Hi Friends,
This article aims to covers the newly launched Zune HD. It was launched on the 15th of September of this year in the United States of America. The player currently is not sold anywhere outside the US. The only couple of ways one can get it in India is via an importer or if some relative is coming down from the US. I have recently come in to possession of one such piece thanks to KMD. (Thanks for the speedy delivery btw)
For the uninformed, the ZUNE HD is a second generation of the Zune PMP devices utilizing the Nvidia Tegra APX 2600 chip. It is available in two sizes in terms of storage capacity and colours. a 16 GB black Zune and a 32 Gb platinum zune. The current review is for the 16 GB black Zune HD.
A few of the specs here taken off Wikipedia:
Screen material: glass covered OLED display
Screen size: 3.3 in Screen resolution: 480 x 272 px, with 16:9 aspect ratio Input: Multi-touch screen, built-in accelerometer
Operating system: Windows CE
Memory: 256 MB
DRAM Storage: 16 and 32 GB flash memory
CPU and GPU: Nvidia Tegra APX with one ARM11 and one ARM7 processor cores and 6 other cores for dedicated tasks such as graphics, audio, video, and HD video processors
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) with Open, WEP, WPA, and WPA2 authentication modes and WEP 64-bit and 128-bit, TKIP, and AES encryption modes
Built-in rechargeable 3.7 V 660 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery with up to 33 hours of audio playback (wireless off) and 8.5 hours of video
Size: 52.7x102.1x8.9 mm (2.07x4.08x0.35 in)
Weight: 74 grams
HD radio tuner
Equalizer
Web browser (based on Internet Explorer Mobile 6 for Windows CE)
Audio output: Analog RCA and Optical Digital out (additional dock required)
Audio support:
CBR and VBR audio, up to 48 kHz sample rate
WMA Standard up to 384 kbps (DRM protected files can be played only if purchased from the Zune Marketplace)
WMA Pro stereo up to 768 kbps
WMA Lossless stereo up to 768 kbps
Unprotected AAC-LC (.mp4/.m4a/.m4b) up to 320 kbps
MP3 up to 320 kbps
Video support:
DVD resolution and frame rate, up to 10 Mbps bit rate, CBR or VBR for: H.264, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.1 + B-frames support WMV Main and Simple Profile, Advanced profile up to Level 2.
720p HD resolution, up to 14 Mbps bit rate, CBR or VBR for above supported video profiles
MPEG-4 Part 2 Simple Profile up to 4.0 Mbps bit rate 720p high definition video output - HDMI or Composite (additional dock required for both)
For the sake of simplicity, let me break it down in a few segments so that we know its strengths and weaknesses which will help you decide if this is the player for you.
1) Out Of The Box Experience
2) Setup / Installation
3) Interface & Design
4) Audio Performance & Features
5) Video Performance & Features
6) Applications
7) Zune Desktop Software
8) Final Conclusions
[BREAK=Out Of The Box Experience]
The Zune comes in a nice black box featured here. It comes along with the proprietary sync cable which you would use to transfer music, videos & pictures from your PC. It also comes with a pair of earphones with multi-colour ear cusions. It also comes with a 14 day trial of Zune pass and the welcome kit with the instruction manual.
The Zune itself is a very good looking creature. On design, I would say it blows the competetion out of the water. It has no extra space around it. The screen real estate is comparable to the iPod Touch though in comparison it looks much much smaller. Its also almost twice as lighter than an iPod but by no means would you feel that it is of an inferior build quality. It is very apparent the monment you place your hands on it.
The surface is of a metallic build that has a non-reflective back. The front is glass. This is what it makes it feel so delicate. The screen is a finger print magnet. You would do better to keep a small satin cloth to clean it so as to avoid getting finger prints on it. I would recommend you get a screenguard as the touch feature is not hampered by an existence of one on the surface. It has no speakers so you will need to use an earphone/a headphone always. You will appreciate the minimalist look and notice that it has only two buttons. When you hit the power button, you will see for the first time, the glory that is Zune's OLED screen. A zune logo starts to illuminate and then a flow of colours jets from the bottom which is a placeholder for a loading bar. You wouldnt stop grinning, that I am sure of!
hyeah:
Conclusion:
I think MS has done most things right here. Their design choices have been impeccable. The Zune could have shipped with some sort of a new hybrid design earphones which double as a normal & in-ear choice. It could also have added value by including a usb end convertor for the cable so that it can be utilized as a standalone electric unit charger. It is definately not disappointing and the video screen itself will make up for any immediate concerns that form in your mind.
