Gizmodo got their hands on some internal Microsoft docs which have put the launch of the Tegra-powered, OLED-screen having, iPod touch-competing ZuneHD at September 8th. It will come in the very iPod touch and now iPhone-like 16GB and 32GB varieties
A tipster just dropped off a few internal Microsoft docs that point to a September 8 launch of the Zune HD. In addition to that, the tipster says it's coming in 16GB and 32GB versions. All pretty logical.
We already knew that the HD has Nvidia's Tegra inside, which makes it a high powered, high performance device that can handle HD output and possibly some nice gaming. What we don't know is what the cost of the OLED screen and the cost of Tegra will make the final price. No word on that yet from the tipster.
Coincidentally, early September is about the time that Apple unleashes its new iPods and this year should be no different. Among other improvements, many expect this year's iPod touches to have a camera with video feature. GPS and compass might also make the cut.
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i assume the new touch will
i assume the new touch will have cortex like iphone so will be better than the tegra straight away, not to mention this thing looks like an 80's remote control or calculator lol
I LIKE the look of this! Why
I LIKE the look of this! Why is the iPhone better than the ZuneHD other than the fact you carry water for Apple? The Tegra is a fantastic chip-set with OLED and other features and specs - it compares favorably with the iPhone and most likely the iPod 3rd Gen. I am honestly asking why the Tegra is worse than the new ARM Cotrex 8? I would think form the technical details that the Tegra is similar and in some respects much better than the new iPhone...
D
1. Nvidia has very few
1. Nvidia has very few experience with arm, even saying that windows ce is more optimized than android at times.
2. Tegra uses the Arm a11, which is alot less powerful than the Arm Cortex 8.
3. Its thicker than the ipod touch substantially.
4. oled will not cause the zune to have better battery life than the ipod touch, because the zunes batterylife has always sucked.
5. The tegra APX has less graphic powers than the PowerVR SGX.
6. The zune will be based on windows CE, aka. windows mobile.
7. It has a mobile version of ie6. ie6!!!!
Steve pls give us an iPhone
Steve pls give us an iPhone Pro with:
- OLED Screen
- 64 GB
- Flat alu body
- Induction charging
- IEEE 802.11n
did I forgot something?
No.
But the list is getting much shorter. :-)
OLED = NRFPT
OLED screen = short life screen that fades quickly. OLED is expensive and simply does not have a good operational life. Couple that with the fact that if you light the screen with a backlight (for nighttime use), permanent fading increases even faster.
I'd love an OLED display on everything, but the science and engineering just isn't there. Maybe it'll be there in a couple years; maybe someone has secretly solved the problems.
But as seen with the touch, you can have a traditional LCD display that is thin, less expensive, and has a very long life. And power consumption is still very good.
I'm surprised Microsoft is doing OLED - it'll look awesome, I suppose, during the warranty window.
The newest OLED screen tech
The newest OLED screen tech is much better and will probably WAY outlast the actual life of the Touch anyway. They are getting close to 60,000 hours out of them these days so even being conservative you could get 5 years out of this screen at 24/7 use. And honestly these days who keeps electronics for more then 5 years.
Best case, in the lab.
You quote best case numbers, in the lab. Mass production of the these brand-new improvements is years away; Expected repeatability in mass-produced units is unknown.
And in a warm environment (like on top of a warmed up CPU), degradation of the colors gamut can be very rapid.
OLED will be awesome technology. But there are very good reasons why manufacturers are hesitant to put them in products.
Remember the 1st & 2nd generation of plasma TVs? They looked pretty crummy and burnt-in after 6-12 months of use. Expect no better of the first generations of consumer OLED panels.
Yes you are right best case
Yes you are right best case is 60,000 hours which equals almost 7 years on 24/7 365 days a year.
So back that down by say I dont know HALF 30,000 hours which is still 3.5 years at 24/7 365 days a year. And since NO one uses there iPod 100% of the time realistically 5 years of use is not even a long shot.
So basically the screen will probably out last the actual item since it will probably be dropped, stolen or broken in some other manor after 5 years or at the very least upgraded.
What I am saying is your arguement isnt valid for a technology that will easily last the lifespan of the item its put in.
I do agree that certain things about the Zune HD are not great but the OLED is not one of them and I wish there was one in my iPhone right now to help with battery life.
You cant compare the original
You cant compare the original Plazmas to OLED different tech, and they still only looked bad for people using them as full time monitors at shows, stores, etc. And even then they were still only boasting 20,000 hour max lifespans in a lab not 60,000.
802.11n? Are you transfering
802.11n? Are you transfering 3DS Max files with a server in the house?
