Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

I finally got around to checking out the Zune HD yesterday.  Like everyone else, I hit up my local Walmart’s newly refurbished electronic area; no special press access for me, thanks.  I like to think of it not as a snub from MS, but more along the lines that Ballmer and Co get me: I want to experience the device like a consumer would.

I found the new electronics department really nice.  I was drawn into the iPod area, took quick video on the new iPod nano, gawked at how impossibly thin they keep making the iPod touch and then saw the Zune HD.  There it sat waiting to be loved.

Physically, the player is a 10/10.  Great looks, great feel, a perfect size.  This thing is gorgeous.  But that is all I can tell you about the player thanks to the units not being powered.  Instead images were placed on their screens and would-be users can’t interact with the device.  Who wants to play with a brick?

Contrast that to the iPod where I figured out how to take video in all of 3 seconds or even the (IMO) crappy other players that littered the display next to the Zune.  How can consumers make a choice if someone was too cheap to make the units usable?  I have to assume this was Wal-Mart’s doing as they tend to script everything in their stores.

So without seeing the OLED screen, how the UI works (I can relate to older Zune models, but can consumers?), or getting the feel for the overall device, how can I choose anything besides the Apple products?  You would have to be a loyal Zunista to make an informed decision and we know that Microsoft can’t rely on that to keep the division going.

So what’s the deal?  Why does Walmart show non-working devices?  Did Microsoft look to cut some costs here?  Is it a conspiracy by Apple?  I’ve no idea, but tell us this: is your local Walmart showing off working Zunes?  Let us know in the comments and we’ll try to piece this one together.