4/5 here for the Zune HD. :cool2:
[BREAK=Setup / Installation]
This was the tricky part. I hate to say this, but this is a major letdown for the Zune HD. Ofcourse, I may have been one of the unlucky ones, but if it could happen to me, it could happen to you.
The first thing you will notice is the absence of any demo music except for a demo video. I feel it could have been better with some demo material as a user gets a feel what to expect.
Second painful thing is that most features are unavailable without the sync. The Zune comes out of the factory with the version 4.00 firmware which has to be updated for all features to work. There is no choice.
I had initially had set up the Zune PC software in anticipation of the Zune HD's arrival so that I can get straight to work. However, wonder of wonders, the Zune HD wont show up on the Zune software no matter what I would do, but it would detect on the PC as a "Zune" in device manager without any kinds of warnings or problems. So, I tried my hands on every known forum tip readily available & all kind of stunts to try and get it to work. FYI, I am on a RC build of Win 7 which has been constantly updated. However no luck here.
Then the next morning, I fell back on my Windows XP install and things got better. After activiating Windows Update, it started updating the Zune Desktop Software, and it detected my Zune HD without any problems. I just rebuilt the songs database in XP and I was good to go.
Conclusion:
MS needs to seriously work on this area. Most people are not tech savvy and things like these will only keep sending people back to the store/dealers. The software needs to be cleaned up of all the bugs currently plauging the Zune platform. Mind you its not Zune HD specific but more a problem with the desktop software which is prevalent for all its Zune hardware. It did however hamper my install experience.
3/5 here for the Zune HD.
[BREAK=Interface & Design]
I will try and make this quick. I am emphasizing on the try part here. A lot of things can be said and seen about the Zune interface. You may have seem some videos on the internet by now. Nothing even comes close to the actual experience. I admit it does take some time getting used to, however the rewards are most sweet.
The interface design of something completely unseen for me. I dont know how the earlier zune worked, but if it is anything remotely close to the current zune, I seriously don't know what was I doing on the iPod for so long.
You will see the usual things at the start, music, videos, pictures, marketplace, social, internet, apps and settings. You start to zoom in and out in a labryinth of connected media. for eg: clicking on an artist name while you are playing a song will take you to all the albums you have on the device for him, along with the albums available in the marketplace. All with photos here. There is a big nice background picture of the artist that gets autoloaded when you put the music on the device. Listed in a series are different pictures for the artist, a small biography, Related artists which may offer you music in a similar genre or tastes.
This also means that you will need a decent internet connection for the same. While there is nothing to indicate this, I am sure that loading all the artist info, with pictures and biographies will take some part of the bandwidth.
This is something that I am not sure, how to turn off at the moment, but not something I am bothered with, as I like this as a feature. Having a nicely tagged collection is always a pleasure and the whole thing with pictures and stuff is quite the eye candy. However, people with slow internet connections will have to watch out for this.
It is very obvious that the design has taken considerable thought and for most times it does very well. Similar things can be said about all the functions on the Zune HD. However, that doesnt mean that things cant be better.
For instance, the radio function which works well here, is something very nice. The device has a built in tuner and does not need the headphones to be connected. Having said that, the absence of a built in speaker takes that advantage and throws it in to a bottomless chasm.
The music is arranged in a most desirable way. Having been given a plethora of music availble at the fingertips, the Zune HD does mediocre job of handling them. If at all you listen to more than one genre of music as most do, you will find there, there is no immediate way to change the equalizer to something that suits the song well. You have to navigate all the way to the main menu, or press the center key and then make your way to settings and then music and under that change the equalizer setting. Then the same trip back to where you were listening to your music.
Of course, all this can be done well under 5-8 seconds, but that still longer than what I would want it to be. I would have loved to see something immediately where I get the option to change the volume.
Similarly for changing the brightness of the screen when I look at videos.
The Zune HD itself does not have any hardware keys that can change the volume or change tracks like the iPod can. You have a key that will bring up the volume change screen where you have to use the touch to change anything and everything.
