Microsoft releases a new refresh of its portable media player, the Zune HD (US$220 for 16GB model). As with the original Zune player, the Zune HD will be (hopefully just initially) available in the U.S. So how does this new PMP device fair with the other devices out there?
Specs:
- 3.3-inch 480x272 OLED capacitive touch screen
- 16 or 32 GB internal storage
- Video formats: WMV, H.264, MPEG-4, 720p support
- Audio formats: WMA, MP3
- Picture support: JPEG
- 802.11 b/g WLAN
- built-in FM / HD Radio
- 3.5 mm earphone jack
- HDMI or Composite Video output
- USB 2.0 connectivity
- Zune 4 desktop software
- dimensions: 52.7 x 102.1 x 8.9 mm
- weight: 74 grams
HardwareZone gave the Zune HD a 4.5 out of 5 rating:
“Solely as a portable media player, the Microsoft Zune HD is miles better than most of the PMPs in the market these days. Powered by the NVIDIA Tegra chip, it is capable of handling demanding graphical user interface smoothly and playback 720p HD videos without a sweat. The Tegra chip also handles various other tasks such as driving the beautiful OLED display, sports WiFi capabilities and more that the Zune HD is able to pull all this off in a sleek design that gets our thumbs up. Furthermore, usability and the compactness of device all add to its plus points.” [HardwareZone | Tuning in to the Microsoft Zune HD]
Janet Cloninger of the-gadgeteer.com loved the hardware, but wasn’t impressed with the desktop software and/or device firmware:
“The Zune HD was a disappointment to me. I think the hardware is great, but I think the desktop software and the firmware leave a lot to be desired. It seems to me that perhaps time was spent incorporating the Social aspects that could have been better spent making the software faster and more intuitive. I think I’ll just stick with my iPod touch.” [the-gadgeteer | Zune HD Platinum Review]
From the looks of it, Microsoft got the hardware right this time around. It probably does need some tweaking on the software/firmware department, but other than that, the Zune HD deserves a close look.
