Microsoft has released a version of its 64GB Zune HD, lowering the price of models 16GB and 32GB in the process. But the announcement was made without fanfare in the technology community. Zune HD is already dead in the water? And if so, should it be?

Personally, I think the Zune HD is an underrated device.  It’s 3.3-inch, multi-touch OLED display is more vibrant than that of the iPod Touch, offering a better video viewing experience of videos of up to 720p resolution. Its Smart DJ feature rivals the Genius option within iTunes. And for fifteen dollars a month, the Zune Pass offers an unlimited music subscription, you just do not own the files.

I seriously doubt the Zune brand will ever have the popularity of the iPod family. Thanks to the App Store, there’s a wider variety of things to do with the iPod Touch. But Microsoft has crafted a well-designed device with a user interface that’s both stylish and functional. If you’re looking for a device mainly to play music and video, the Zune HD may fit your needs well.

Microsoft is currently selling the Zune HD 64GB model in their online Zune Store for $349 US.

The big news today in the mobile world was Microsoft’s announcement of the Kin platform. Well, that and Palm is for sale, but let’s focus on the positive here, ok? Microsoft is pushing its services to more than Zune media players and the platform of relationship is the next product to use. Do all this Zune integration gnaws market share from Apple?

The Zune website has a page dedicated to the Kin. Support synchronization of music, video, photos, and Zune Pass subscription. Given that every player goes through the screen, the entire Zune Social will it also work to your friends to see what they play.

Windows 7 also synchronize your Zune software, regardless of ActiveSync on Windows XP or Windows Mobile Device Center on Windows Vista / 7.

Microsoft is making a pretty serious bet on the Zune software and cloud services being the hub for their mobile devices. It makes me wonder if Zune/XBox integration is on the way. I could easily see Microsoft killing off Windows Media Player in the next version of Windows, bundling Zune instead.

If Microsoft has attempted this level of integration for years, governments worldwide have denounced irregularities in its monopolistic practices, as if he needed a real reason to do so. Today, however, who are without Apple’s iTunes / iPhone / iPod team when it comes to portable media and Windows Mobile is falling so quickly forget where he occupies in relation to the other five major players – iPhone , Android, Blackberry, Symbian and WebOS. It is certainly at the bottom when it comes to the spirit of sharing.

Do you think Microsoft’s strategy will help Windows Phone 7, the Kin and in turn, Zune?

We recently received news that the Zune HD 64 come April 12, but the news is better than ever. Zune HD is available now 64 years at a cost of $ 349.99 and are available in a range of colors. You can also get to take account of the work of the Zune Originals or text message option.

So who makes HD a Zune 64? Or are you satisfied with your Apple product? Let us know in the comments.

A few days ago I mentioned that there was a Zune HD firmware update available, version 4.5, and then when I arrived home I performed the update. I had to connect several times and faster to update the software update check before my evaluation found an update available, but then everything was fine. Besides the new features I mentioned earlier, he had another surprise in the update, no more advertising in games.

I take a quick walk through Picks and Smart DJ Mix on the Zune HD. There are also improvements in video codecs, but honestly, I do not use my Zune for watching HD movies, it will take time before I test this feature. Picks appear as a new tab when you start on your Zune HD Fair. You can see the album art of selected artists and after touching a record, you’ll see, songs and more. To enable Smart DJ Mix just press and hold on a song, album or artist to see a menu of Smart Play DJ Mix, then Zune software will generate a compilation of songs that is selected for the enjoyment.  There are so many songs in the Zune Marketplace that discovery can be difficult, especially from the Zune Desktop software. I am really enjoying the Smart DJ Mix capability and plan to use this quite a bit as I workout and enjoy my music.

There are no longer any ads in the application. There have never been ads in the utilities like the calculator, Twitter, and Facebook, but there were static or moving Zune and Kia car ads in the games. When you start a game now, you will see a charging icon, but no more ads.

Today, Microsoft sent the updated Zune firmware HD 4.5, this update Smart DJ lets you play the instrument. Smart DJ selects songs from your collection that are similar to the artist or song you choose. The update also allows for more file support for the device, like .AVI and XVID without a conversion.  In addition, the browser is faster. I was able to load zUnited in seconds. In addition, the update takes pictures of an artist so that when in the Now Playing screen.

Full changes:
This is not official until Microsoft sends then feel free to comment if we missed something!

- Smart DJ
- Native AVI and XVID support
- Marketplace on TV-Out
- Picks on-device
- Artist view and now playing feature multiple artist background pictures, rather than just one, now.
- Increase the overall performance. Miniature animations load faster and smoother.
- Faster, better browser. web pages larger than before would crash the browser now loads, you can zoom in on images without blurring, and press to zoom works better.
- You can now sort bookmarks by date added or alphabetically.
- You can change the name of browser bookmarks. Press and hold one of the favorites, and then click Rename.
- You can save pictures of a webpage to your device. Press and hold on any non-link part of a webpage to do so. You can do the same for individual images!
- It now warns you that deleting your browser history takes forever.
- In artist view, you can now play all albums or songs, or add them to now playing.
- In the marketplace, you can see more than 3 of an artist’s top songs.
- Playlists now have a transparent background in Quickplay.
- You can now connect to wireless networks that don’t broadcast an SSID. They show up as “hidden network” on the device.
- Games no longer have ads in front of them.

Also, if you have any problems with Smart DJ Miss does not work, leave your device connected via USB, the Zune software was, for one hour. The situation must be resolved.