The Facebook app all of us Zune HD lovers have been waiting for has arrived! It looks pretty solid, but due to a hilarious sequence of errors, I can’t update my Zune software to allow the app to be installed. Seriously, Microsoft, I want to recommend Zune stuff to everyone, but you make it so difficult for me. You can see what it looks like in these screenshots, at any rate.

More in the gallery below.

Continue for more screenshots at source

On the heels of providing a new firmware update to the Zune HD that provided support for forthcoming games, Microsoft is rolling out those games starting on November 11.

The firmware update, version 4.3, enabled 3-D gaming on the new Zune HD. The new six games that are available for download from the Zune HD Marketplace today for free (but ad-supported — there’s an ad at start-up) are:

Audiosurf Tilt: Audiosurf creates a rollercoaster ride from any song.
Checkers: A classic checkers game that can be played against a computer or a buddy.
Lucky Lanes Bowling: Bowl in different game modes: exhibition, blackjack, golf — either against the computer or up to four friends.
Piano: Play your own tune, or play along with music.
Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition: A racing game using multi touch controls and the built in accelerometer.
Vans Sk8: Pool Service: “Put these Vans skaters to the test with all the tricks in their bag and achieve hero status once you unlock their pro model skateboards.”

Full Story at All About Microsoft

Microsoft released the v4.3 firmware update for Zune HD players;

Support for the upcoming 3D games and applications.

Auto Suggest feature for text input.

Faster web browsing experience.

Landscape keyboard

Keyboard option has been added in the settings section.

New toggle between seek and presets under Radio.

Under the Internet in settings, you can now toggle to default mobile or desktop webpage layout.

Artist bios are updated; embedded links to other artists in text.

Other bug fixes.

Zune HD firmware 4.3!  Zune.net - Thread

For all you who still believe Microsoft is still consumed with the impossible task of beating the iPod with the Zune, here’s more proof that Zune’s future is all about software and services and not hardware.

Microsoft is considering whether it should port the Zune software and services to other platforms, including Apple’s. There’s no guarantee that the Redmondians will end up doing this — or timetable as to when this could happen — but it’s one of many strategies under active consideration.

That’s what I heard today from Jose Pinero, Director of Communications for Microsoft’s TV, Video and Music Business. I had a chance to chat with Pinero at Microsoft’s consumer open-house showcase in New York on October 6.

As I’m currently using the Zune Pass subscription in conjunction with my Sony Walkman MP3 player, I realized that the service isn’t tied to the device. Sure, you don’t get the Zune HD operating system and user interface, but it’s still workable (with a little finagling).

I’ve been thinking that there might be a number of Apple iPod/iPhone users who might prefer a music subscription service over a pay-per-song one. (And one that’s better than Rhapsody.) Given the problems many iTunes users have trying to run iTunes on Windows, maybe they’d be interested in using the Zune software on their Windows PCs, even if they are iPod/iPhone users.

“We are evaluating a lot of options in terms of platforms,” Pinero confirmed, when I asked about this scenario.

Full Story at All About Microsoft

Here's a statement I never thought I'd write: The newest Zune is selling out everywhere. Congrats to this underdog manufacturer "Micro-Soft" for finally hitting the big time!

Amazon has both the 16GB and 32GB versions backordered, as does Best Buy, while Newegg and Buy.com both have only the 32GB left (and it probably won't last too long). Looks like the place to get it is Microsoft's online store, where both versions are available (and you can get those sweet Zune Originals engravings). Great to see the Zune HD getting the attention it deserves.

Source: Gizmodo.com

Zune, Microsoft’s end-to-end digital entertainment service and media player, today announced significant advancements for consumers. The new Zune HD touch-screen media player is now available at retail, and a powerful update to the Zune PC software is free for download. For the first time, standard- and high-definition (HD) movies can be purchased or rented¹ through the Zune Marketplace online store, and a new streaming music service on Zune.net lets Zune Pass subscribers listen to music from a Web browser. The updates to the Zune hardware, software and online services released today, combined with a new Zune video offering on Xbox LIVE coming later this fall, bring customers instant access to their favorite music and videos anywhere,² across their mobile device, PC and TV.

