Is This the New Zune?

We've known Microsoft was working on a new generation of Zune players, but we haven't had any information on what kinds of improvements are being made and what it will look like. All that has changed, though.



Some new pictures that recently leaked out claim to show the new Zune HD. And frankly, we have now reason to doubt them. The design motif certainly meshes well with the rest of the Zune site.

These pictures are even more exciting for what they imply the new Zune will be like. The touchpad control seems to be completely gone, unless the little bit of metal at the bottom is the control surface. However, the more likely explanation is that the new Zune will have a touchscreen interface.

This is an exciting and terrifying prospect at the same time. Touchscreens are all the rage right now, but if Microsoft doesn't get it right, it will just be one more reason to hate the Zune (and most people don't even need another reason).

If the touchscreen is done right though, it opens up the door for the Zune to compete much better against the iPod Touch. If Microsoft allows the new Zune to download apps from the Windows Marketplace app store, just as Apple let the iPod Touch into the Apple App Store, then the functionality (and likeability) will increase exponentially.

Of course, that's an awful lot to draw from a picture, so we'll wait until Microsoft leaks some more details before we allow ourselves to get excited.

For information on the current Zune generation, see the MP3 player review site. For more tech news, stick with the blogs:

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