Conclusion:
While there are a lot of things done right here, there are a few things that leave you wanting as well, most of all a small built-in speaker. However nothing can be said to be perfect and predictably, so is the Zune .
You must know that what you would experience is nothing similar to what you have used before, so MS earns full points for innovation here. This is something that is sure to get eyes hooked when you flaunt this in the public.
A very excellent 3.5/5 for the Zune HD and an additional A+ for effort with expectations that things will change in the forthcoming firmware releases.
[BREAK=Audio Performance & Features]
Nothing much to say here. Music quality forms what is a basic feature in PMP devices according to the Kano scale. I would say that it most definitely sounds better than my iPod 5.5G. From what I have heard on the iPod touch, its more or less on the same grounds. Given the flash based nature of the device, the switching between tracks is very fast.
The Zune gives you an option to create playlists on the fly with more features in the pipelines from what I hear. Overall, I would not say that the music management features on device are on par with the iPod touch.
The Zune features a modest selection of equalizer presets. There is a lack of a customizable option. This is something unexpected out of a music player when the comepetition has much more better features here.
Conclusion:
The music sounds quite good overall & I must say that none of the presets sound bad. What are offered are surely been tested well hence there is no real discontent. I will say that the lack of a custom equalizer did not pinch at all.
A respectable 4/5 for the Zune HD.
[BREAK=Video Performance & Features]
I think this where the Zune shines like no other. It is truly a sight to behold.
All videos look positively brilliant. The OLED screen is vibrant and the colour literally pop out, minus the whole bleeding game. You will love every second of whatever crap you may choose to watch on it. It also features an zoom option for displaying videos that do not fit its 16:9 aspect ratio, which is a very good feature.
The videos play smoothly thanks to the Tegra chip. The player handles mp4 and wmv files exceptionally well. Microsoft also has a software called the "Expression Encoder 3" available free at cost which will help you convert any videos to a format playable by the Zune HD.
Late edit: Videos encoded at 512 kbps of bitrate look good. No need for an overkill unless high action sequences.
I have literally no gripes about anything on the video segment and this is the one place that it makes the iPod touch eat dirt.
Conclusion:
No fussing around here.
A 5/5 for the Zune HD :clap:
[BREAK=Applications]
Honestly, this shouldn't be part of the review as this is quite a nascent stage for MS as well. There are hardly any apps available for the Zune HD.
Which ever present, I have to say are good, however do not hold a candle to the sheer thousands of apps which are present for the iPod touch.
The above are all the apps available for the Zune HD.
Audiosurf and PGR are available for the Zune HD. This adds whatever little brightness to a generally lackluster apps section at present.
Late edit: Audiosurf kicks a**. This is one hell of a game. You seriously don't need anything else.
Conclusion:
Given that the hardware & software present on the Zune is one of the best in terms of development options (Platform - Windows CE & Power - Tegra), it could be prophesied that this is something that will spell doom for the iPod, however both you and I know that this is not happening anytime soon. For people who are looking for more options & features are likely to lean towards an iPod Touch for sure. But there is surely promise of more apps and games coming to the Zune HD platform.
A 2.5/5 for the Zune HD.
[BREAK=Zune Desktop Software]
This was more of a revelation for me. Having looked at nothing beyond the iTunes and foobar kinds, the Zune software is definitely good, one comes to realize after some use.
The music is arranged is great way and easily accessible with options for artists, albums, genres, playlists etc. The software itself is fast and loads quickly and exits the same way.
Videos, Apps and the works are all accessible here. This software is a major plus for the people who would use it in the United States due to the option of the Zune pass. For us over here, it still great. It most definitely looks better than the usual iTunes but also does a better job of arranging stuff and getting information like the artist names, the titles and album art.
A major minus I must re-iterate was when it came to detecting my Zune the first time around. So I am still a bit apprehensive of the same, but the software is promising in the long run.
Conclusion:
Any software is a bit buggy and hopefully these bugs will be ironed out with the later releases. A complete music collection tagged, with album art is something beautiful to look at, and the Zune software does it so well. This is something that people, even those who have no intentions of using a Zune HD, should try.
This software ties in well with the device and make the Zune experience complete.
