gdgt

It been a few days now, and that makes today an excellent time to review the new Zune. Pictures coming soon, since I can't find my microSD to SD card. I don't plan to review the software, because A) it works, and B) its free, no ones buying it.

Part 1: Hardware

Put simply, the Zune looks amazing. Its an odd blend of very small size, well chosen materials, and overall finesse that makes people stare (in a good way). I have yet to pull this out and not have curious people glancing over or asking about it.
The glass on the front feels sturdy and adds a feeling of worth that plastic just can't. It has no scratches so far, or any blemishes of any sort. Granted, I'm careful with it, but still, it has been in my pocket, been played with a bunch, and it still looks perfect. The same goes for the metal parts, which are many. They look impressive, and I personally favor them to the shiny parts of the iPod Touch- since they don't pick up fingerprints and stay uniform looking. The little slots on the sides of the device are a great way to add a little grip while adding a little style, and if you're like me, you'll like the screws on the back too. I like my gadgets to look a little like someone assembled them, not like they're an impenetrable fortress, and the Zune HD does a better job of that than most gadgets I've owned.
The OLED screen is absolutely gorgeous. Up until the moment I bought it I thought that my 30gb Zune had a decent screen, but compared to the HD's screen, its trash. The color and clarity of the screen are like nothing I've seen before on a device, and its really a shame to me that these don't come loaded with more content. They would likely win more customers over in the store if people saw how movies and tv looked on this.
There are 3 physical buttons on the device; one on top that is for powering on and off, and for locking the screen; one on the side that brings up on-screen playback and volume controls (even on top of the lock screen); and a front button that always brings you back to the home screen.

Part 2: Software

The device software is what you might call a logical evolution of the Zune software, although compared to the way it was evolving, this is a few steps ahead.
The home screen has two distinct menus, one that is constant, and one that changes. The constant menu is all text, and takes you to various places, such as music, podcasts, or the marketplace. There are enough options that you need to scroll up and down, but that action is both effortless and fun. The changing menu is on the left side of the home screen, and houses a now playing box, pins (where you can put anything on the device for quick access, history- the last 6 things done/played, and new- which is the newest content to be added. This makes daily additions like podcasts much easier to find, and allows you to go back to recently seen stuff very fast. Also worth mentioning, the accelerometer is used to add a very cool constant motion to the home screen; what I mean is, moving the device around moves the menu options around. Its only slight movement, and you can turn it off, but I think its great.
Within the submenus from the text menu, you get a very "Zune 3.0" like interface, where scrolling up and down are used primarily, but side to side options are used to change type of media- for instance audio podcasts and video podcasts. The menu system is very clean, and fun to go through, but thankfully the items menu on the home screen means you won't have to always wander a few steps to grab media.
The playback controls on the device, accessible via side button or tapping the screen during playback, are simple, but effective. on the sides are forward and back options, and top and bottom are volume options. Dragging your finger is faster than tapping, and like most things on the device, these controls are intuitive and fun. Side note, spinning your finger around the options shows off a cool 3D effect where the options pivot on a center point. Simple but fun.

Part 3:The Stuff Everyone Wants to Know
By that I mean "how is the web?", "what about apps?"- actually thats about it.
How is the web? Its ok. It can be very good, and also pretty bad. My blog loads quickly, and I've posted a few things from the Zune already. Mobile sites load lightning fast, and some full sites do as well. I've used Google voice to text from the device, checked my gmail, read a variety of blogs, and more. Some sites don't know what to do on the device- like Wikipedia, and others, like the new Lite version of Facebook, work beautifully. I've seen some speed tests that put the Zune HD on par with the iPod Touch, and some where it falls way behind. I think that the web experience will only get better as firmware is updated, as I'm sure it has on the Touch.
And of course, Apps. At launch there were (and are) 9 apps available. 7 games, and 2 utilities. We have confirmation of at least 5 official ones coming (you can bet far before Christmas), and XNA 3.1 has been released, and 2 apps have already been released/ported for the HD. Rather than cross my fingers here, I'll just say that I firmly believe that the Windows Mobile App Store is going to work with the Zune as well, and that given that this is the first week I can't punish Microsoft too much for not giving us more.

The Verdict

The Zune HD is a terrific device, with very solid hardware and great software. Is has a lot of promise, and already is an excellent media device. Will it become the do-everything-device that the iPod Touch almost is? Hopefully. A few months and we'll have a better idea. For now though, if you need an excellent media playback device, and want the prospect of much more, this is a great gadget. If you want a device for games right now- and don't want to wait, get the iPod Touch. It is September after all, and what we've got right now will not (should not) be what Microsoft pushes this Christmas. With the prospect of more to come, I give this a 10/10. If everything stays exactly the same as it is now, it still gets a 9/10. Microsoft really worked on this device, and it shows.