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Engadget Podcast 163 - 09.20.2009
We're a couple days late, but the podcast is back, people. Join Josh, Paul, and Nilay as they run down another hectic week in news, including the Zune HD, some hands-on impressions of the Motorola CLIQ, and the latest in the ongoing Apple / Google saga. Get clicking! P.S.- Josh recorded this on on the road, so he had some audio troubles -- thanks for bearing with us. Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller Producer: Trent Wolbe Song: NOISEWAVES - As Days Go By (Family Matters Theme Song) Hear the podcast 00:03:00 - Google says Phil Schiller himself rejected Google Voice from the App Store 00:13:35 - Zune HD review 00:37:50 - Archos 5 Internet Tablet makes an honest PMP out of Android 00:44:04 - HP's new DreamScreens pack Pandora and Facebook into a wireless photo frame 00:50:00 - HP ENVY 13 and 15 bring luxury to the everyman, look like MacBooks 00:59:39 - HTC Hero for Sprint hands-on and impressions 01:04:05 - Motorola CLIQ Subscribe to the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast 1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com. Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
Zune HD a major sellout?
Let it be known: we liked the Zune HD before it was popular, before all the poseurs jumped on the bandwagon with their tight-fitting jeans and their hairstyles. If various stores on the internet are to be believed, the Zune HD is selling out in a pretty big way. Amazon is listing a 1-2 month wait for the 16GB model and a 1-3 week wait for the 32GB, Best Buy has the player listed as "backordered," and New Egg shows "sold out." Microsoft's own store doesn't seem to be having these stocking problems, but we suppose that's to be expected. How about you, are you being kept from the Zune HD your heart desires? How does this make you feel? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Zune HD gaming apps feature interstitial ads
Most of the reviews of Microsoft's new portable media device, the Zune HD, have been positive -- though from a gaming perspective, one "feature" of the new hardware has drawn the ire of gadgeteers. When booting up one of the free game apps, potential players are forced to view interstitial advertisements of varying lengths. Ars Technica measured the time it took to boot up these games -- the "Goo Splat" game features a static advertisement for the Kia Soul, and takes 17 seconds to load. The Chess application includes a video ad for the vehicle, and takes an entire half-minute to boot up. Though the Zune HD's multitouch screen and sleek visuals allow for responsive (and good-looking) gaming, we can't imagine these ads will be terribly popular. Still, the games are free, so we guess we can't look a gift horse in the lengthy, unskippable promotional material.
Zune HD review
When we broke news and images of the Zune HD back in April, we were more than a little excited. There had been talk -- and rumor -- of a widescreen, touchscreen Zune for some time, and seeing the fruits of Microsoft's labor made it clear that the company had done its homework. As time wore on and we reported on the official announcement, confirmation of NVIDIA's awesome Tegra chip inside, and news that the Zune Marketplace would extend into Xbox Live, we were downright giddy at the possibilities. Finally the much-anticipated, heavily lusted after micro-slab has been brought to market -- and it's not just the unit itself. Along with the release, we're seeing new desktop software, the Zune brand move towards a connected experience for Windows computers, and the expansion of the Zune Marketplace and ecosystem -- replete with applications designed just for the Zune HD interface. So the time has come for the Engadget review. Does the Zune HD finally match up with Microsoft's ambition, and can it stand up to the heat and ubiquity of the competition? Read on for all the answers. %Gallery-72768%
Crackdown 2 Zune HD (and other styles) available at Zune Store
Microsoft's John Noonan, who is currently working on Crackdown 2 and is co-host of Microsoft Game Studios' Platform Biased podcast, got folks in a tizzy when he tweeted about the Crackdown 2 Zune HD. We got in touch with Noonan, who let us know that this laser-etched model -- along with many others sporting Xbox-exclusive brands -- are available as part of the Zune Original Program at the Zune Store. The "Xbox Series" features Halo ODST, Gears of War 2 and Forza 3, along with a few others. There doesn't appear to be an extra charge for the advertising fan appreciation, so the only thing you'll pay for is the Zune -- which, we're told is like an iPod.
