Zune HD specs reportedly confirmed; missing killer features
We have to admit it… We’re a little afraid. Afraid of what you might ask? Afraid that all this hype surrounding the now-reportedly confirmed Zune HD is going to be the height of excitement with regards to the device. Hype is good, hype is great, but you need something special to follow the hype in order for it to stick. Let’s take a look at the known specs:
- ~3.6-inch OLED full touchscreen
- NVIDIA Tegra powered
- 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB versions
- HDMI Connection to stream straight to your TV
- HD Radio
- Web browser
- Wi-Fi compatible, with wireless marketplace
- Released, early fall
- International release of the Zune device itself
- Home AV packs, Car packs, Charge packs
Sounds good and fun, but there’s definitely nothing so far that would (or should) draw much attention. HD radio? Mmm hmm. The Zune platform is supposedly in the midst of an overhaul which is nice but we need a wow-factor here. The average consumer is most definitely not going to pass on an iPod Touch and scoop up a Zune HD because of a high resolution display and HD radio, that’s for sure. Long story short, we hope Microsoft learned something from its experiences with the current Zune model.
Ok, the only feature I could think of is stereo Bluetooth aka A2DP. I think this is the most underrated feature for an MP3 player and very few of them have it. Maybe that’s due to the strain it puts on battery life? It sucks because I can use my Blackberry with my bluetooth headphones or speaker or adapter in my car but I would much rather use it with my Zune. So yes, other than that what is missing? Please nobody else say Apps. First of all I would be surprised if it didn’t have at least some kind off app support. Second, yes the number of apps available to iPod touch users looks great on paper, but how many are actually worth the time to download? I certainly wouldn’t shed any tears if the Zune HD could play fart noises or tell me how many calories a Big Mac has.
Great device. thats not a camera there screws on all four corners
@Will,
so with 32gb being too small for you, what do you use then as a portable music player? Or do you just not use anything?
me love Zune !
Tegra. Yep that’s the killer feature. Have you seen what that can do? *drool*
1st Stereo Bluetooth doesn’t sound all the great yet so you aren’t missing much. 2nd iPods go well over 100 gb now, though not the touch model
Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone) at: Dayton United States
@Who?, Support for subscription services is not a killer feature, the Minute you miss a monthly payment or you take the device on vacation an don’t Synch for a few days, the service becomes your worst nightmare.
-Tegra
-HDMI out
-3.6″ OLED screen (which is also better on battery life)
-HD Radio
All seem like some pretty big one-ups over the iPod Touch if you ask me. Some of us don’t care about playing games on our MP3 players. I think the missing killer feature really is an apple on the back of it, considering this was posted on BGR.
Why is HD radio a step up? Who on earth is clamoring for HD radio?
Who is OLED a step up to? The public has no idea what that even means. Nor do they care, I haven’t seen anyone complain about the quality of the itouch’s screen.
No one complains about the itouch’s battery life either. I’ll be the first to admit that the iPhone could benefit from a much better battery life though.
Tegra will mean something if Microsoft can get game developers on board. If not, its utterly meaningless.
You didn’t say anything about HDMI out?
In any case, they’re steps up because the competition doesn’t have them. These are technologies that can be slapped on a fact card at a Best Buy and even if an associate isn’t there to explain the benefits of OLED, they can see the stack of features the i-whatever next to it doesn’t have (and I’m sure they’ll be paying attention to the lower price too).
@ Johnnybruha: I agree, to a point. I’m not looking at the ZuneHD because of the app capability, yet if an app comes out that will keep my attention while on a long flight, I might scoop it up. I’d like the ability, but not going to preach about it like all the apple fanboys do.
@ Y3k bug: they don’t have to know what an OLED screen is, all they have to see is the screen clarity compared to the iTouch.
@Y3k-Bug
HD Radio or not, I think the fact that it has built in radio is a step up. It still baffles me, why something so trivial as radio is still left off PMPs.
@Y3k-Bug Said who cares if most people dont know!! at least they are caring for all markets! the ability to play hd video out and oled are fantastic!!! and we dont know the resolution but it wont be hard to beat hvga…
and from what ive seen in p.i.e. 7(i think) the browser will be pretty decent and have flash!
no hdmi out this, i think outside usa nobody realy want this.
@TRV$, Not really, the current OLED screen out there don’t even come close to what Touch has when it comes to screen resolution, OLED are the future no doubt, but the technology is no young, for example OLED are not to good in sunlight.
@TRV$, Not really, the current OLED screen out there don’t even come close to what the Touch offers when it comes to screen resolution, OLED are the future no doubt, but the technology is too young, for example OLED are not to good in sunlight.
@keymaker, what OLED screens are you talking about? The Touch, like the iPhone has the same 320×480 screen and the next wave of higher-end Samsungs exceeds that at 640×360. Not to mention all of the other non-mobile devices OLED tech has been used. I agree about the lack of visibility in sunlight, but that’s the tradeoff for the power efficiency.
What’s Tegra?
I see. not necessarily a deal breaker for me. I’m just so completely turned off of apple and their products by their proprietary issues. I got an iPod without understanding the limits of the device, now I’m stuck with an iPod classic that I can get music onto, but can’t get it off without completely wiping the music that wasn’t purchased from iTunes.
What does a Zune tell about you?
I also find it odd how this article fails to actually list any feature this device should have on it. This new Zune sounds awesome for people looking for a mobile media player. We’ll see what the final software features are closer to release I am sure. Exciting!
Damn it Microsoft! It’s missing a cellular radio!
Keymaker, why would you miss a payment? You must sync every 30 days. You get 10 downloads for $15 and the ability to listen to unlimited music. This is a way better deal than iTunes. You might want to get educated before you speak. Rhapsody is an even better deal as far as subscription because you can stream unlimited music to 3 computers.
It’s about time I thought I would never see a better Zune, this is definitely a big step forward however I would like to see a phone feature!
Hmm… What I want…
1) nVidia Tegra
2) Sync over Wi-FI(likely since it’s a Zune model)
3) App Store with REAL apps(so sick of the crapload of useless ones on the App Store)
4) Able to run Windows Mobile apps without having to actually be running Windows Mobile(maybe I’m just uber productive or something, but being able to edit Microsoft Office documents on this actually sounds like a way to be productive and have fun at the same time)
5) Speakers…Need I say more
6) Noise-Cancelling(took this from the Sony Walkman, but this is useful when you’re in a bus or some form of public transportation/public place in general)
Umm… Yeah, I must really be dreaming… Someone wake me up.