First in

The boys at Gizmodo are the first to have posted an in-depth review of Microsoft’s Zune HD and they seem to like it a lot. Here’s what they said about the browser:

This is a serious surprise, after seeing the similar Sony X-Series’s browser crash, burn, and then explode shards of awful all over me, but the Zune HD’s internet browser is awesome. The narrower 3.3-inch widescreen isn’t as spacious as that of the iPod Touch and pages definitely load a little slower, but besides that it’s a full-featured, fast and responsive browser. The accelerometer is very quick, panning is smooth and easy, and the standard multitouch gestures (pinch, drag) work nicely. Unfortunately, the Zune HD does not support YouTube or any other Flash video, which would have been a nice feature for quickly listening to new music.

And the final conclusion:

The Zune HD is the best touchscreen PMP on the market. It’s got the most unique vision, the most impressive hardware and the most stylish software. It’s priced fairly at $220 for 16GB and $290 for 32GB, though I’d call the $90 dock a required accessory.

But I’m not sure that’s enough. PMPs like the Zune HD and Sony X-Series try to advance the genre with new and impressive media playback features, but the success of the iPod Touch shows that that media playback alone isn’t necessarily enough anymore. People seem to want pocketable computers, either in smartphone or near-smartphone form, or simpler, smaller devices like the iPod Nano and SanDisk’s Sansa line. So it’s not going to steal sales from the iPod Touch, but it should make some Samsung and Sony executives pretty jealous.

I’m left wishing Microsoft could get its Zune team to work with (read: boss around) the Windows Mobile team to put together a media phone. The Zune HD is a great PMP, but it could have been a jaw-dropping, unbelievable phone.

What was said at the very end it what I’ve been saying for a long time now. WM7 has to come out ASAP.

Source: Gizmodo