Finally something new for the Zune HD, just when I thought that they had lost momentum. A new firmware update, version 4.3 for the Zune HD, brings support for upcoming games and apps, improved browsing as well as text input along with many additions and bug fixes.
Permalink: Zune HD firmware 4.3 released – Supports upcoming Games and Apps
Are you surprised by the title of the post. Well don’t be. The title of the post is perfectly right. If you thought even for a moment that you needed Zune HD to play music from Zune Pass, then you were wrong and its time to correct that thought. Zune Pass works perfectly when accessed via Nokia N97. Infact Nokia N97 has an edge over Zune HD when we compare it from the perspective of a media player.
Permalink: You don’t need Zune HD to access Zune Pass Music, Nokia N97 will do just fine
Just because the Zune HD Marketplace isn’t open like the App Store doesn’t mean that developers can’t make apps for it and we can’t use them. A developer has created a multi-touch drawing app for the Zune HD using XNA 3.1 Zune extensions. The app is really basic and doesn’t even have different colors to chose. But the developer has already said that the app is intended for developers and encourages improvements to the code.
Permalink: Multi-touch drawing App for the Zune HD
Here’s another new game for the Zune HD, which has been created thanks to C# and XNA Studio 3.1, called Fifteen. It’s hard for me to judge how this game is supposed to be played, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the ones that are already available for Zune HD via the store or even the simple ones in the App Store. The developer says he has created this game for different platforms already so this is basically a port of his original work.
Permalink: New game for Zune HD called Fifteen
Developers are already working hard at the new Zune HD with XNA Studio 3.1, with an app ported to it from the iPhone in 12 hours. Here’s another game which is included in XNA Game Studio 3.1 and can be built to run on your Zune HD. You will need Visual Studio 2008 or the free Visual Studio C# Express along with XNA Studio 3.1 to get this game to run on a Zune HD.
Permalink: New Platformer Game for Zune HD
You wouldn’t expect to hear such Microsoft rumors from a source such as 9to5mac which is an Apple blog, but they sound pretty confident that Microsoft plans to announce two slider smartphones from Project Pink at CES in January of 2010. One of them will be squircle in shape like last generation Zunes and has the code name ‘Turtle’, while the other one, code named ‘Pure’ has a candy bar shape. Both will have slide out keyboards just like Danger’s Sidekick (Microsoft acquired Danger around a year ago).
Permalink: Microsoft to launch 2 iPhone killers at CES in January 2010
Rejoice Zune HD users! Apps will be coming to the Tegra based powerful device. A video has been uploaded by a person trying out the Zune HD and finding out the Apps category in the Marketplace which is further confirmed by the other person demoing it. That person doesn’t reply when asked about an SDK though. Plus we have no idea on where they would be installed. My guess is an App link in the main menu when one is installed or after a software update because strangely, Microsoft is still not advertising Apps as a feature.
Permalink: You know those rumored Zune Apps and Games? They have been confirmed!
It’s been a busy day in Zune HD news again. Cnet has published the first pictures of the Zune HD web browser in action. The browser seems to have little to no chrome, except for a bar at the bottom for bookmarking and backward navigation. As expected, it works in both portrait and landscape modes. The keyboard has a different effect than the iPod as the neighboring keys of the pressed one are also magnified, when pressed. Although the pressed key is the largest and most prominent.
Permalink: Zune HD pricing revealed plus first browser pictures (update: video added)
Zune HD has hit the FCC, and pictures are available of the black Zune HD engineering sample that was tested. If you’re interested in the insides of the Zune HD, you can check them out here. 
Permalink: More Zune HD photos again.. this time from the FCC
Here are more looks at the Zune HD, but this time on video via Youtube, from the GDGT party in San Francisco where Microsoft have their own display stall as well. The high quality UI transitions are evident in the very clunky video through output to an HD display. The video quality is just stunning at 1080p on the LCD as well as on the Zune HD itself.You can also see Xbox integration in the video with Zune Video.
Permalink: 2 Exclusive Zune HD hands on videos from GDGT Party in San Francisco