As long as competitors are
As long as competitors are constantly matching the previous/existing iPod specs, the iPods that come out in September will always wind up being head and shoulders above them.
Same goes for phones. All we heard between January and June was how much better the Palm Pre specs were than the iPhone 3G. And within 2 weeks of the Pre launch there was the iPhone 3GS
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No camera and windows ce = fail
seriously what on earth is msft trying to do catching up to last years models. All Apple has to do is release a touch with 5mp camera /video and the zune will look pretty stupid again.
besides people are learning not to buy msft crap.
ZuneHD could be the Touch killer
If Microsoft is using the latest metal membrane OLED technology from Toshiba, the screen could have a life expectancy exceeding 60,000 hours, which is longer than LCD. The iPod Touch could quickly look like yesterday's technology.
Zune HD Touch killer
An LCD screen life is based on its backlighting. For the iPod Touch this is LEDs so the life is at least 100,000 hours. The LCD itself is a crystal and will operate for more that 10 years. It is just based on voltage differences. Nothing to wear out. So the iPod Touch will far out last the OLED screen.
who here thinks the new ipod
who here thinks the new ipod will maintain the same storage capacity it has had for the past year? show of hands (i only see a few hands..). good.
i wouldn't expect any major functionality upgrades on the new ipod touch. what i do expect is to be based on the new 3gs hardware and run the iphone 3.0 software. i doubt apple will integrate the camera into the ipod touch, getting rid of one of the key differentiators (besides cell, obviously), but i'd put money on having gps this time so that it can enjoy all the location based software the iphone does. lets not forget apple is not getting subsidies from at&t on ipod touch sales, so it can't afford to put ALL the tech into it and maintain an affordable price. i don't think we'll see a major redesign either, as it's got pretty much as sleek a form factor as can possibly be had with that size screen.
the new zune looks better than the old zune, and it looks like microsoft has put a pretty slick skin on windows mobile, but there are several reasons the ipod will be the better choice- bigger GLASS screen (zune fans prepare to scratch the hell out of your new toy), better app/music/movie store, better internet browser, better UI / navigation, peer to peer gaming, in-app purchases, and probably location awareness (gps, compass).
nuff said.
In regard to the OLED
In regard to the OLED discussions, I think many of you are missing the point. There's no clear way to calculate time fading and ghosting will begin. Sure, you'll get 3.5 to 7 year SERVICE life out of the display, but what does that say about the life expectancy of IMAGE QUALITY???
-
GHOSTING:
Personally, I like having song/artist information and controls always displayed while using my iPod docked, who wants to continuously wake or unlock their device just to see who's playing or to pause a song. This combination of an 'always on' display mixed with static images, even just an hour or so each day, will DRASTICALLY decrease the time before ghosting starts to appear. Forget about convenience, you can't leave these screens on.
-
FADING:
Will you be using your device outdoors? Maybe at a picnic, the beach, a jog during the day? Maybe you set it on the dash while you drive or have it mounted neatly in a holder on the windshield? All of these scenarios (and many more) expose your device to two of OLED's biggest enemies, HEAT and LIGHT. Even low-lux backlighting will speed the degradation of OLED displays. Unless you plan on using your device in a darkroom with no backlight, expect the transition from 'vivid' to 'washed out' to occur quicker than expected.
-
All that being said, the very people stating "I don't care, I want an OLED display in my iPod NOW" will be the FIRST to scream bloody murder in the first 6 to 9 months of having one.
>> but i'd put money on
>> but i'd put money on having gps this time so that it can enjoy all the location based software the iphone does.
The hitch in that is that the iPhone augments the GPS capability using cell towers. The GPS in the iPod would have a much slower initializing period and nothing to fall back on if it couldn't get a satellite lock.
As such I'd expect the camera before the GPS. Even though I'd expect them to have a tough time fitting the camera fitting into the much thinner iPod case. They both seem quite long shots. *shrug*
"iPhone-like 16GB and 32GB
"iPhone-like 16GB and 32GB varieties"
16GB and 32GB devices are now considered iPhone like? Are these storage capacities owned or developed by Apple?
Irony
Irony is if Apple put OLED in before anyone else did, you'd all be gushing over it. I don't care how many egghead comments and defenses you want to spout, Fanboys have proven that mantra over and over again.
If Apple does it, it's great. If someone else does it, something MUST suck about it.
I'm glad though that Apple puts more quality control into the touch and iPhone... now that all the video and classic iPods are falling apart due to poor manufacturing quality, people will realize it was all hype. And before you need some kind of affirmation, I was buying up broken ipods off ebay, fixing them, and re-selling them... and yeah, most broken iPods were due to poor assembly, not user related issues.
I look fwd to the Zune HD. Let's see how it looks in person.