The Rabapab Blog

A few weeks ago I posted about the Zune HD, the new Microsoft media player to compete against the iPod Touch.  While Apple is certainly not in anyway close to losing their lead over the media player market, the new Zune HD will certainly close the gap a little more.  Prices were actually leaked a few weeks before the Pre-Order pages started showing up.  Currently both Amazon and Best Buy have the 16GB version available for $219.99 and the 32GB version for $289.99, both to begin shipping on 9/15/2009.

Best Buy – http://bit.ly/20OYJ4

Amazon – http://bit.ly/xtzds

From what I have seen the 16GB version is available in Black, while the 32GB version comes in a Silver color.  Other than memory size both devices are the same on the inside.  The new Zune HD has the following features which will make it stand out against the iPod Touch.  It includes an HD Radio tuner, OLED touch screen, the ability to display videos through the A/V Dock in 720P HD format.  Those are only a few of the new features that will be coming with the new Zune HD media player.  I certainly look forward to being able to play with the new device when it is released.

Once I have the device in hand I will throw a Review post up with some pictures and what not.  The one thing this blog is missing is some pictures, they help to break up the constant stream of text that the blog currently is.  And with those pictures hopefully I can settle this blog into a niche, one that will bring with it some new readers.  Until then, have a good day and make sure to check out the new Zune at a Best Buy near you.

So I must say that I am definitely looking forward to the Zune HD release supposedly sometime this fall.  The previews and few hands-on reviews that I have read with pre-release hardware samples lead me to believe that it will be quite the piece of hardware.  The touch screen interface is what I am definitely looking forward to, it has been long overdue.  The jump to the HD Radio will help to keep the device out in front, which will add to its appeal.  And now that it will have a web browser built in the device gains the utility of similar devices with WiFi connectivity.  The OLED screen should be absolutely amazing to see in real life, and I certainly cannot wait to get my hands on one.

I do hope that Microsoft can see the huge market for allowing applications to be developed for the device.  And with that knowledge I hope they open the device to 3rd party developers to create software similar to that capable of being run on the iPod Touch devices.  Otherwise, even with all the nice bells and whistles the Zune will still be lagging far behind the iPod Touch and iPhone applications market.  I would think that making the Zune device capable of running 3rd party software would be possible, considering as how it is running a Microsoft operating system.  Certainly they can build something that Apple is clearly capable of building, only I am sure that Microsoft can do it better and with the ability to multi-task.

If you are looking for more information check out the following articles, I found them informative.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12519_7-10303243-49.html

http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/28/zune-hd-hands-on/

http://gizmodo.com/5272228/zune-hd-hands-on-photos-and-video-tour

Those are just a few articles with pics of early versions of the device in the hands of the reviewers.  And so far the device looks amazing, it can only get better between now and release.  Hopefully Microsoft will see the light and start releasing development kits to developers to begin creating applications.  That way with some luck they have some apps ready to go when the device is released.

Stay tuned for more on this device in the future.  I do plan on grabbing one as soon the device is released.