This week Microsoft announced their newest Zune Product.  This time around, called the Zune HD, Microsoft is going for the biggest of the iPod line, the iPod Touch. The Zune HD is going to be a direct competitor of the iPod touch and has many of the same features.

First off, the Zune HD will feature a 3.3” screen (vs the iPod Touches 3.5” screen) but will have a much higher resolution of 480x720  vs the iPod Touch resolution of 480×320. A resolution of 720 means that it can do High Definition video! (Hence the HD in the name)  This also gives it an aspect ratio of 16×9.

One feature it will offer that the iPod Touch doesn’t have is an HDMI output so that you can connect it to an HD television and watch 720p content on the TV.  A nice feature to have for sure!

Although Microsoft did not talk about capacities, they did say that it would feature built in Wi-Fi and a web browser so you can connect it to your home network and surf with it etc. Hopefully they will include some simple utilities like an email client as well.

The interface is going to be touch of course, and should support multi-touch as well.

So then the last thing they need will be an Application Store like the one that the iPod Touch has so that people can develop applications for the platform.  That would definitely make it a competitor to Apple and maybe help it gain just a little traction in the market.

I’ve had a Zune for almost a year now. Just a little 8GB one but it’s the best MP3 player I’ve ever had and I have a LOT less problems with it than with my wife’s iPod Nano. I’d be more than happy to upgrade to the Zune HD in the future!  Stay tuned for more as details emerge from Microsoft.