The latest version of Microsoft’s portable digital media player can be pre-ordered from Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and the Microsoft Store and will appear on shelves on September 15, the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The Zune HD is the first model to feature a touch screen. It also has a web browser, Wi-Fi connectivity and a built-in high-definition (HD) radio receiver.<\/p>\n
In addition, the device has HD video output capability allowing it to play HD quality video on HD televisions using a docking station.<\/p>\n
The Redmond, Washington-based software giant said the Zune HD will eventually be available in five different colours.<\/p>\n
The Zune HD is powered by NVidia’s powerful Tegra chip, which provides higher performance at lower power consumption levels, meaning batteries can last much longer before needing to be recharged.<\/p>\n
Michael Rayfield, general manager of NVidia’s Mobile Business Unit, said the Zune HD is “going to show some of the capabilities we have talked about for a long time.<\/p>\n
“We believe it will be an amazing showcase for what Tegra is capable of doing,” he told AFP.<\/p>\n
Tegra chips provide “uncompromised web experience” meaning mobile devices will be able to visit full pages and handle Flash video the same way desktop computers do, he said.<\/p>\n
“We believe we put the HD in the Zune HD,” Rayfield said.<\/p>\n
“I think we are clearly the most advanced in video and overall power management,” Rayfield said when asked to compare the Zune HD with Apple’s iPhone or iPod Touch devices.<\/p>\n
“The ability to do HD and Flash will let people go anywhere on the Web,” he said. “That is a huge advance on mobile devices.<\/p>\n
“We really open up the whole Web to any of these devices. That is critically important to this category becoming very large.”<\/p>\n