Looking that various reports from Engadget, Crunchgear it looks like Zune HD is a major sellout. It could be because of one following reasons, a) retailers afraid to stock up b) Microsoft trying to create a artificial scarcity or c) the response has been overwhelming. From the user feedback and reviews, I believe it is the c) . 

Following stores have been sold out:  Amazon( 32GB Ships in 1-3 weeks),  Newegg (32GB ETA: 09/22/2009),  BestBuy (32GB 1-2 weeks)

However, the following stores still seem to have them: Walmart, Buy.com, Microsoft Online Store and Zune originals

Personally, I would go with Zune Originals, where you can create custom inscription, pattern and more color choices.  (the site takes a long time to load though)

via Engadget and  Crunchgear

Now that XNA update for Zune HD has been released. If you interested in developing applications for Zune, here is what you have to do

1. Get the  Visual Studio C# express and XNA Games Studio3.0 

2. Get the Zune HD update for XNA Games Studio

3.  Get yourself an Zune HD [ Amazon, Best Buy and prices from around the web]

4.  To Connect your Zune HD and have it recognized by the Games studio follow the instructions here

5. Resources that can be useful

• General XNA FAQ:
• XNA Team Blog
• Good Books on Zune/XNA  game development
  • Zune Game development using XNA
  • Learning XNA 3.0: XNA 3.0 Game Development for the PC, Xbox 360, and Zune
• Some forums to discuss app development and other issues: Zunerama

If you find more resources, steps provide them as comments and I will update the post to include them.

XNA team has released  an update to the XNA Games Studio to enable developers to write  apps/games against Zune HD . [XNA Games Studio is IDE based on Visual Studio for developing games based on XNA framework]

From the XNA blog, this update adds the following

In the last post we covered the reviews from different gadget sites and until I get around to posting my own review, here is the some of various video tours of Zune HD from different sources

Let us start with a Zune HD commercial

Did you  note the  strikingly dark/ black background as compared to Apples bright white background.

Video from Gizmodo’s review

Video from Crunchgear’s review

Video from Brian Seitz – Microsoft’s Zune Team

Well folks, the long awaited and much anticipated Zune HD has been finally released !   From the early reviews and user feedback it looks like this is absolutely stunning product and Microsoft might have gotten a winner here. I have ordered one myself and will post the detailed reviews once I have had chance to play with it.

Here are some of the reviews from top sites

Gizmodo Review:  

Best of Breed

The Zune HD is the best touch screen PMP on the market. It’s got the most unique vision, the most impressive hardware and the most stylish software. It’s priced fairly at $220 for 16GB and $290 for 32GB, though I’d call the $90 dock a required accessory.

Ars Technica Review: 

Third time’s a charm: Ars reviews the Zune HD

Microsoft’s new media player won’t appeal to everyone, but for those with an interest in new music and subscription services, the Zune HD has become the device to beat.

The good: Excellent music discovery tools, artist metadata, useful WiFi features, clean design.

The bad: Flush-mounted buttons that perform common tasks, no Divx/FLAC support, limited DVR support.

Some of Amazon User reviews

Has come a long way since the "brick" Zune: 

But for the first time, Microsoft has developed a Zune player that can finally use the words "downright sexy" to describe it.

Absolutely Fantastic, 

The OLED display is so crisp and beautiful. Pictures don’t do it justice. It is extremely responsive, far nicer than my iPOD touch.

Easily the best PMP on the market!

All I can seriously suggest is be open-minded to the Zune experience. Just because all your friends/family have an iPod/iPod Touch doesn’t make it the best on the market right now. The Zune HD’s technology is superior in the marketplace right now

and many more that say : 

Best MP3 Player PERIOD;  Great player + Great s/w = Great product; Close to Perfect – This is a winner; A delight to own

Most common cons sited include

• limited Apps, not open to third party developers (no SDK)
• Limited Codec support (divx etc..)
• No Flash/you tube support
• No 64GB version
• Slow browser with no tabs

Oh, well it looks like all the previous generation Zunes (both flash based and hard drive based) are on their way out and Zune HD will the only flagship product going forward!  Though the new UI and features in Zune HD  are not expected to be compatible with the old Zunes, I was still hoping Microsoft will surprise folks by providing  a firmware update. Even though the current rumor does not rule that out, I doubt Microsoft will invest any resource on a product that is on the way out !

On a positive note I am glad Microsoft focused all its energy on Zune HD and making it player that can truly viable challenger to iPod Touch. [You can see a comprehensive comparison of  Zune HDs  to the current generation iPod Touch here]

Via Crunchgear

With good amount of details of Zune HD out I thought it be great to compare it to existing 2nd gen iPod Touch and see how  well they compare.  I know Apple has confirmed the 09/09/09 rock and roll event and they might potentially announce new iPod Touch but until then, here goes the ultimate and most elaborate Zune HD Vs iPod Touch (2nd Generation). 

   VS  

Find great deals on Zune and iPod from real time comparison shopping site kalistro.com

• Zune HD
• iPod Touch

I will provide a updated new comparison once we know more details about the next generation of iPod touches (possibly after 09/09/09 apple event)

Sri

It looks Zune team did a absolutely stunning job in ensuring a great experience when connecting the Zune HD to a TV and have delivered a truly portable media center experience.   The interface  on TV looks absolutely delightful and easy to use. See it for yourself below

Read more about Gizmodo’s review on this feature here

Zune HD TV Interface Walkthrough from Gizmodo on Vimeo.