Of course they have an answer to the iPod Touch. They copied it and added a few useless features to try and make it seem different. Without the iPod Touch, the Zune had nowhere to go to progress. So might as well copy Apple again.

I swear, that is fanboy hate at its best! How can you say OLED, HD Radio and HD output via that incredible Tegra chip to be useless? Maybe you guys are so trained into believeing Apple knows what you do and don't want. You probably think that the ability for the nano to take still pictures was a useless feature... Apple sure does, even though every other poratble device intuitively has that.

Sheep, man. Sheep!

Gitcypeher: I didn't know the Zune has a still camera. I didn't see it in the specs. Thanks for the tip.

I made an effort and read through the whole thing before commenting here.

Zune HD, if it were to exist in a contemporary vacuum, would be a very cool device. However, it does not. It exists in a colossal shadow of the iPod touch. As such, it will be all about perception, brand awareness. And today, nothing, just nothing can compete with Apple as a brand, and iPod as a device. There's that scene in the NBC show, "Chuck":

Chuck Bartowski: Morgan! Hey, ah, buddy, do we carry any Rush CDs in the store?
Morgan Grimes: No need. I got them all in my Zune.
Chuck Bartowski (in complete disbelief): You have a Zune????
Morgan Grimes: Are you kidding me? No, no. I'll grab my iPod.

This says it all. The global perception is: Apple - cool. Zune - uncool. Zune HD has very little chance in changing that, regardless of its features, usability, build quality and price. It will have a purpose, though; it will continue to motivate those in Apple for whom building insanely great product isn't enough of a motivation (and despite what Apple fans believe, there ARE people like that on Apple's campus).

I wasn't implying that the Zune has a camera, which we both know is not true. I'm saying that every poratble device that has a little BS camera takes still shots as well. It seems extremely counterintuitive, and frankly, "counter-Apple" to not have that utility in the Nano.

Thanks for clarifying, gitcypher. I'm trying to figure out which is the better buy. The iPod Nano has the video camera, lots of storage for music, files, and podcasts, and plays videos too. The iPod Touch has the tons of cool App Store apps. The only advantage I can see to the Zune is the Zune Pass, but I hate being saddled with the monthly fees. Right now, I'm leaning toward the iPod Nano. It's really tiny and except for Zune pass does 95% of what the Zune can do, plus it has a video camera.

There is a feature per feature comparison of Zune HD vs Apple iPod touch at ObamaPacman dot com

http://obamapacman.com/2009/09/microsoft-zune-hd-vs-apple-ipod-touch-3g-feature-comparison/