Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re one of the few Earthlings with a Zune HD sold ahead of its US street date… and still awake, consider yourself obsessive. And lucky: the Zune 4.0 software just popped and is ready to download for the newest must-have portable media player. Our full review is on the way, ’till then check our hands-on and official launch-day press release just beyond the read link.

P.S. Looks like older Zunes are getting a version 3.2 update — screengrab after the break.

Update: The new Zune software is fully Windows 7 optimized as you’d expect. That means it supports Windows 7 Jump Lists (for quick access to your music controls and playlists from the Taskbar), Previews letting you glimpse and control media by hovering your mouse over the Zune button on the Taskbar, and Aero Snap auto-resizing of the Zune software window. Here’s a quick overview of what else is new:

• Quickplay menu: quick access from your Zune HD to your favorite media including those you most recently added or played
• Smart DJ: Like Apple’s Genius, Smart DJ creates like-minded music mixes. It also adds music from the Zune Marketplace if you have a Zune Pass.
• Mini Player Mode: Keeps a mini version of the player on top of your PC apps
• Download to own: For the first time you can download-to-own or rent full movies and TV shows in SD or HD formats.

Surprisingly, CNET says that Microsoft has killed the ability to “squirt” DRM-crippled music directly between Zune users. Not that it will be missed.

[Thanks to Mario H., Travis, and everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Zune 4.0 software is out, ready to fulfill your dreams (update: kills “squirting”)

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Zune 4.0 software is out, ready to fulfill your dreams (update: kills “squirting”) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Zune HD is soon to be officially out on the streets, and we’ve got the official Engadget hands-on / unboxing. Now, we were excited as all get-out to wrap our paws around the Tegra-powered PMP, but some of that luster has worn off since popping this baby out of its extremely attractive packaging. Why is that, you ask? Well, Microsoft decided to hold on loading up any usable software until the new Zunes were out to market. What that means is that we have yet to do any serious testing with the new device — despite having the gem sitting right here. We can tell you that the Zune HD is most definitely a thing of beauty as far as gadget standards are concerned, and while the only media we’ve been able to enjoy is the big M’s demo video, we have been marveling at the clarity and crispness of that OLED display.

Obviously we’ve got a proper review coming soon, but we take this stuff pretty seriously and don’t like to offer our opinion till we’ve spent some quality time with a device. You can expect a look at both the music and media playback capabilities of the ZHD, as well as the new Zune integration into Xbox Live, Windows Media Center, and all other kinds of connected-world goodness. Till then, feast your eyes on the galleries below, and quietly curse Microsoft for handing us a neutered Zune.

Update: As a commenter points out below, these devices are being sold to end users in the same condition our unit is in — namely, without any real functioning software. It’s a pretty unusual move for a company like Microsoft to put devices into the hands of consumers with no functionality at all, but it seems the Zune team was cranking till the last minute. Let’s hope all the hard work pays off!

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Zune HD unboxing and hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No shock here, but it seems as if the Zune world as we know it has closed up for the day. The Zune homepage is currently displaying the banner shown above, while a good number of our tipsters and staffers have confirmed that signing into Zune Marketplace is impossible. Of course, it’s not like a major new product (and software update, most probably) is slated to officially ship on September 15th or anything, so we’d say a little patience could go a long ways here.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Zune portals close up shop for the day, should re-open with Zune HD launch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See that there? That’s a shiny new 16GB Zune HD, which isn’t supposed to ship until September 15th. Why bother to honor the street date? Ask the cool cats at the Fort Myers, Florida Best Buy, who has no qualms selling our tipster a unit over the weekend. At the time, no 32GB versions were available, and even now, this 16GB unit won’t sync with one’s PC or do much of anything useful. Of course, Microsoft’s pretty much shutting itself down tonight as it readies a new software update, so we suspect all systems will be go within the next 24 hours. While we’re on the topic, has anyone else managed to snag a Zune HD early?

[Thanks, Everett]

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Zune HD sold early, still unusable until tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Voudriez-vous le Zune HD? Tough luck, I’m afraid.

According to Ars Technica, Microsoft has no plans to sell the Zune HD outside the United States, apparently ceding the market to Apple. That doesn’t mean that the situation will remain like that forever, but Microsoft tells Ars:

“For the time being the Zune HD device will remain US-only,” a
Microsoft spokesperson said. “Right now we are focused on deploying
an exciting service in the form of Zune Video
to 18 markets. We are looking at potential future hardware experiences
for these markets, but do not have anything to announce right now.”

Now, it’s somewhat true that one needs the skill of a lawyer to interact with technology companies these days; what’s left unsaid can be as important as what is stated, alluded to, hinted, implied, referred to… well, you get the idea. So it’s entirely possible that Microsoft won’t ship the Zune HD outside the United States because, you know, they haven’t announced it. But we’re willing to accept what Microsoft is telling Ars at face value and accept that, possibly because the Zune’s market share is a faint shadow of the iPod’s, that the Zune will only be for les Americains for now.