A 4/5 for the Zune platform. :cool2:
[BREAK=Final Conclusions]
So what other things make a Zune HD a zune HD? Of course there is a browser, and wait there are pictures slideshows available, Marketplace and Social as well.
Wait a minute. I live in India. I do not have "on the go" wireless internet, nor do I have an abundance of wireless internet hot spots. I am cheap and listen to pirated music and watch downloaded videos. So thats social and marketplace out of the window for me. What else? There is always the touch feature. Oh yeah, multi touch. Its good. The iPod has that just as good. So what more?
Unfortunately, this is where the ball stops. Nothing more here that it can do - for now.
As I mentioned, the Zune has everything under its hood and beyond. It's a muscle car with German engineering with the sleek looks of a Porsche. However, there is also no driving wheel for now. (Pardon the bad analogy, but you get the idea)
So for all that power and looks, it is quite underutilized when it comes to what can you do with it as of the moment apart from it being and acting like a world class PMP. Hopefully things will change for the better with time.
On a positive note, I will say that for the things that it does, it does them well. Some of them, as good as nothing else.
The Interface & Video are enough to keep things interesting for a long long time and then there's always the radio option available. All these things have to be considered.
All in all, the zune is what a Zune is. Its a PMP not a personal portable computer. Apple spoilt the party by introducing a stripped down version of the iPhone and calling it an iPod touch, so there are definately some expectations for the Zune HD to outdo it in each and every feature that it offers.
People have to understand that the Zune HD is not an iPod Touch.
If what you are looking for is a player that plays your music well, plays your videos well, and has a few more bells and whistles and couple it with the whole "Zune software + device" experience you get, the Zune HD is for you.
If you really think hard, the only thing that the Zune lacks now is apps which will be filled sooner or later. It is surely a sweet piece of hardware to own. The pricing isnt bad either. For one that was ordered from KMD at a shipped price of 13k, this is still much cheaper than an iPod Touch, drop the price by another 2k if someone you know is willing to carry it for you.
There is no doubt that the value is excellent.
Overall, I will rate the Zune a 4.0/5.0
My Final Verdict: BUY IT! (If you can) :hap2:
PS: I hope the review was well done. Please let me know of any inaccuracies or feedback that you may have.
This article aims to covers the newly launched Zune HD. It was launched on the 15th of September of this year in the United States of America. The player currently is not sold anywhere outside the US. The only couple of ways one can get it in India is via an importer or if some relative is coming down from the US. I have recently come in to possession of one such piece thanks to KMD. (Thanks for the speedy delivery btw)
For the uninformed, the ZUNE HD is a second generation of the Zune PMP devices utilizing the Nvidia Tegra APX 2600 chip. It is available in two sizes in terms of storage capacity and colours. a 16 GB black Zune and a 32 Gb platinum zune. The current review is for the 16 GB black Zune HD.
A few of the specs here taken off Wikipedia:
Screen material: glass covered OLED display
Screen size: 3.3 in Screen resolution: 480 x 272 px, with 16:9 aspect ratio Input: Multi-touch screen, built-in accelerometer
Operating system: Windows CE
Memory: 256 MB
DRAM Storage: 16 and 32 GB flash memory
CPU and GPU: Nvidia Tegra APX with one ARM11 and one ARM7 processor cores and 6 other cores for dedicated tasks such as graphics, audio, video, and HD video processors
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) with Open, WEP, WPA, and WPA2 authentication modes and WEP 64-bit and 128-bit, TKIP, and AES encryption modes
Built-in rechargeable 3.7 V 660 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery with up to 33 hours of audio playback (wireless off) and 8.5 hours of video
Size: 52.7x102.1x8.9 mm (2.07x4.08x0.35 in)
Weight: 74 grams
HD radio tuner
Equalizer
Web browser (based on Internet Explorer Mobile 6 for Windows CE)
Audio output: Analog RCA and Optical Digital out (additional dock required)
Audio support:
CBR and VBR audio, up to 48 kHz sample rate
WMA Standard up to 384 kbps (DRM protected files can be played only if purchased from the Zune Marketplace)
WMA Pro stereo up to 768 kbps
WMA Lossless stereo up to 768 kbps
Unprotected AAC-LC (.mp4/.m4a/.m4b) up to 320 kbps
MP3 up to 320 kbps
Video support:
DVD resolution and frame rate, up to 10 Mbps bit rate, CBR or VBR for: H.264, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.1 + B-frames support WMV Main and Simple Profile, Advanced profile up to Level 2.
