Zune HD: The Best Portable Video Player

The Zune HD, a 3rd generation touch portable media player, is one of the smartest and most capable products ever produced by Microsoft.

Physically the Zune HD hardly differs from its predecessor, the 120GB Microsoft Zune. The screen is 0.1 inch larger and noticeably lighter. The Zune HD is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models.

The sharp and clear touchscreen measures 3.3-inches and is only a half an inch thick. With its 74 grams of total weight this model is one of the largest, but at the same time most elegant and comfortable portable movie players on the market.

A nVidia Tegra APX 2600 chip and OLED touchscreen allow for playing 720p video.

The capabilities of this model are undoubtedly great. When used with Microsoft’s subscription-based Zune Pass, the music library of your portable music system is remarkably increased giving you the opportunity to browse songs included in Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace (for $14.99 per month) and play them only within several seconds without a need to connect to a network. And, the Zune HD is equipped with a web browser, which is quite decent.

Zune Social, a music discovery option, enables you to follow your friend’s actions and see what music they are listening to.

The included earbuds are very comfortable and the sound quality is great.

Among other capabilities are the built-in HD radio, wireless syncing, audio and video podcast support, exceeding navigation control, composite video output.

The battery life is really spectacular. You will have to charge your portable music system once every three to four days.

Maybe the only bad features of the Zune HD is its incompatibility with a Mac, limited video format support and the fact that HD video output needs to be accompanied with an additional dock, which you will have to buy separately.

The Zune HD will cost you between $249 and $280.

Photo © zune

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