64 didn't exist. This would most likely put the 32 GB touch ahead of the Zune.
And, once again, the touch has only been up for order for 4.5 days or so. It is simply unfair to compare them anyway considering how long the Zune has been on there.
@cmsb55: By the way, I forgot to mention this: The Zune HD is a pre-order vs. the iPod Touch that is actually in stock. What are you talking about?
@cmsb55: Those are hourly stats, not all time running statistics. So you're comparing them with respect to how many they've sold in the past hour, so it is fair. Again: that's great that some people choose the 64GB iPod touch over the 32GB one. Some people choose the 16GB zune over the 32GB one, should we add that to the 32GB Zune HD's statistics? 'Cause the 16GB 'HD is at #9 vs. the 64GB iPod touch that's at #11.
Hey Mark, guess what's in first now?
what's the big deal with the Zune...I don't get it...
Probably the fact that it has far better specs than any other PMP on the market.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjK3YS8EXpk
It's the best
"Portable Media Player" of 2009
It has nVidia Tegra
OLED Screen
720p HDMI Output
Optical Digital Audio Output
Internet Explorer - Multi Touch Edition.
The Best User Interface.
One of the best audio quality in the category.
Need I say more?