Zune HD Price

(UPDATE: March 8, 2010) - Hey everyone...It looks like the Zune HD price has dropped again! The fire sale is available once again through Amazon! Both models (16GB and 32GB) are $40 off!...

The Zune HD 16GB MP3 Player is on sale for $178 (19% OFF)!

The Zune HD 32GB MP3 Player is on sale for $249 (14% OFF)!

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(August 12, 2009) - The Zune HD has officially been priced by Microsoft...

The 16GB Zune HD will sell for $220, compare that to the 16GB iPod Touch which sells for $290...$70 bucks cheaper!

The 32GB Zune HD will sell for $290, compare that to the 32GB iPod Touch which sells for $370...$80 bucks cheaper!

Amazon keeps teasing us...they put up pre-orders for both the 16GB and 32GB versions and then quickly took it back down. I grabbed a screenshot before they removed it from their listings.

You can see the "modified" Zune HD listing page here. Unfortunately you will not be able to find a "Pre-Order" link anywhere.

With the September 8 Release Date approaching, I would assume that the Pre-Order page will be back up in a few days.

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(JULY 1, 2009) - A Microsoft employee has said ("rumored") that the 16GB Zune HD will retail between $219.99 and $239.99. The $249 price point is obviously much more attractive and should help Zune HD sales come this Fall.

With the 16GB Zune HD priced at $249...you can expect to see the 32GB model priced at around $300. There are also rumors floating around about a 64GB Zune HD. The 64GB Zune HD would likely be priced between $349 and $400. I just don't see mp3 players selling above that $400 mark.

Zune HD Release Date

Microsoft has set an official release date for the Zune HD.

The 16GB and 32GB will be available on September 15th throughout the US. This has been confirmed on the Amazon website and with my local Best Buy.

You can see the release dates listed here in the screenshot taken from the Zune HD listings on Amazon...

Zune HD 16GB on Amazon »



Zune HD 32GB on Amazon »


As for Best Buy, it sounds like they will be issuing tickets on September 15th to the first 50 to 100 customers. Each Best Buy will have different quantities of the Zune HD, so you may want to get there early if you plan on getting one in-store.

- Moose

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Ok, what's with Microsoft announcing the Zune HD, but not giving us a release date? They've officially said, "Fall of 2009"...which really doesn't help us at all! Now for the release date rumors...

There are some rumors floating around that the Zune HD will be available on store shelves September 5th. This rumor is said to be verified by a Microsoft representative, but as with all rumors...it's entirely possible that nobody knows including Microsoft.

For now, we will have to wait for an official release date for the Zune HD, but if you hear or see anything...please add a comment to this post.

Thanks for reading!

- Moose

Zune HD vs iPod Touch

So, Microsoft Corporation just announced the Fall '09 release of the Zune HD, Zune's newest and best answer to iPod, which has of course dominated the mp3 multi-function device market since...well, forever.

With the Zune franchise, Microsoft has tried its best not to follow in the path of Apple, focusing on a few different emphases.

Here's a quick comparison between the newest Zune HD vs. iPod Touch...

Comparison	Zune HD	iPod touch	Winner
Touchscreen	Yes	Yes	draw
Screen Size	3.3	3.5	iPod touch
Screen Resolution	480p	480p	draw
HD Video Out	Yes	No	Zune HD
Built-in Radio Tuner	Yes (HD radio)	No	Zune HD
Built-in Application Store	No	Yes	iPod touch
Wi-Fi connect	Yes	Yes	draw
Web Browsing	Yes	Yes	draw

Ok, here's the deal. I'm not a fashionably sold-out Mac lover, but neither am I a stubborn PC cult-geek. So let's just leave all the prejudices and emotions out of the equation and try to see which of these devices is better.

Zune HD Video vs iPod Touch Video
In my opinion, this is the biggest advantage the Zune HD will have over the iPod Touch. Although the 3.3" screen on the device itself will not display HD (why would it need to? Its 480p function transcends the human eye’s ability to see pixels anyway), the ability to hook it up to an HD TV and watch content in 720p is way cool. Since the soon-to-be overhauled Zune platform is integrated with Microsoft's Xbox, and Xbox Live is integrated with Netflix, maybe Zune users will be able to rent and download HD movies from Netflix to their Zunes, without having to mess with file conversion? That would be cool.

