With a hand full of headaches that came with the first and second gen Zune now in the past it looks like its time to move on to bigger and better things so if you a Zune fan like me then your sure to love this news, unless your in the UK.
Microsoft has released details of the next Zune, which -- as Gamesblog has said -- will be called Zune HD. It looks like the equivalent of the Sony X-series media player, which also has an OLED screen. Microsoft says:
Available in the US 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.
Users will be able to buy HD (ie 720p) videos from Xbox Live Marketplace and play them on an HD TV from the Zune HD, via an optional docking station with HDMI support.
The 480 x 272 pixel screen also has multi-touch support.
According to the HD Radio site: To date, there are close to 2,000 stations broadcasting their primary signal in digital quality, reaching 84% of the US population. The auto industry continues to back HD Radio technology, with a total of 12 automakers now on board, including Audi, BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Lincoln, Mercedes, Mercury, MINI, Scion, and Volvo. Every major receiver manufacturer is offering the upgraded digital system (Alpine, Dual, Insignia, Kenwood, Sony, Yamaha, etc) and are being sold by all the big-box retail stores like Best Buy, Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, among many others.
So if you want an HD radio, the Zune HD might be a good deal -- depending on the price. At least it's something that Apple doesn't offer. (In fact, Apple doesn't even do FM radio, unless you buy an add-on such as the iPod Radio Remote.) However, the size of the portable HD radio market is open to doubt.
None of this brings the Zune HD any nearer to a European or even a UK launch: just the reverse. We don't have iBiquity HD radio, for a start. Also, in the US, Microsoft sells music downloads via Wi-Fi and offers ZunePass as a subscription music service. We don't have those in Europe either.
It would be somewhat hard to offer a Zune HD-equivalent in Europe, because we don't have a pan-European digital radio network. Microsoft could add DAB for the UK and a few other countries, but UK coverage is patchy and the sound quality is generally worse than FM (particularly the stereo).
Considering the hardware development costs of DAB, then the music service set-up costs, and the advertising and staffing overheads of launching Zune HD in the UK, it wouldn't seem to make financial sense. Zune just doesn't look likely to sell well enough to cover the costs.
Nor is there much value for Microsoft in offering an alternative to the ubiquitous iPod: Sony is already offering much better sound quality than Apple, OLED screens, built in FM radio and better file support at reasonable prices. Admittedly it still has to re-educate a market that still thinks Sony supports ATRAC and requires horrible SonicStage software, but that's probably an easier job than establishing the Zune brand from scratch.
Of course, Microsoft could easily market the Zune as a standalone music player, but it could have done that years ago. The value to Microsoft lies in building up an integrated set of TV-friendly online services with games consoles, MP3 players, mobile phones and PCs. The main point of hardware sales is to provide attach points for regular online software and service revenues. And while that strategy seems to be working for the Xbox 360, there's no sign of it happening for the Zune in the UK.
News-Source:
guardian.co.uk
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