14 DAY TRIAL // Zune HD was introduced officially at the end of May 2009, with a general availability date set for April 2009. The positioning of Zune HD as a direct competitor for Apple's iPod touch was obvious immediately, but one critical aspect capable of making the difference for consumers remained under wraps. In fact, even at this point in time, the Redmond company has failed to reveal the official pricing details for Zune HD. However, while the software giant continues to be hesitant in making public the price tags, the pricing details have been leaked. It appears that the 16 GB Zune HD will cost $220 while the 32 GB variant of the upcoming Microsoft HD digital media player will run customers up no less than $290.
The details have been extracted from Best Buy's inventory system, and made public by Gizmodo. Microsoft has yet to confirm or deny that these will be the prices for Zune HD devices. But if these details do indeed prove to be correct, then Apple has something to worry about. According to Amazon, Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation), the latest model, costs $274.95, discounted from $299.99. At almost the same price, Zune HD offers double the storage space compared to iPod touch.
Another aspect still unconfirmed by the Redmond company is the release date. Speculation in the wild points to September 8th, 2009 for the general availability deadline of Zune HD. In this regard, the leaked details from Best Buy offer support for the September 8 release date.
According to Microsoft, Zune HD features multi-touch navigation capabilities via a 3.3-inch screen and 16:9 OLED display at a resolution of 480x272. The device will also allow owners to listen to their favorite HD radio stations, as it integrates an HD Radio receiver. In addition, Zune HD sports Wi-Fi capabilities, as well as support for HD video out, allowing for 720p HD content to be viewed on an HDTV. The device also comes to the table with a browser, which allows for seamless Internet navigation.