The new Zune HD goes on sale today, featuring touch-screen capabilities, TV output and more. The Platinum Zune HD is shown here.

“With today’s announcement, the Zune business is growing into a comprehensive entertainment service that’s no longer tied to any one screen or device,” said Enrique Rodriguez, corporate vice president of the TV, Video and Music Business at Microsoft. “Zune lets consumers connect to their music, TV shows and movie content and enjoy it on the three screens they use every day.”

Zune HD: Next-Generation Digital Entertainment

Zune HD marks a significant step forward for portable media players, combining powerful hardware components such as an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) multitouch screen, an NVIDIA Tegra HD processor and HD Radio capabilities with software advancements such as the new Quickplay menu, a well-featured Web browser, and engaging music and video playback features to deliver a new portable listening and viewing experience. Quickplay is a new signature menu for Zune, putting customers one touch away from the content they love, such as favorites, last played items and media most recently added, eliminating the need to dig through menus to find the music, videos, pictures or podcasts they want.

Full announcement here

Download Zune 4.0 here

I met with the Zune folks today and one bit of information than I can discuss immediately is that the Zune HD will be the only device type going forward: The current Zune models, the Zune 8, 16 80, and 120, have all been discontinued. So if you want a classic Zune device, buy it now, as they'll only be around while supplies last. The Zune HD goes on sale September 15 in 16 GB and 32 GB variants.

One other Zune tip: While you can preorder the Zune HD right now from a handful of electronic retailers, your choices are somewhat limited.

More info at source

We got exclusive leaked shots of Zune HD's packaging. It's final: It will be available on September 15th.

Continue at Gizmodo

So far we really like what we’ve seen of the Zune HD — and that statement is now expanded to include pricing. Last night some Best Buy inventory screen caps revealed the Zune HD’s price points and as of this morning we can consider them confirmed thanks to Amazon. App Store aside, we’re looking at a device far more capable and exciting compared to Apple’s iPod touch, and according to Amazon’s pre-order page, the 16GB will launch at $219.99 (compared to $299 for the 16GB iPod touch) and the 32GB model will hit the streets at $289.99 (compared to $399 for the 32GB iPod touch).

Yeah, that’s no typo — you’ll be able to get a 32GB Zune HD for $9.01 less than a 16GB iPod touch. The Best Buy screenshots also add weight to the previously rumored September 8th launch date so it looks like we’ve got less than a month until lift off. The only question is whether or not Apple’s impending iPod touch refresh will tout enough bells and whistles at launch to overshadow Microsoft’s new gem.

  

Continue for full story at Boy Genius Report

We've seen our fair share of Microsoft's upcoming Zune HD, but the company just threw together a delightful little photoshoot for its new PMP, with the black and silver versions of the device on display along with a large quantity of attractiveness in both flavors.

Most of the shots are variation on a pretty basic theme (and a little small, since these haven't made their way through quite "official" channels just yet), but they do give a good idea of what the UI will look like if you're into the Black Eyed Peas. Check 'em all out below.

More pictures at source

In May, after months of anticipation and rumors, Microsoft finally confirmed the existence of the Zune HD. The official confirmation was more or less a "let's get this out of the way for E3" move. Microsoft wanted to be sure the Xbox 360 and its Natal controller would be the star of the show.

Like all journalists, I tend to be wary of news tips from people I don't know. Such was the case when I was contacted way back in March by someone claiming to have inside info on upcoming Zune hardware. The tipster told me that the new Zune would be a full touch screen device. I thought this was interesting, so I passed it along on to Twitter much to the delight of my followers.

