Microsoft released a firmware update for its Zune HD over the weekend. In addition to various bug fixes, firmware version 4.3 delivers new tweaks and features, such as support for 3D games and applications (which are rumored to arrive as early as November 17). According to the forum thread dedicated to the latest Zune HD firmware version, these are the changes:

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If only it was a phone , I would own one, but as it is I dont need to have another device in my pocket... even if it is one of the best a version with a phone should have been a necessity for Microsoft ... They could have competed with the damn Iphone and made a seamless environment with sync and windows 7 ,, they lost a big opportunity and my money.

Same here. I already have a high-tech device in my pocket -- why can't it do everything else I need it to do?

I know there is a pretty good market still for a stand-alone media player without the phone stuff, but for the many rest of us who already carry around something like a PDA phone... Why in the world would we want yet another device in our pockets?

Putting the phone + MP3 player + whatever is a natural extension of making technology universally useful.

Let's see how it fares for 3D gaming. While I agree that it's nice to have a phone that does everything, I do want different things from my phone and media device. I prefer a phone with a real keyboard, and don't mind having a different device for gaming / media. (Then again, gaming is better off with a hardware controller, too. So phone + PSP is probably the way to go.)

Microsoft came out behind the times on this one... A product for which there is no need, and for which the competition is clearly better for most of us. I expect they will do something about it, or it will end up like Bob.

Now, if only they were to release an SDK...

http://forums.xna.com/forums/t/38975.aspx