Zune HD commercial hits major selling points, forgets to include unsettling female spokesperson
Looks like the Zune HD commercials are now hitting the scene, and unless multicolored flashing lights aren't your thing, this isn't likely to cause uneasiness or provoke blatant fanboyism. Instead, we've got a neon spectacle highlighting four of its big selling points: HD radio, video playback, wireless, and yes, games are there, too. See it for yourself after the break. [Via Dark Zune]
Conceptual Xbox 1080 handheld beautifully merges Xbox and Zune
Carl Archambeault: you sir, are a champion. We're not exactly sure if you're on a first-class seat to Redmond or not, but the boys and girls in Washington could probably stand to learn a thing or two from the Xbox 1080. 'Course, that's probably just the fanboy in us talking -- after all, who wouldn't want the powers of an Xbox 360 and a Zune HD merged into one beautiful handheld? -- but could you imagine the market shakeup if this thing became real? Paging Mr. Benjamin J. Heckendorn![Via Coolest-Gadgets]
Microsoft releases XNA update for Zune HD developers, multitouch drawing app created
A lot of people had differing emotions when reading the Zune HD launch announcement yesterday: joy that the system would indeed sport a selection of apps and games, all free; dismay that those apps would be developed almost exclusively by Microsoft. Today you can turn that frown upside down, sweetheart, as it seems that exclusivity won't last long. An update to the XNA Game Studio development environment has already been released, enabling coders to target the Zune HD. The new version, 3.1, adds libraries for handling the system's accelerometer and multitouch screen, both put to use by developer Elton Muuga to create a simple drawing app, shown in video form after the break. It makes lines on a screen with finger touches and, like a ridiculously expensive Etch A Sketch, erases with a shake. It's not much, but impressive given the thing's only been available for a day now, and while we're still unsure how apps like this will find their way into the Zune's app store, we're sure all will be answered soon enough.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - XNA Game Studio 3.1Read - First Zune HD Multi-Touch Drawing App
Semi-customizable Zune HDs now available at Zune Originals
It wasn't exactly a surprise, given that Microsoft told us last month exactly when they would be available, but sure enough you can now get yourself a Zune HD with some funky wallpaper on the front and a fresh etching on the back. The artistic designs are just as interesting as the earlier ones applied to the dearly departed models, and as before you can get custom inscriptions added to the top, like the example above we created to mark the budding romance between our own Joshua Topolsky and his Zune. Best of all, custom designs and inscriptions are totally free -- if you don't mind paying MSRP, of course.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
New Zune HD colors found in source files: pink, magenta, purple, and atomic
Well, here's something interesting. According to tipster Josh S, a perusal through the Zune Software source files will net you pictures of four as of yet unknown Zune HD palettes. From left to right, we've got pink, magenta, purple, and "atomic." We're still looking through the source code ourselves to confirm. It's not like early adopters wanted anything other than platinum and black anyway, right?Update: We've finally come up from digging through source code and, sure enough, those images are all in there.
"Other touch-screen Zune players" referenced in Zune HD manuals
So were poring through the Zune HD's various manuals and documentation, like you do, and we noticed this little line in the A/V dock's quick start guide: An HDMI cable (included) and a high-definition TV are required for high-definition viewing. Zune HD and other touch-screen Zune players also work with the composite A/V cable (included). Now, that's pretty interesting, since, you know, there aren't any other touchscreen Zunes out there. We'd say that's either solid evidence the boys in Redmond are planning to give the Zune HD the family it's always wanted -- or it's just a huge mistake. Only your doctor knows for sure.
Zune Marketplace HD videos will play on Extenders for Media Center
It is actually very sad that this is even news. What we mean is that normally we'd expect that two products from the same manufacture would work together, but not when it comes to Microsoft. Either way, Media Center fans with Extenders like the Xbox 360 and the deceased Linksys DMA2100 will be happy to know that HD content from the Zune Marketplace looks great in Media Center. You can see from the screen shot that although it works, it is less than ideal. What we're saying is, would it be so hard to add a little metadata or even an episode number? The other thing is that the content doesn't show up automatically, we had to actually add the location of the content to the video library, which means the TV show we downloaded don't show up with the rest of our recorded TV shows. The good news though is it that playback works as expected, meaning that fast forward, rewind and resume are all there -- but there is that annoying "buffering" message when you skip forward or back. Who knows, maybe sometime between now and the official launch of Windows 7 further interoperability will be added -- doubtful.
