VGTribune

Its Official. The Zune HD will be headed our way this fall. Heres what we know: 3.3-inch, 480 x 272 OLED capacitive touchscreen display, built-in HD Radio receiver,  and HD output. Matters reguarding storage, and CPU performance have not been specified. But I do know I’m going to start saving money for this. I mean, look at it………soo shiny.

Alexis’ Take on the Zune HD:

For those who were holding out for a ZuneX or some sort of dedicated handheld game system, the Zune HD doesn’t look like it’s going to be it. It may support games like the iPhone or iPod Touch, but it’s no Xboy. Microsoft still might pull an announcement out of left field and introduce a more gaming focused
Zune, but that isn’t too likely. The Zune HD is a perfect iPod Touch alternative that will more than likely have some games, but it’s surely no Xboy.

Although it seemed the wait for an Xboy was going to be extended and we’d be left out in the cold with an updated PSP, hope has surfaced for an Xbox portable in the form of supposed ZuneX photos. The ZuneX, obviously incorporating the Xbox brand and Zune brand names, might just pull off the perfect combination of multimedia and game experience the PSP hoped to beat the DS with. Also included with the supposed ZuneX pictures are spy cam shots of its spec sheets. Again, if these pictures are correct, the Zune X will not only have a SIM card slot for cell phone functionality, but will have Xbox Live connectivity in addition to be able to stream games from OnLive. If true, this would not only compete with the PSP and DS, but with the iPhone as well.

What’s our only complaint if this pans out to be the real deal? No analog stick. Sure the Gameboy and DS hand-held lines have pulled it off so far, but can an Xbox portable sans analog stick please Microsoft’s target audience? We think it would all come down to the games.

The rest of the pictures look credible, but we’ll leave it to you dear readers to discern with you scrutinizing eyes whether these ZuneX pictures and spec sheets are real or not. Let us know what you think in the comments!

EDIT(Thanks to Alan): Apparently the rumoured ZuneX has an analog stick attachment. Don’t ask us how it would work, but according to the spec sheets it has the attachment. We’ve also noticed that it supposedly has Multi-Touch. This thing is sounding way too good to be true. But is it?

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An odd conglomeration of rumors has left bloggers, Zune Fans, and Microsoft junkies wondering if the upcoming “ZuneHD” might trump the iPhone as top portable gaming/media device.  As the name implies, ZuneHD is rumored to have full HD video output as well as advanced 3D rendering capabilities through Nvidia’s “Tegra” chip.  Combine this with rumors of XNA Support and Microsoft job listings hinting at a “mobile halo,” and the ZuneHD is suddenly an eligible “Xbox Portable” candidate.  The idea doesn’t seem too far from reality: Microsoft has experimented with Zune gaming in the past – packing in two games in Zune update 3.0, as well as letting the more tech savvy users develop and install their own titles through XNA Studio.  The idea never really caught on for the current generation of Microsoft devices, and it’s still too early to make calls on these rumors – but the potential is interesting.  Could the “ipod killer” be making a comeback?  Are gamers going to be interested in this kind of device? Let us know what you think in the comments section!