Zune HD can not keep the MP3 player market in the fire, exactly, but it is a piece of quality equipment with an intelligent user interface and attractive. It is also a platform that developers can write games for. Unfortunately, third-party games on the Zune are limited in what they can do, but must be developed using Microsoft. NET based on XNA Framework. Normally this would not be a problem, as XNA usually offers high performance graphics Direct3D. However, the HD Zune, XNA only supports simple 2D graphics and 3D hardware acceleration. The result is a lackluster graphics, despite the Zune NVIDIA Tegra HD feed is very capable. The restricted environment also prevented third-party applications to access the Internet via a wireless connection device.

Enter OpenZDK. By exploiting a flaw in the firmware of the Zune, you can run native applications on the Zune. This exposes the power of the Zune hardware for developers: the most important programs can use the extensive API OpenGL ES 2.0 (the same as the iPhone compatible 3D API) to use the full capabilities of the Tegra chip. This allows third party applications to achieve the same quality as the games Microsoft Zune and Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition.

As those Microsoft-published games demonstrated, the Zune HD hardware is more than capable of providing a first-rate gaming experience. PGR, in particular, is both fun and extremely good-looking. Until now, however, the restrictions on third-party developers have left that power largely untapped.

It should be fairly easy for developers to get up to speed on native development with the ZDK. The Zune HD operating system is based on Windows CE 6 (as will be the forthcoming Windows Phone 7 platform), so development and deployment is quite easy: this is a widely supported and well understood OS. OpenGL likewise is something familiar to a lot of game developers.

However, the fun could not last long. Because Apple has to escape exploits the iPhone, Microsoft could also choose to fix the exploit (or exploits) that are used to allow the natural development of Zune. In many respects, it would be a shame. Zune HD clearly has great potential: it is a shame that requires cuts for the game.