Zune HD does games: Project Gotham Racing, Audiosurf 'in November'
While it doesn't carry the same cachet as "Election Day" or "Chinese Leftovers Day," Zune HD Day is still very much a real thing. With today's launch of Microsoft's pretty-cool-but-still-not-a-phone media player comes final confirmation that the Zune HD will support games. Buried in the device's launch press release is the following line: "Later this year, Zune plans to release ... fun 3-D games such as Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition, Vans Sk8: Pool Service and Audiosurf Tilt." Of course, three games does not a platform make and, while Apple is busy touting the availability of 21,178 games in the iPhone App Store, Microsoft is launching the Zune HD with a far less ... robust marketplace. Even at the launch of Apple's App Store, over a third of the 500 programs available were games; today, it's closer to half. Unfortunately, the Zune HD isn't competing with the pre-App Store iPhone or iPod Touch, so when Zune marketing manager Brian Seitz tells the Seattle Times that it's "hard to say right now" if the "sometimes connected" Zune HD will be opened up to third-party app development, it's difficult to hide our disappointment. Game development on the Zune HD is happening on a "case-by-case" and not a "come one, come all" basis, Seitz says. So, what he's saying is you shouldn't expect to see anywhere near 21k games (regardless of quality) and you can also write off seeing the Zune HD popping up on the list of IGF Mobile nominees next year. As a gaming platform, even a casual gaming platform, will this be enough to compete against the iPod Touch or even the PSP Go? We'll find out "in November" when these games are finally available. [Via Engadget] Source – Press release Source – Seattle Times
Microsoft's Zune HD already cracked open and photographed (updated)
Considering that even now only a swath of Zune HD owners are able to update their software in order to -- you know -- have a working device, we can understand Anything But iPod's eagerness to stop trying and just crack open Microsoft's newest entrant into the portable media player market. Without getting too gushy, we can definitively say that the innards look just as sexy as the exterior, but unfortunately the make and model of the internal WiFi chip (amongst other things) remains a mystery. Hit the read link for a nice gallery of closeups, but be sure and shield your screen from any lingering cube passers.Update: iFixit just went live with their teardown as well!Update 2: The iFixit teardown is complete. While there aren't any 802.11n WiFi or vacant camera-space surprises like those found inside Apple's iPod touch, the Zune HD doesn't need any to pique our interest. What you will find photographed in exquisite detail is the NVIDIA Tegra SoC, SiPORT HD Radio module, Toshiba-sourced flash NAND, a 2.45Wh battery, Wolfson MIcro WM8352 audio subsystem, and Foxconn logo confirming its manufacturing origin. There's also a "for our princess" inscription meant as a tribute to a Zune team member who passed away during development. Check the gallery for a tease or head over to iFixit to get knee-deep in it.%Gallery-72950%
Zune HD gaming and app downloads confirmed: Twitter, Facebook, and 3D games on the way (updated)
The promotional video and leaked shots already made it clear but now it's official: the Zune HD will be a gaming and application platform. In addition to a few casual games, calculator and MSN Weather apps pre-loaded onto the Zune HD, the official Microsoft press release touting the launch contains this little nugget of gaming gold:"Later this year, Zune plans to release free applications such as Twitter for Zune and Facebook for Zune, in addition to fun 3-D games such as "Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition," "Vans Sk8: Pool Service" and "Audiosurf(TM) Tilt." Games can be added to Zune HD via Zune Marketplace over the Wi-Fi connection or when connected to the Zune PC software."Hear that Nintendo, Sony, and Apple? There's a new handheld gaming platform in town. All that remains to be seen is how it will integrate with the Xbox 360.Update: A bit more is revealed in a Seattle Times Q&A with Brian Seitz, Microsoft's Zune marketing manager. At the moment, the strategy is to keep all the apps and games free and developed in-house or in close collaboration with third parties -- no third-party SDK for devs to freely crank out apps just yet. Seitz is clear that games will be the primary focus of the "sometimes-connected" Zune HD and the Windows Marketplace is Microsoft's priority for handheld app development:"So what we didn't want to do was build two parallel app store experiences that didn't work together. Right now our product roadmaps didn't line up perfectly for us to snap to what they're doing or vice versa... Down the road if there's a way we can work with Windows Mobile or another group inside the company that's building an app store and take advantage of that, that's something we'll look into."Man, Windows Mobile 7 and the rumored OneApp app store can't get here soon enough.
