The Zune HD has only been out for a day, but apps are already filtering into the Marketplace. So far there are some free apps like weather, a calculator, and a few games available. What do you have to lose, Zune HD owners? Download ‘em like you just don’t care!
It will be interesting to see the type of apps developers make for the Zune HD. Sure, the Zune HD is as powerful as Sauron, but will there be a wide range of apps and games that will tap the power? The answer probably correlates whether the Zune HD is a success. The App Store took off so quickly because there were already millions of iPhones around the world. Devs may very well watch the Zune HD from afar for a while.
But why would an app developer spend time and money coding for the Zune HD when Apple’s App Store reaches tens of millions of iDevices? A few smart ones might jump on the bandwagon right away with the goal of cornering the market early and there is likely going to be ports of existing apps and games. Some companies will develop for the Zune HD right of the bat, but probably only out of love for the platform and not with the hope of instant riches.
I admit, it was a poor choice of words when I stated that the Zune HD might not have the gaming capabilities of the new iPod touch. It does, in fact, have more capabilities and potential, but so does the Creative Zii powered by Android and others. That’s not to say other PMPs cannot exist in the same market, but don’t get your hopes up about future apps. I know, it’s not fair, but we live in an iPod world, folks. Domination kills innovation.
Umm… those apps were made by Microsoft and future ones will be too. There’s no current way to submit apps to the app store(though I’m sure if it’s good enough and you submit it to Microsoft and don’t expect money for it then they’ll take it). Given the current SDK, though, you were somewhat right that it doesn’t have the gaming capabilities though I’m betting we’ll see a new SDK sooner rather than later.
Interesting too is the ad you are forced to watch while/before the app loads. That is a big FAIL signal in the sky IMO.
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/09/zune-hd-apps-are-here-complete-with-pre-roll-ads.ars
Who cares? Is it really that big of a deal to have to look at a picture of a car while your free app loads?
Innovation is not killed at all. Nothing is preventing the worlds largest software company from innovating. Nothing but: tired corporate culture?
There will Apps for Zune of course. The question is what will Microsoft allow as ethical for the public viewing or gaming. When all the dust settles we will still be marketing Zune at
D L SERVICES INC authorize Microsoft affiliate.
There won’t be a substantial number of apps until Microsoft enables developers to sumbmit applications for publication.
It’s pretty hard to imagine what MS is thinking here. Maybe they want to funnel developers toward the upcoming Windows Mobile store and are afraid of splitting attention toward two different platforms?
It’s really a huge mess actually – XNA on the Zune but you can’t publish what you create, no XNA on Windows Mobile, no word on APIs for Windows Mobile 7. On the Windows Mobile side, an insanely fragmented landscape with tons of devices sporting varying capabilities.
Honestly, Microsoft needs to drop the excuses and lame PR speak and let developers at the platform. It really only makes sense, get people building apps for the Zune now and then slide them into Windows Mobile 7 development. By the time winmo 7 launches you’ll have a new group of devs ready to hit the ground running.
They’re thinking about the new Windows Mobile Marketplace they’re rolling out. It wouldn’t have made sense to have 3 completely separate app stores(xbox live arcarde, windows mobile marketplace, zune marketplace), so they decided to wait until the Windows Mobile Marketplace is finalized and mature and then tapping into that. Also, given that the new XNA extension for the Zune HD is still the non-3D compatible library from the old Zunes(plus multitouch and accelerometer support), it seems obvious they’re still working on the gaming API. It’s a 2 day old device, we should probably give it some time(remember that it took the iPod Touch/iPhone a full year for app support)
I agree that it needs some time to bake, but would it kill them to provide a roadmap?
You can build ZuneHD-targeted apps as of two days ago using this official addon for XNA Game Studio 3.1.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=48f7ba37-8ba7-4d16-8873-0b7f83ef77f9&displaylang=en