After weeks of media leaks and speculation, Microsoft Thursday confirmed that two new Zune HD devices will hit the shelves Sept. 15.
Chip giant Nvidia also made it official that its Tegra chips will power the players.
Amazon.com has begun taking preorders for the Zune HD 16-GB and 32-GB Video MP3 players, priced at $219.99 and $289.99, respectively. Preorders will also be available directly through Microsoft, Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
The 16-GB model holds up to five hours of high-definition video, 22 hours of standard-definition video, 4,000 songs, or 25,000 pictures. The device supports HD video playback through a premium HDMI A/V docking station (sold separately) directly to an HDTV in 720p, which Microsoft said has "better-than-DVD-quality video." The OLED touch screen is 3.3 inches with 16:9 widescreen format display (480 x 272 pixel resolution). Additional features include a built-in HD Radio receiver, built-in Wi-Fi and Web browser.
The Zune 32-GB model has the same features but can store up to 10 hours of high-def video, or 48 hours of standard-definition video, 8,000 songs or 25,000 pictures.
Both models will be powered by Nvidia's low-power Tegra System-on-Chip (SoC). Tegra features multiprocessor architecture, with each processor unit architected for specific tasks, including a CPU for running HTML and Java, an HD video processor for streaming HD video playback and a graphics processor, all integrated in a low-power consumption computer-on-a-chip.
The company has high hopes for the chip. In a June investor meeting, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang told analysts that he expects the ARM-based Tegra processor to make up half of the company's business over the next few years.
