Leaked images reveal new ZuneHD multimedia player

by Stevie Smith - Apr 13 2009, 15:30

Love it or hate it, you really have to applaud Redmond-based Microsoft Corporation for its sheer single-minded stubbornness in the face of near-certain defeat in the multimedia device market.

Specifically, the diligent industry watchers at tech blog Engadget have this week uncovered a selection of leaked marketing images that appear to show a new high-definition entrant to Microsoft’s oft criticised and much maligned range of Zune players.

“Based on discussions with sources, it’s looking very likely that the device in these images is – in fact – a new Zune on its way to market,” commented the blog in a story update.

Beyond a fairly self-explanatory logo screen that plainly announces the arrival of HD performance on Microsoft’s multimedia platform, the gallery of images includes clear shots of the new device along with a number of abstract (and dare we say) Apple iTunes-esque pastel advertising.

As for the new Zune’s high-definition capabilities or its related array of features and functions, that knowledge presently remains as cloudy and uncertain as the accompanying advertising images, which show a single-button control interface beneath a wide-screen display housed within a brushed aluminium exterior.

The most telling of whispers emerging in the wake of the concept images suggests that the ZuneHD will be the first of Microsoft’s consumer electronic devices to utilise the company’s touch-screen Surface technology – which could potentially reinvigorate the Zune and place it as a viable alternative to the iPod Touch.

Other reactions point to at least the playback of high-definition video content, with some believing new NVIDIA chipsets will be used in order to produce 720p video resolution along with advanced 3D effects.

Speaking with PCWorld, Ed Oswald of Technologizer commented that the ZuneHD will arrive with up to 32GBs of data storage and will be physically smaller than the iPod Touch – although Apple’s popular device will be skinnier.

The supposedly leaked marketing images come only a few weeks after an initial wave of rumours that claimed Microsoft was preparing to unleash a new Zune upon the market in the third quarter of 2009.

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