The Zune HD wallpaper contest in the forums produced some really great looking original wallpapers optimized for the Zune HD. The winner of the contest, ABI member Rom, created a spinoff of the “I’m a PC” Microsoft ad campaigns calling his series “I’m a Zune”. The picture pack features some great looking vector graphics with happy Zune characters. Nice job Rom!

Judging these were a touch call since there were a lot of great wallpapers. The best of the bunch have been added to a downloadable picture pack you can drop right on to your Zune HD organized into folders by the members. Check out these great papers below and download these great wallpaper or browse all of the wallpapers in the Zune HD wallpaper forum.

Microsoft just released firmware 4.3 for the Zune HD. It fixes some minor issues like speeding up the browser, does some preliminary support for upcoming applications and games and also adds predictive text input to make it a bit easier to type on the device. It also speeds up the startup a little and adds a few features in the UI like links in the artist bio and a keyboard settings menu. Definitely worth grabbing if you have a Zune HD.

[Mobile tech World via Gizmodo]

With previous generation Zunes being discontinued, the Zune HD will be rolling solo into the next generation of the Zune platform. This hardware along with the software and services is a walled garden approach that tightly integrates content delivery across your Zune HD, PC, Xbox, and Windows Phone. It is an approach that creates a very seamless and easy to use experience but on the flip side can be limiting on choices of software and formats.

This Zune HD review will show off the features of the HD hardware and how it meshes with the Zune ecosystem.

The Zune Wall Paper Development Kit by ABI will allow you to see what your wallpaper will look like before you put it on your Zune. It helps you layout the design elements for your wallpaper around the Zune HD's clock, icons, and bottom bar on the lock screen. It will even apply the shadow as if you were viewing it on the device. It is an awesome tool for Zune wallpaper designers.

Additionally, we are having a contest to see who can create the best Zune HD wallpaper. The prize is a Zune HD AV Dock. Here is the contest thread and stop into the Zune HD Wallpaper Forum to download and check out the entries.

If it doesn’t exist why not build it? One of our readers did just that. Searching for a replacement hard drive for his old school iRiver H300, abi reader Andrew, decided to go with an SSD drive to avoid future hard drive failures. He was unable to find the proper SSD drive to replace the H300s so he looked for a broken hard drive player to marry with an SSD drive.

Not wanting to pay $300 for a new flash player, he wanted to go cheap and hack something cool together. He was able to dig up a broken Zune 120 and a refurbished SanDisk EIDE/PATA SSD drive for a total cost of $130 bucks off of eBay.

Want one? Andrew has made a nice detailed guide- you should be able to follow and make your own.

FedEx is starting to drop off the long awaited (read: delayed) customized Zune Originals direct from Microsoft's factories in China. Those who ordered a Zune Original as an express order got a little treat for their patience in putting up with the delay- $15 credit to be spent in the Zune Marketplace.

Below are a few photos of what is inside the box (you're welcome for not boring you with an 8 min video of watching me take stuff out of a box, unboxing videos are the gadget world's equivalent to Ambien). There is not much different from the regular store bought version other than a different design on the box and of course the custom color and etched back design. I chose not to get a design and just wanted a blue 32GB Zune. The blue and I imagine the other colors to be of the same tone colors, is an understated modern pastel. It is an attractive and not obnoxious color tone fitting in well with the entire Zune design scheme.

Last week, Cruelworld spotted four never before seen Zune HD colors lurking in the Zune software source code: pink, magenta, purple, and "atomic".

Recently, it was discovered that an eBay user, who just happens to live in Washington, is in possession of this majestic and allusive Atomic Zune HD. The user, who says it was a gift from a "friend", did what any of us would do when a friend gives us an extremely rare, impossible to find gift: sell it on eBay for cold hard cash.

It's still unknown if these special colors were created specifically for the Zune Team, or if they'll make an appearance in the wild at some point. But if you absolutely must over-pay for a Zune HD which may appear on store shelves down the road at a much lower price, head over to the 'bay and get your bid on.

[eBay | Dark Zune]

I recently had an unfortunate mishap with the Zune HD review I have been working on. Quite discouraging so I thought I would boost my spirits by posting this Zune accessory review.