A few weeks later Engadget published the very first leaked photos of what has come to be known as the Zune HD. The first thing I did after reading the post was to IM my tipster for confirmation that it was indeed real.
His exact words to me were "Yes that is the Zune HD running on Tegra." At this time I had little-to-no idea what Tegra even was. So I dug a little deeper to find out that it was a new "system on a chip" solution from Nvidia that was capable of decoding high definition 720p video and presenting it via HDMI

Full Story At Source

Having just played with a prototype for a few minutes, I'm really impressed with the Zune HD. I've got a video, too, showing off how well the animations work.

The device is tighter and more physically beautiful than the iPod Touch and it's got a better UI, the main menu's scrolling so natural through the swipe gestures. There's a little note on the side, under the volume toggle—"Hello from Seattle." The power button is up top. The home button is nice and prominent, a bar rather than a round button on the Touch. It's smaller. And the accelerometer is more swift in responding to repositioning; images rotate very fast.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the evolution of Zune, the company’s end-to-end music and entertainment service, to a new platform and new markets. Zune will extend its video service to Xbox LIVE internationally this fall. This marks an important development in the Zune strategy and brings the Zune brand to more than 17 million international Xbox LIVE subscribers. In addition, Microsoft confirmed the next generation of the Zune portable media player, Zune HD. Available in the U.S. this fall, Zune HD is the first portable media player that combines a built-in HD Radio receiver, high-definition (HD) video output capabilities, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) touch screen, Wi-Fi and an Internet browser.

Introducing Zune HD

Zune HD is the next iteration of the Zune device family and brings a new level of listening and viewing experiences to the portable media player category.
• Zune HD comes with a built-in HD Radio receiver so users can listen to higher-quality sound than traditional radio on the go. Users also will have access to the additional song and artist data broadcast by HD Radio stations as well as additional channels from their favorite stations multicasting in HD. If you don’t like the song playing on your station’s HD channel, switch to its HD2 or HD3 channels for additional programming. 
• The bright OLED touch screen interface allows users to flip through music, movies and other content with ease, and the 16:9 widescreen format display (480x272 resolution) offers a premium viewing experience on the go.  
• The HD-compatible output lets Zune HD customers playback supported HD video files from the device through a premium high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) audiovisual docking station (sold separately) direct to an HD TV in 720p.* 
• Zune HD will include a full-screen Internet browser optimized for multitouch functionality. 
• Zune HD is Wi-Fi enabled, allowing for instant streaming to the device from the more than 5 million-track Zune music store.
 

Zune HD is the next iteration of the Zune device family and brings a new level of listening and viewing experiences to the portable media player category.

•	Zune HD comes with a built-in HD Radio receiver so users can listen to higher-quality sound than traditional radio on the go. Users also will have access to the additional song and artist data broadcast by HD Radio stations as well as additional channels from their favorite stations multicasting in HD. If you don’t like the song playing on your station’s HD channel, switch to its HD2 or HD3 channels for additional programming.
•	The bright OLED touch screen interface allows users to flip through music, movies and other content with ease, and the 16:9 widescreen format display (480x272 resolution) offers a premium viewing experience on the go.
•	The HD-compatible output lets Zune HD customers playback supported HD video files from the device through a premium high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) audiovisual docking station (sold separately) direct to an HD TV in 720p.*
•	Zune HD will include a full-screen Internet browser optimized for multitouch functionality.
•	Zune HD is Wi-Fi enabled, allowing for instant streaming to the device from the more than 5 million-track Zune music store.

Continue At Source

Microsoft's Laptop Hunter ads (one, two, three, and four) must be doing quite well, because what Microsoft started off as a price attack on Macs seems to have transcended over to the online music store business.

Sure, Microsoft doesn't refer to it as the Apple Tax this time around, but the company still makes a point to use price as the main factor on its Zune Pass (Flash required) website. Microsoft has put Wes Moss, Certified Financial Planner, to work in telling everyone why the Zune Pass makes more sense than purchases from the iTunes store.

Notice that the Zune Marketplace (our review) isn't mentioned at all; it's only about the Zune Pass. I've embedded the video below:

 

Brian Seitz of the Zune team just confirmed on his Twitter that new Zune hardware is coming this year.

Twitter via Giz