Posted 11/13/09 at 12:15:00 PM by Norman Chan

Need a new portable media player? We're giving away a Zune HD 16GB (Black), courtesy of Nvidia. This kick-ass video and music player is powered by Nvidia's Tegra APX 2600 system-on-a-chip, a sports a vibrant 3.3" OLED screen. This Zune also comes with a custom engraving on the back. But enough of the technical babble. We're going to make it super easy for you to enter the contest, so hit the jump to get the full scoop on getting your name in the random drawing. In fact, you may already be entered!

The contest ends tonight, so read on for the full rules!

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Posted 11/11/09 at 05:30:04 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Microsoft enabled 3-D gaming on the Zune HD through a firmware refresh over the weekend. It hasn’t taken too long for the first batch of 3D games to arrive. The Zune Marketplace is now host to 6 new games for the device: PGR: Ferrari Edition, Lucky Lane Bowling, Vans Sk8: Pool Service, Piano, Checkers, and Audiosurf: Tilt.

All the games are available for free but Zune HD users will have to sit through a small ad before getting into the thick of the action. The game’s are designed to leverage much more than just the latest firmware update, namely the Zune HD’s accelerometer, multi-touch OLED screen and the NVIDIA Tegra chip.

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Posted 11/07/09 at 09:03:12 PM by Justin Kerr

Okay, so it’s not like Zune HDs were dropping dead right left and center, but more than a few users were irked that play count issues have plagued the device since day one, and many were wondering if it would ever get fixed. Specifically, the Zune HD wouldn’t register a song as “played” unless you skipped to another track manually after about 20 seconds or so. If you were one of the many who were annoyed by this bug, the end is nigh.

The just released v4.3 firmware update addresses not only this issue, but offers up a myriad of “minor improvements”, not the least of which is a snappier browser.

In addition to speed enhancements, it offers up “support for upcoming 3d games and applications, as well as an auto-suggest feature for better text input”. Its great to see Microsoft continuing to make improvements to the device, but who are we kidding, this thing pretty much kicked ass to begin with right? Hit the jump to checkout the full patch notes and see the new browser in action.

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Posted 09/18/09 at 03:30:40 PM by Jason Cross

Try as it might, Microsoft has never been able to put a dent in Apple's marketshare for portable media players. The previous Zune players were pretty good, and the Zune desktop software finally got there after a few revisions, but neither one had the "wow factor" necessary to pull the masses away from the iPod juggernaut. With the Zune HD (and accompanying Zune 4.0 software), Microsoft has finally delivered the kind of truly exciting device that should make even the most ardent iPod fan take notice. It's sleek, small, thin, and surprisingly light with the rare quality of looking as good as Apple's products without looking just like Apple's products.

Read on for the full review!

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Posted 09/17/09 at 08:01:51 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Microsoft has managed to get a few apps ready for the Zune HD at launch. The only downside to this is that the apps show both static and video ads while starting up. Additionally, the start ups are agonizingly slow, resulting in lots of time spent staring at the Kia Soul. The chess game takes about 30 seconds to load. In all fairness though, the platform is brand new and there could still be kinks to work out.

There are currently only nine apps available for download: calculator, weather, Texas hold 'em, Sudoku, Space Battle 3, Shell Game... Of the Future, Hexic, Goo Splat, and Chess. While the ads may be annoying, all the apps are free.

Currently the utility apps, like weather and calculator, haven’t been showing ads. By all reports, the apps look nice, and you can’t argue with the price. Still, would you be willing to put up with these sorts of ads on the Zune HD?

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Posted 09/17/09 at 04:48:26 AM by Andy Salisbury

The Zune HD may only be a couple of days old, but the app store for the device is already up and running.

A “Marketplace” which offers nine free apps is already shelling out software to Zune HD users across the land. The apps, which include calculator, weather, Texas hold ‘em, Sudoku, Space Battle 3, Shell Game… Of the Future, Hexic, Goo Splat and Chess will appear in a new “Apps” menu on the main screen once they’re downloaded.  Reportedly, the apps look and act pretty solid, but feature adverts during startup that cause the boot time to exceed 30 seconds in some cases.

Either way though, they’re free – so you get what you pay for.

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Posted 09/14/09 at 07:08:50 AM by Paul Lilly

Microsoft's new Zune HD doesn't launch until tomorrow, but you can already knock 15 percent off the pre-order price by going through Dell. Using coupon code 6FWJ247J1P44CK brings the 32GB player down from $290 to a little under $246 with free 2-day shipping. The same coupon code also drops the 16GB Zune HD down from $220 to $187.

Both models sport a 3.3-inch OLED touchscreen and Nvidia's multi-core Tegra processor inside to push high definition video and Flash content through a slim form-factor. If the Zune HD lives up to the hype, it will be the most powerful music and media player in its class. And with the above coupon code, one of the most affordable as well.

Still on the fence? The coupon is good until October 31, 2009 and also works on other electronics and accessories, excluding "power, batteries, monitors, Dell docking stations, cameras, camcorders, Samsung TVs, and storage."

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Posted 09/02/09 at 05:45:29 PM by Pulkit Chandna

The year began with speculative whispers of Zune’s impending demise. Despite all the uncertainty clouding the Zune’s future, Microsoft announced the Zune HD on May 26, 2009. The company wants to turn over a new leaf with the Zune HD. If Paul Thurrrot’s Supersite for Windows is to be believed, Microsoft has made up its mind to efface the specter of the Zune’s past. All current Zune models are being phased out as Microsoft looks to start anew with the Zune HD. Plunging demand for old-hat PMPs combined with the abysmal showing of the original Zune must have led Microsoft to this decision. The Zune HD is scheduled for release on September 15, 2009.

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