DLO is an official accessory maker for the Zune and maker of other accessories beyond cases for a few other players. These two particular cases are among three DLO makes for the Zune HD. Featured in this review are the "Action Jacket" an arm band sports case and the "Jam Jacket" which is a silicon case featuring a cord wrap. The third case absent from this review is the HipCase which is a leather flip top case with a non -removable belt clip. (...holding out for a Noreve leather case)

You didn't think we would leave this one unscathed did you? For the last few days the Zune HD sat particularly close to the tool set. After passing by it a few times eying them both, I could not longer resist and started tearing it apart.

You will need: Tri-wing screw driver. #0, T-4 & T-5 Screw driver, Tweezers. Tri-Wing screw drivers can be found on Amazon or if you need to search elsewhere it is the same screw type that Nintendo uses on their Wii and DS Lite

Here is a quick look at the Zune HD hardware comparing it to other MP3 player form factors.

It is always difficult to gauge the size of a device from a picture and honestly I am always surprised regardless once I get the actual gadget in my hands. However, in an attempt to help you size up the Zune HD, here is a photo with hopefully a player that you already own. Full resolution photo after the break.

Still a day left before the much anticipated Zune HD launch and Dell already has the thing on sale.

Dell.com is offering to take 15% off Zune HD 16 and 32GB models if you enter coupon code 6FWJ247J1P44CK during checkout. That's $33 off the 16GB and $43 off the 32GB, people! And to sweeten the deal—which means to add sugar to—Dell will ship your Zune for free. If you're the least bit tempted, hit the links below.

Zune HD 16GB

Zune HD 32GB

[Dell | Via Engadget]

Many assumed the Zune HD would arrive in other countries shortly after its September 15th US launch. But today it was reported by Ars Technica that Zune HD fans won't be getting any love if they live anywhere outside the US

The news left many international Zune fans frustrated and wondering why Microsoft wouldn't want to make the much anticipated Zune HD available to as many countries as possible. There are already several conspiracy theories floating around, but we turn to Senior Business Development Manager of Microsoft's Zune team and ABi Zune forum resident Dave McLauchlan for the answer.

With the release of the Zune HD, Microsoft will hopefully finally get a real stand in the MP3 player market with a device made to fit the times. The older Zune models; both first- and second generation hard drive based models and the flash based players never really made that big of a dent in Apple's market share, and it's no surprise to see Microsoft now deciding to drop all the older models and go forward with just the HD in it's lineup.

The information that Microsoft will do this move comes from a Windows blogger who met up with Microsoft to discuss various things. Among secret information he couldn't share, the one piece of info he didn't have to keep a lid on was this discontinuation.

Seeing how the market looks today, it's probably the right move by Microsoft. Hard drive based players are simply not worth producing anymore due to the major drawbacks of the technology (especially in something as portable as an MP3 player) and the fact the vast majority of consumers won't need as much storage space. Flash memory is also catching up to it in terms of capacities. With the MSRP of the Zune HD being as low as it is (only $30 higher than the MSRP of the 16GB Zune) even the flash based Zunes are becoming pointless since they would have to be ridiculously cheap to be worth it dropping all the goodies in the Zune HD.

No information is available as to when the discontinuation will be official and put in motion, but the Zune HD is only two weeks away so it's probably not long.

[SuperSite Blog]

Kicker and I go way back to my early days as a car audio enthusiast. Even before I had my license, as a 15 year old I started packing Kicker subwoofers in my trunk paired with various amp and crossovers. Yes, I will admit, I was one of those obnoxious kids with more subwoofers than wheels- the one who rattled your window sills from a mile away. It turned into quite the hobby/obsession even entering a few local car audio competitions and even winning a few first places.

Being no stranger to car audio and Kicker products my interest was piqued when they introduced the ZKick. So I have had my eye on the ZKick dock for quite some time only having had a chance to preview it in the stores. It may be helpful to demo a dock like this in the store for features and build quality, but it can be hard to get a sense of sound quality and output in a big box store with kids screaming and Guitar Hero being played in the background. I finally got a chance to pick one of these units up and have been using it daily for the last two months.