Microsoft Prepares 64 GB Zune HD for Upcoming Release

The 64 GB Zune HD is not all about storage capacity, as it will supposedly be able to store massive amounts of media, such as 16,000 songs, 25,000 photos, or 20 hours of HD video.  It will also offer consumers a colorful 3.3-inch touchscreen with multi-touch capability, integrated Wi-Fi, a web browser, free HD radio access, and more. 

The 64 GB Zune HD will initially be available for purchase via the Zune's online store, ZuneOriginals.net.  It will be priced at $349, with various color schemes to choose from, such as platinum, blue, red, green, and magenta.  A few months after its release, most likely by summer of 2010, the 64 GB Zune HD will be available for purchase from other online retailers in a simpler black color scheme.  As of right now, Microsoft plans to limit the sale of the player to online merchants, rather than typical retail venues such as Best Buy.

If you do prefer to do your shopping in person, however, the 16 GB and 32 GB versions of the Zune HD are available in retail stores, and Microsoft announced that the two will have their prices cut by $20 to $199 and $269, respectively.  These price cuts are undoubtedly aimed at the competing iPod Touch from Apple, whose similar capacities go for $299 and $399.  With the smaller capacity 8 GB iPod Touch costing the same as the 16 GB Zune HD, Microsoft wins the price war versus Apple.

Since the iPod name is etched into the minds of so many consumers, the Zune seems like one of the red-headed stepchildren of the portable media family.  Sure, the product could be magnificent, but to many it will not matter, as the Apple iPod branding and the reputation it has built over the years could be too much for Microsoft to overcome. 

As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and such could be the mantra of many current iPod owners.  To get them to switch to Microsoft's side is a huge hurdle not only because of the reputation game, but also because many iPod owners will not want to switch to entirely new media management software.  Microsoft's mountain to climb in the battle over MP3 player supremacy is quite high, as its Zune only claims less than a five percent market share when it comes to portable media devices.

Whether or not the Zune HD can overcome Apple's popularity and reputation of quality is something that remains to be seen.  It should be an entertaining ride, though, as competition only makes things better, and, in the end, the consumers will benefit from much-improved products.  

For more on the 64 GB Zune HD's upcoming release as well as some other planned Zune upgrades, visit: http://www.twice.com/article/450908-Microsoft_Readies_64GB_Zune_HD.php