No App Store For Microsoft's Zune HD

Xerfas writes 'Microsoft's Zune HD, set to go on sale Tuesday, will not feature an open application store like its competitor the iPod Touch. It will come with some unique features, though, like an HD radio tuner, and with software that has been well-received by users. Those capabilities will determine whether the ZuneHD sells well — and whether Microsoft decides to keep selling its own music player, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft.' The Zune marketing manager was quoted in the Seattle Times on whether the Zune would open up for 3rd-party apps, and he gave a response of such mind-numbing PR-speak that John Gruber of Daring Fireball was moved to provide this English translation: "No, because our mobile strategy is a convoluted mess."

Comments

Riddled with bias

[gcnaddict]

1) The OLED display is tons brighter than the display on the iPhone, so their point is moot.
Their battery life argument flops as they don't actually talk about Zune HD's energy savings. Zune HD nets the same battery life with a smaller battery than the iPod Touch.
2) The Quake 3 demo wasn't done on an iPod Touch; it was done on a totally different device. The hardware ecosystem in which a processor is used has a heavy impact on performance metrics, so the FPS gap noted here is a highly dubious claim.
3) Zune HD was never touted as mobile HD, so this point is moot.
4) The quality of digital radio is better than analog radio, so that point is also down. Think of how digital signals can carry HD video whereas analog signals are unsuited for the task.
5) "The Windows CE foundation that the Zune HD is built upon is regarded as a joke throughout the industry" unsubstantiated (and false, might I add) point. Besides this, the author doesn't provide much other "evidence"

Nice article.