Zune 4.0 software is out, ready to fulfill your dreams (update: kills "squirting")
If you're one of the few Earthlings with a Zune HD sold ahead of its US street date... and still awake, consider yourself obsessive. And lucky: the Zune 4.0 software just popped and is ready to download for the newest must-have portable media player. Our full review is on the way, 'till then check our hands-on and official launch-day press release just beyond the read link.P.S. Looks like older Zunes are getting a version 3.2 update -- screengrab after the break.Update: The new Zune software is fully Windows 7 optimized as you'd expect. That means it supports Windows 7 Jump Lists (for quick access to your music controls and playlists from the Taskbar), Previews letting you glimpse and control media by hovering your mouse over the Zune button on the Taskbar, and Aero Snap auto-resizing of the Zune software window. Here's a quick overview of what else is new: Quickplay menu: quick access from your Zune HD to your favorite media including those you most recently added or played Smart DJ: Like Apple's Genius, Smart DJ creates like-minded music mixes. It also adds music from the Zune Marketplace if you have a Zune Pass. Mini Player Mode: Keeps a mini version of the player on top of your PC apps Download to own: For the first time you can download-to-own or rent full movies and TV shows in SD or HD formats. Surprisingly, CNET says that Microsoft has killed the ability to "squirt" DRM-crippled music directly between Zune users. Not that it will be missed.[Thanks to Mario H., Travis, and everyone who sent this in]
Zune HD unboxing and hands-on
The Zune HD is soon to be officially out on the streets, and we've got the official Engadget hands-on / unboxing. Now, we were excited as all get-out to wrap our paws around the Tegra-powered PMP, but some of that luster has worn off since popping this baby out of its extremely attractive packaging. Why is that, you ask? Well, Microsoft decided to hold on loading up any usable software until the new Zunes were out to market. What that means is that we have yet to do any serious testing with the new device -- despite having the gem sitting right here. We can tell you that the Zune HD is most definitely a thing of beauty as far as gadget standards are concerned, and while the only media we've been able to enjoy is the big M's demo video, we have been marveling at the clarity and crispness of that OLED display. Obviously we've got a proper review coming soon, but we take this stuff pretty seriously and don't like to offer our opinion till we've spent some quality time with a device. You can expect a look at both the music and media playback capabilities of the ZHD, as well as the new Zune integration into Xbox Live, Windows Media Center, and all other kinds of connected-world goodness. Till then, feast your eyes on the galleries below, and quietly curse Microsoft for handing us a neutered Zune. Update: As a commenter points out below, these devices are being sold to end users in the same condition our unit is in -- namely, without any real functioning software. It's a pretty unusual move for a company like Microsoft to put devices into the hands of consumers with no functionality at all, but it seems the Zune team was cranking till the last minute. Let's hope all the hard work pays off! %Gallery-72768% %Gallery-72771%
MovieWedge beanbag keeps your iPhone upright, costs ten bucks
You know, 2009 is turning into a banner year for pillow-assisted gadgetry. Not only has Philips introduced the CushionSpeaker, but we've just been hepped to a similar idea for the portable media set, an iPhone / Zune / etcetera stand called the MovieWedge. If you've ever wanted to spend $9.95 on a bean bag, now's your chance, kids -- this guy's shaped like a pyramid, constructed out of micro-suede (perfect for wiping your display free of fingerprints) and who knows? It may free you from the tyranny of having to hold your iPhone upright on long plane rides. But one thing it won't free you from? The shame of spending ten bucks on a beanbag. Peep 'er in the gallery below. [Via PhoneMag]
Zune portals close up shop for the day, should re-open with Zune HD launch
No shock here, but it seems as if the Zune world as we know it has closed up for the day. The Zune homepage is currently displaying the banner shown above, while a good number of our tipsters and staffers have confirmed that signing into Zune Marketplace is impossible. Of course, it's not like a major new product (and software update, most probably) is slated to officially ship on September 15th or anything, so we'd say a little patience could go a long ways here.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Zune HD sold early, still unusable until tomorrow
See that there? That's a shiny new 16GB Zune HD, which isn't supposed to ship until September 15th. Why bother to honor the street date? Ask the cool cats at the Fort Myers, Florida Best Buy, who has no qualms selling our tipster a unit over the weekend. At the time, no 32GB versions were available, and even now, this 16GB unit won't sync with one's PC or do much of anything useful. Of course, Microsoft's pretty much shutting itself down tonight as it readies a new software update, so we suspect all systems will be go within the next 24 hours. While we're on the topic, has anyone else managed to snag a Zune HD early?[Thanks, Everett]
