I’ve been reading a lot of buzz about the Zune HD online recently. Rather than the squared circle, navigation comes by way of a touchscreen. The screen itself is larger (actually “widescreen” dimensions of 16:9). In addition, the Zune HD will provide full integration with the Xbox 360, and also features a web browser that will work anywhere that WiFi is available.

Still no clue yet as to what suggested list pricing will be, and I also haven’t found out what type of storage will be on board.  I’m hoping it’s still hard-drive based, as the flash-based models just don’t have the storage capacity that the drive-based models do.  120GB is a good bet, although 160GB was possible with the iPod, and Toshiba has a 240GB dual-platter drive that will fit in the same space as the 120GB drive (although it’s very pricey right now).

It all looks attractive right now.  My only concerns are, first of all, what type of interface the Zune will have for entering text in the web browser.  And second, I’m not that fond of touchscreen devices.  My current Zune gets smudged enough in normal use; I can’t imagine what the HD will look like after a few hours in my greazy hands.  And without a stylus (a la the Nintendo DS), touchscreens can sometimes be very vague to navigate.  The browser is a nice attraction, but on the other hand, I may prefer something like a Blackberry that has an actual keyboard, and can be used away from WiFi locations.

We already know that any other player can’t top the industry leader in sales (for now, anyway), but there’s still plenty of innovation out there among competing brands.  Those of us who like (and prefer) the Zune have a lot to look forward to with this new model.