720p HD resolution, up to 14 Mbps bit rate, CBR or VBR for above supported video profiles
MPEG-4 Part 2 Simple Profile up to 4.0 Mbps bit rate 720p high definition video output - HDMI or Composite (additional dock required for both)
For the sake of simplicity, let me break it down in a few segments so that we know its strengths and weaknesses which will help you decide if this is the player for you.
1) Out Of The Box Experience
2) Setup / Installation
3) Interface & Design
4) Audio Performance & Features
5) Video Performance & Features
6) Applications
7) Zune Desktop Software
8) Final Conclusions
[BREAK=Out Of The Box Experience]
The Zune comes in a nice black box featured here. It comes along with the proprietary sync cable which you would use to transfer music, videos & pictures from your PC. It also comes with a pair of earphones with multi-colour ear cusions. It also comes with a 14 day trial of Zune pass and the welcome kit with the instruction manual.
The Zune itself is a very good looking creature. On design, I would say it blows the competetion out of the water. It has no extra space around it. The screen real estate is comparable to the iPod Touch though in comparison it looks much much smaller. Its also almost twice as lighter than an iPod but by no means would you feel that it is of an inferior build quality. It is very apparent the monment you place your hands on it.
The surface is of a metallic build that has a non-reflective back. The front is glass. This is what it makes it feel so delicate. The screen is a finger print magnet. You would do better to keep a small satin cloth to clean it so as to avoid getting finger prints on it. I would recommend you get a screenguard as the touch feature is not hampered by an existence of one on the surface. It has no speakers so you will need to use an earphone/a headphone always. You will appreciate the minimalist look and notice that it has only two buttons. When you hit the power button, you will see for the first time, the glory that is Zune's OLED screen. A zune logo starts to illuminate and then a flow of colours jets from the bottom which is a placeholder for a loading bar. You wouldnt stop grinning, that I am sure of!
hyeah:Conclusion:
I think MS has done most things right here. Their design choices have been impeccable. The Zune could have shipped with some sort of a new hybrid design earphones which double as a normal & in-ear choice. It could also have added value by including a usb end convertor for the cable so that it can be utilized as a standalone electric unit charger. It is definately not disappointing and the video screen itself will make up for any immediate concerns that form in your mind.
4/5 here for the Zune HD. :cool2:
[BREAK=Setup / Installation]
This was the tricky part. I hate to say this, but this is a major letdown for the Zune HD. Ofcourse, I may have been one of the unlucky ones, but if it could happen to me, it could happen to you.
The first thing you will notice is the absence of any demo music except for a demo video. I feel it could have been better with some demo material as a user gets a feel what to expect.
Second painful thing is that most features are unavailable without the sync. The Zune comes out of the factory with the version 4.00 firmware which has to be updated for all features to work. There is no choice.
I had initially had set up the Zune PC software in anticipation of the Zune HD's arrival so that I can get straight to work. However, wonder of wonders, the Zune HD wont show up on the Zune software no matter what I would do, but it would detect on the PC as a "Zune" in device manager without any kinds of warnings or problems. So, I tried my hands on every known forum tip readily available & all kind of stunts to try and get it to work. FYI, I am on a RC build of Win 7 which has been constantly updated. However no luck here.
Then the next morning, I fell back on my Windows XP install and things got better. After activiating Windows Update, it started updating the Zune Desktop Software, and it detected my Zune HD without any problems. I just rebuilt the songs database in XP and I was good to go.
Conclusion:
MS needs to seriously work on this area. Most people are not tech savvy and things like these will only keep sending people back to the store/dealers. The software needs to be cleaned up of all the bugs currently plauging the Zune platform. Mind you its not Zune HD specific but more a problem with the desktop software which is prevalent for all its Zune hardware. It did however hamper my install experience.
3/5 here for the Zune HD.
[BREAK=Interface & Design]
I will try and make this quick. I am emphasizing on the try part here. A lot of things can be said and seen about the Zune interface. You may have seem some videos on the internet by now. Nothing even comes close to the actual experience. I admit it does take some time getting used to, however the rewards are most sweet.
