Zune 80 is going to be one sweet music/video player for those of us looking for a large capacity device and a decent screen for videos.
My Zune 30 was pretty slick (proof: it was stolen) but the Zune definitely needed upgrades to the software and the hardware. After reading tons of different websites and reports about the new Zune 80, I am SO excited to get my hands on one! They look simply amazing and so is the feature list.
If you haven't caught on about it yet, here are some highlights I have gathered around the web about the device (currently #1 on CNet's Most Wanted List).
hardware / features:-Touch 'squircle' control pad. swipe or click with a 4 way directional button control (according to reviews, its VERY cool). Scrolling or browsing through your library is FAST and very simple.
-Screen: 3.2 in with new glass scratch resistant face and large enough to actually enjoy watching videos/TV shows
-80gb harddrive, finally a larger size for holding my music AND some videos
-30 hrs of battery life for playing audio, 4-5 for video
-Podcast support (audio AND video)
-Wireless sync to your computer (auto load Podcasts, videos, etc when you walk in your home, or if your Zune isnt plugged into your computer)
-Sharing songs or videos, or podcasts are limited to 3 plays instead of 3 days OR 3 plays
-New Zune Market Place will feature over 1 million DRM-Free MP3s (completely clean and free of any watermarks)
-Video: DVD quality TV out at 640 x 480 with support for playing videos of up to 720×480 at 30fps, or 720×576 at 25fps .
Here is a link to some leaked documents showing the completely re-written Zune pc software (its no longer based on WMP11):
http://www.zunescene.com/zune-support-documents/Side by side comparisson to the iPod 80 gb:http://www.zunerama.com/zune_ipod_side_by_side.phpoh. and other than the obvious hardware differences, all of the software upgrades and features will be included with a new firmware for the old Zune 30, which is very very cool of Microsoft to do. Its nice to know that if I still had a first gen Zune 30gb, then that would be upgraded as well.
What do you guys think? Anyone else excited to get one?