HD Radio
Zune marketing continues to highlight the Zune HD's radio-tuning ability (which they've had since the original Zune) as its break-out functionality over the non-radio iPod. The internal tuner has gotten a little cooler now with HD radio (although this technology is understandably less mainstream than HD video), and a feature that lets users "tag" the song playing, so that they can easily buy it later, which is neat. But is it just me, or does "radio" sound pretty mid-20th century? Microsoft is going up against the Apple iPod monster, and half of its marketing game plan is "let's say 'radio' a lot?"

The Social
The Social is another heavily-marketed feature of the Zune franchise. It pulls data from each user’s device (if allowed), and shares your listening tastes with the Zune-using community online, as well as providing a forum for discussions.

The App Store
Apple offers the App Store built-in to the iPhone and Touch. The store allows cheap access to over 35,000 different programs to customize the functionality of the device. You want to find out what song you are hearing in the elevator? "There's an App for that." (hold up your Touch to the speaker, let it listen, and it'll identify the song for you.) As there is for finding nearby businesses without typing in any clunky and unnecessary data like your address, or finding out if a shelf is level, or what direction you are heading. The App store is uber-popular as a software solution to ultimate multi-functionality with ability for constant updates and progress without a hardware upgrade. I think Microsoft would do well to swallow their pride and imitate the App Store in some way for the Zune HD.

Price Comparison
The Zune HD 16GB will sell for $219, compare that to the 16GB iPod Touch which sells for $290...$71 bucks cheaper!

The Zune HD 32GB MP3 will sell for $289, compare that to the 32GB iPod Touch which sells for $370...$81 bucks cheaper!

Thanks for reading!

- Moose

Zune HD Availability

(UPDATE: August 14, 2009) - It's Official! The Zune HD will be available to the public on September 15th.

Amazon currently has both models available for pre-order...

The Zune HD 16GB has been priced at $219.


The Zune HD 32GB has been priced at $289.


Best Buy will be doing a ticketing system on September 15th for those who are interested in purchasing the Zune HD "in-store". It is estimated that each Best Buy will carry roughly 50 to 100 Zune HD's, depending on your Best Buy location.

I haven't heard anything regarding Wal-Mart, but as soon as I find out I will let you know.

- Moose

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Wondering about the Zune HD Availability and Official Release Date? Don't worry, you're not alone!

Here’s an email I just wrote to Amazon (I’m waiting on a reply):

"Dear Amazon,
Last week, I saw the Zune HD available on the Amazon website. Now the Zune HD has disappeared from your product database! Is the release date being pushed back so far that Amazon canceled the pre-order list? Please let me know what's going on with the pre-order status.
Thanks,
Moose."

As soon as I hear back from Amazon customer support, I'll let you know what they say.

For those of you who don't know, Amazon displayed the Zune HD for just a few hours on their website! Just as quickly as they added the Zune HD, they snatched it away.

Apparently Amazon isn’t confident enough in Microsoft’s release date of the Zune HD to even offer pre-order sales. Remember how Microsoft issued no specific release date, just "Fall 2009?" Now it makes sense. As such a major retailer, Amazon is better informed than consumers. It is entirely possible that Amazon has found out that Microsoft has pushed back the release date (I’ll let you know what they say) so far that they would actually lose buyers by offering it in pre-order too soon.

What would cause this setback?
Maybe a problem with the new Zune Marketplace makeover Microsoft has in the works. Maybe a problem with the device itself; there are always bugs in new hardware, but perhaps they found one serious enough to address before release. Or they could be re-thinking their strategy and changing their game plan to improve the Zune platform. I hope so. I’m waiting with my fingers crossed, to hear the "Official" release date for the Zune HD.

-Moose

Is Microsoft Secretly Creating a Zune HD App Store?

Could the Zune HD have its very own App store? It appears so...

Microsoft just applied for a Trademark on the word “OneApp,” a software integrated with the Windows Mobile platform.

Here’s a description of OneApp from Microsoft...

"Online retail store services facilitating the download of computer software for use on mobile phones, media players and other portable electronic devices.

Allows mobile device users to send messages, make payments and access and play music, games and videos on mobile devices; computer software platforms for developing mobile applications; computer software, namely, software development tools for the creation of mobile applications; computer software for running retail store site for purchase and download of mobile applications over wireless networks."

Every application that is created to run on Windows Mobile could theoretically be available to purchase through OneApp. This means all Apps large and small.

Hopefully this announcement shows that Microsoft’s eyes are open to our desires...we want Apps for the Zune HD!