The interface design of something completely unseen for me. I dont know how the earlier zune worked, but if it is anything remotely close to the current zune, I seriously don't know what was I doing on the iPod for so long.
You will see the usual things at the start, music, videos, pictures, marketplace, social, internet, apps and settings. You start to zoom in and out in a labryinth of connected media. for eg: clicking on an artist name while you are playing a song will take you to all the albums you have on the device for him, along with the albums available in the marketplace. All with photos here. There is a big nice background picture of the artist that gets autoloaded when you put the music on the device. Listed in a series are different pictures for the artist, a small biography, Related artists which may offer you music in a similar genre or tastes.
This also means that you will need a decent internet connection for the same. While there is nothing to indicate this, I am sure that loading all the artist info, with pictures and biographies will take some part of the bandwidth.
This is something that I am not sure, how to turn off at the moment, but not something I am bothered with, as I like this as a feature. Having a nicely tagged collection is always a pleasure and the whole thing with pictures and stuff is quite the eye candy. However, people with slow internet connections will have to watch out for this.
It is very obvious that the design has taken considerable thought and for most times it does very well. Similar things can be said about all the functions on the Zune HD. However, that doesnt mean that things cant be better.
For instance, the radio function which works well here, is something very nice. The device has a built in tuner and does not need the headphones to be connected. Having said that, the absence of a built in speaker takes that advantage and throws it in to a bottomless chasm.
The music is arranged in a most desirable way. Having been given a plethora of music availble at the fingertips, the Zune HD does mediocre job of handling them. If at all you listen to more than one genre of music as most do, you will find there, there is no immediate way to change the equalizer to something that suits the song well. You have to navigate all the way to the main menu, or press the center key and then make your way to settings and then music and under that change the equalizer setting. Then the same trip back to where you were listening to your music.
Of course, all this can be done well under 5-8 seconds, but that still longer than what I would want it to be. I would have loved to see something immediately where I get the option to change the volume.
Similarly for changing the brightness of the screen when I look at videos.
The Zune HD itself does not have any hardware keys that can change the volume or change tracks like the iPod can. You have a key that will bring up the volume change screen where you have to use the touch to change anything and everything.
Conclusion:
While there are a lot of things done right here, there are a few things that leave you wanting as well, most of all a small built-in speaker. However nothing can be said to be perfect and predictably, so is the Zune .
You must know that what you would experience is nothing similar to what you have used before, so MS earns full points for innovation here. This is something that is sure to get eyes hooked when you flaunt this in the public.
A very excellent 3.5/5 for the Zune HD and an additional A+ for effort with expectations that things will change in the forthcoming firmware releases.
[BREAK=Audio Performance & Features]
Nothing much to say here. Music quality forms what is a basic feature in PMP devices according to the Kano scale. I would say that it most definitely sounds better than my iPod 5.5G. From what I have heard on the iPod touch, its more or less on the same grounds. Given the flash based nature of the device, the switching between tracks is very fast.
The Zune gives you an option to create playlists on the fly with more features in the pipelines from what I hear. Overall, I would not say that the music management features on device are on par with the iPod touch.
The Zune features a modest selection of equalizer presets. There is a lack of a customizable option. This is something unexpected out of a music player when the comepetition has much more better features here.
Conclusion:
The music sounds quite good overall & I must say that none of the presets sound bad. What are offered are surely been tested well hence there is no real discontent. I will say that the lack of a custom equalizer did not pinch at all.
A respectable 4/5 for the Zune HD.
[BREAK=Video Performance & Features]
I think this where the Zune shines like no other. It is truly a sight to behold.
All videos look positively brilliant. The OLED screen is vibrant and the colour literally pop out, minus the whole bleeding game. You will love every second of whatever crap you may choose to watch on it. It also features an zoom option for displaying videos that do not fit its 16:9 aspect ratio, which is a very good feature.
The videos play smoothly thanks to the Tegra chip. The player handles mp4 and wmv files exceptionally well. Microsoft also has a software called the "Expression Encoder 3" available free at cost which will help you convert any videos to a format playable by the Zune HD.
Late edit: Videos encoded at 512 kbps of bitrate look good. No need for an overkill unless high action sequences.
I have literally no gripes about anything on the video segment and this is the one place that it makes the iPod touch eat dirt.
