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

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

There has been much rave reviews of the Zune HD’s user interface and how snappy and cool it is. One thing I feel that is truly innovative but has not gotten much attention is its split home screen with list of menus on one side and a visually rich history or favorites on the other side.   Seeing the demos I think this feature will drastically reduce the time and number of clicks required to get to most of the stuff I care about.

I own a iPod as well as a zune and I really wished there was a quick and easy way to access my history, be able to pin some stuff so I can easily get to it. Such a “favorites”  & “ history” paradigm exists almost in every other major software we use (browsers, OS application lists, documents, pictures etc..). It is almost a no-brainer thinking about in hindsight but still iPod (classic, touch) does not have this.

More sample pictures of the quick play feature

Sri

Looks like Zune HD was recently announced by Microsoft and  early reviews from folks who have had a chance to see it and use it seems be very good.  One of the surprising thing to see is not only are the reviews positive but the user excitement surrounding  it as well.

CNET Review

The following statements from the article really summarizes how  well ZuneHD is being received..

“I am tentatively reaffirming my faith in Microsoft. This thing was worth the wait, folks”.

“The Zune HD feels expensive, solid, and sexy”

Digg Comments

“I am absolutely planning on getting one of these. It is a very nice piece of hardware, and I will be rid of the nightmare that is iTunes.”

“Sounds impressive. Too bad most consumers buy a product because of a certain logo rather than features though…”

However some of the most requested feature or complaint seems to be lack of Zune support on mac,  64GB Zune HD and of course a Zune Phone. Maybe Microsoft will surprise and provide all of them !! We can only wish !

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

• Zune 120 GB
• iPod Classic

I tried my best to include pretty much all the differences I can come up with however you might find this a little pro-zune, because I truly enjoy using my zune compared to iPod, but in all due fairness please leave a comment if you think, there is something that needs to be added on either side.

Sri

New Features include

• Buy From FM:   Like a song that you are listening on your Radio, tag it and buy/download it from zune marketplace seamlessly.
• Access marketplace directly from the device using any wifi access point
• Channels:  Sort of pre-programmed themed playlist  like top jazz, top caribbean, top 100 billboard, etc..
• Mixview:  Cool new of visualizing and discovering new music.
• Audiobooks: Supports Audible and overdrive. (finally)
• Games:  Preloaded with Texas Hold ‘Em and Hexic
• Personal recommendations: Zune make personal recommendations base on what the user likes ..

                   (don’t they look nice !!)

New zunes and the features are getting  a decent welcome. You can find the related coverages from some top sites here:    Gizmodo , Engadget, Ars Technica

Let us see what apple has to show tomorrow in their much awaited event!

Here is the pricing for the new zune devices.

120 GB: $249.99

80 GB: $229.99

16 GB: $199.00

8 GB: $149.99

4 GB: $129.99

I also plan on aggregating number of online resources on zune and providing tips and tricks  periodically.

As this evolves, I plan to share my other comparisons and evaluations.

Disclaimer: All the view expressed in this blog is purely my own and does not represent any corporate entity or organization.