Microsoft “Zune HD” to Rival i-Pod
September 28th, 2009 | Author: longchar
Microsoft Zune HD
When Microsoft launched Zune in 2006, there was no applause because then Apple’s i-pod was just too good for it. But now its back and is seriously challenging Apple for the top-spot. With its touch screen, smooth user interface and dynamic looks, the new Zune HD is back with a bang.
It is slicker but feels comfortably heavy and is well-built. The touch sensitive OLED screen is 3.3-inch and looks great with its 480 x 272 pixel resolution, and true 16:9 aspect ratio, which is perfect for watching videos. As in iPhone and iPod Touch the user interface responds beautifully to multi-touch motion.
Apart from playing music and videos, Zune HD has an inbuilt FM-radio with support for HD Radio. The best thing is one can tag music while listening to a HD Radio station and when you get back to your PC or get near a Wi-Fi hotspot, download the tracks from Zune Marketplace.
Zune HD can run applications but currently it seems Microsoft is not too concern about this aspect, which is rather disappointing as there was only few mini games available at launch. Microsoft has not released any developer kit for it and seems there is only a few developers who will be getting to develop for it now. It’s a shame because with its Nvidia Tegra Platform, it is more than capable of supporting 3D games.
Overall, the Zune HD is perfect for music and video lovers and it’s a great buy.