Conclusion:
No fussing around here.
A 5/5 for the Zune HD :clap:
[BREAK=Applications]
Honestly, this shouldn't be part of the review as this is quite a nascent stage for MS as well. There are hardly any apps available for the Zune HD.
Which ever present, I have to say are good, however do not hold a candle to the sheer thousands of apps which are present for the iPod touch.
The above are all the apps available for the Zune HD.
Audiosurf and PGR are available for the Zune HD. This adds whatever little brightness to a generally lackluster apps section at present.
Late edit: Audiosurf kicks a**. This is one hell of a game. You seriously don't need anything else.
Conclusion:
Given that the hardware & software present on the Zune is one of the best in terms of development options (Platform - Windows CE & Power - Tegra), it could be prophesied that this is something that will spell doom for the iPod, however both you and I know that this is not happening anytime soon. For people who are looking for more options & features are likely to lean towards an iPod Touch for sure. But there is surely promise of more apps and games coming to the Zune HD platform.
A 2.5/5 for the Zune HD.
[BREAK=Zune Desktop Software]
This was more of a revelation for me. Having looked at nothing beyond the iTunes and foobar kinds, the Zune software is definitely good, one comes to realize after some use.
The music is arranged is great way and easily accessible with options for artists, albums, genres, playlists etc. The software itself is fast and loads quickly and exits the same way.
Videos, Apps and the works are all accessible here. This software is a major plus for the people who would use it in the United States due to the option of the Zune pass. For us over here, it still great. It most definitely looks better than the usual iTunes but also does a better job of arranging stuff and getting information like the artist names, the titles and album art.
A major minus I must re-iterate was when it came to detecting my Zune the first time around. So I am still a bit apprehensive of the same, but the software is promising in the long run.
Conclusion:
Any software is a bit buggy and hopefully these bugs will be ironed out with the later releases. A complete music collection tagged, with album art is something beautiful to look at, and the Zune software does it so well. This is something that people, even those who have no intentions of using a Zune HD, should try.
This software ties in well with the device and make the Zune experience complete.
A 4/5 for the Zune platform. :cool2:
[BREAK=Final Conclusions]
So what other things make a Zune HD a zune HD? Of course there is a browser, and wait there are pictures slideshows available, Marketplace and Social as well.
Wait a minute. I live in India. I do not have "on the go" wireless internet, nor do I have an abundance of wireless internet hot spots. I am cheap and listen to pirated music and watch downloaded videos. So thats social and marketplace out of the window for me. What else? There is always the touch feature. Oh yeah, multi touch. Its good. The iPod has that just as good. So what more?
Unfortunately, this is where the ball stops. Nothing more here that it can do - for now.
As I mentioned, the Zune has everything under its hood and beyond. It's a muscle car with German engineering with the sleek looks of a Porsche. However, there is also no driving wheel for now. (Pardon the bad analogy, but you get the idea)
So for all that power and looks, it is quite underutilized when it comes to what can you do with it as of the moment apart from it being and acting like a world class PMP. Hopefully things will change for the better with time.
On a positive note, I will say that for the things that it does, it does them well. Some of them, as good as nothing else.
The Interface & Video are enough to keep things interesting for a long long time and then there's always the radio option available. All these things have to be considered.
All in all, the zune is what a Zune is. Its a PMP not a personal portable computer. Apple spoilt the party by introducing a stripped down version of the iPhone and calling it an iPod touch, so there are definately some expectations for the Zune HD to outdo it in each and every feature that it offers.
People have to understand that the Zune HD is not an iPod Touch.
If what you are looking for is a player that plays your music well, plays your videos well, and has a few more bells and whistles and couple it with the whole "Zune software + device" experience you get, the Zune HD is for you.
If you really think hard, the only thing that the Zune lacks now is apps which will be filled sooner or later. It is surely a sweet piece of hardware to own. The pricing isnt bad either. For one that was ordered from KMD at a shipped price of 13k, this is still much cheaper than an iPod Touch, drop the price by another 2k if someone you know is willing to carry it for you.
There is no doubt that the value is excellent.
Overall, I will rate the Zune a 4.0/5.0
My Final Verdict: BUY IT! (If you can) :hap2:
PS: I hope the review was well done. Please let me know of any inaccuracies or feedback that you may have.