A shopping blog of cool gift ideas

A few days ago the Entertainment & Devices Division of Microsoft hosted their first annual “Open House” in NYC. Microsoft’s latest and greatest products for the home, office and car were on display as was their signature entertainment products- Xbox 360 and the Zune. Of all the products at the event, I was probably most excited and curious to see the new(ish) Zune HD.  Luckily, for event attendees, there was a brand new Zune HD in our gift bags, so I’ve had the player for a few days to test drive. Here are some of my impressions.

For starters, the Zune HD is aesthetically gorgeous. The sleek design is highlighted by a brilliant 3.3 inch OLED HD touch screen. The crispness and clarity of the screen are impressive. The touch screen works smoothly and is intuitive. My videos and music look and sound great. The player has an FM tuner, but a real highlight is it also has an HD radio, which is a huge bonus. HD radio allows for clear digital broadcast of your favorite FM stations plus you can tag songs you hear on the radio for easy purchase. Zune HD is a Wi-Fi device too so, amongst other Wi-Fi applications, it’s quite easy to buy and stream content from the Zune Marketplace when you’re away from home.

Speaking of which, the Zune Marketplace allows for purchase of the Zune Pass (subscription). So, for example, for about $15 a month, you can (essentially) rent as much music as you’d like to your Zune and permanently keep 10 of these downloads.  That allows for an unbelievable opportunity to explore and try (or buy) new music. The Zune comes in 16GB and 32GB versions. I’m lovin’ the Zune HD and I’m pretty sure any music nut and/or gadget fanatic will love the abundant style and versatility the Zune HD offers.

Zune HD 16GB Digital Media Player starting at $219.97.