This post was published 2 months 26 days ago. This info might have changed or might have become outdated.

Well, the Zune software version designed to support the new Zune HD and expanded marketplace is finally available from the Zune website as well as via Upgrade within the software. After messing about with it for the morning I have some first impressions.

First and foremost, the look and feel recently emulated by iTunes 9 has stayed largely the same. There have been a few GUI changes to bring it more inline with the Zune HD GUI (big arrows in circles appear in a few places, for example) but overall it is the same Zune software we know and love.

However, there are some noticeable and welcome additions to the mix…

First in all fairness I must state a problem I have with the new software. Due to the fact I live in a region that is not supported by Marketplace, I suddenly can’t log my profile into the Zune 4.0 software when I was always able to do so with v3. I can still log into the website using my profile, but I just get an error from the Media Player. This is not a deal breaker for me, and I understand things are a bit more Marketplace driven now with the HD, but it is still annoying. I have been enjoying keeping track of which artists I have been playing the most, and would like that feature back even if I can’t use the Marketplace. I am really hoping this a bug or an early adopter glitch, since this feels to me like a moment when Microsoft is putting profits above the user experience, and I don’t like it.

Also, keep in mind I cannot use and therefore cannot review the Marketplace and any improvements to it…this is all about the Media Player for me, and thus far save for a few hiccups I have been very impressed with the changes. Let me go through some of my favorite improvements and additions to Zune 4.0 then as a first impressions review.

The Mini-Player

Wow but I LOVE this feature. In the right hand corner of the Zune software, right nest to Minimize, is a brand new icon to convert the Zune player to Mini Player mode. This small rectangle gives you all the information you want about the current track (including album art) and also lists the next couple songs coming up (even if you are just shuffling through your entire Collection). You can pause, mute, go forward or back as well as rate the current track. Even nicer, the background automatically shows images of the artist taken from the Zune website.

This is simply a gorgeous, well executed and incredibly useful feature and I can tell already my Zune software will be in Mini-Player mode most of the time. It takes less desktop real-estate, less graphics resources but still gives you all you need from a music player. For me, the Mini-Player is worth the upgrade all by itself.

Quickplay

Zune now has an opening portal (apparently also a key element in the Zune HD GUI) that shows you what is new in your library as well as what you have been listening to lately. You can also pin any artist, album or playlist in your library to Quickplay so you have one click access to it. This is a very nice element in the desktop software that I think will be even better in the Zune HD GUI. I wonder if the two Quickplays will sync? A nice touch is that in the Settings screen you can select which view Zune opens to, Quickplay or your Collection. My only problem with the Quickplay screen is that it uses the same rocking scrolling system as found in the Zune.net profile screens. I expect this system works great on a touchscreen device…but with a Mouse it can be very tricky to actually click on the thumbnail or icon you want and downright annoying. Once or twice it almost made me seasick watching the thumbnails drift back and forth seemingly at random.  It would be nice if you could opt to use a more traditional scrolling bar on the screen, or to use something other then pink rectangles to indicate playlists. However, that is mostly a matter of personal taste and it is still a great feature which should help people organize large Collections more easily. It also gives the Zune software an impressive, comprehensive entry portal that doesn’t look quite as sterile as a list of tracks or albums.

Toolbar

This is a small touch but it shows the care and attention that the Zune team has paid to this software version and how they have kept the user experience in mind at all stages. When you minimize Zune, it doesn’t just disappear into the limitless void of your taskbar. It goes into the taskbar as it’s own toolbar, giving you basic play/pause and forward/back commands. There is NEVER a point when you don’t have those controls available somewhere on your screen, and I think that is fantastic. Good thinking Microsoft.

Now Playing

Here is another minor touch, but again one I really like. The Zune team improved the Now Playing view, making it more visually interesting by varying the size of the images. They also gave you the option to see the playlist as a window inside Now Playing. Again, just little things that make clear they gave thought to every element in the software and found things to improve across the board. They also added additional backgrounds to liven up your Collections and Settings views. It is often the smallest elements that make all the difference in software like this.

Two other major elements which I will need to play with more before I can review properly (and they deserve that sort of attention) are Smart DJ and the XBox 360 Integration.

Smart DJ is similar to Apple’s Genius in that it allows you to generate a playlist based on an artist, album or individual track. The nicest part is if you use a Zune Pass, it culls tracks from Zune’s vast online collection as well as your own library. Without Zune Pass, it sticks to your own library, but it is still fun and I enjoyed trying to figure out WHY Smart DJ included the tracks it did in a few test playlists I had it make.

As I don’t have an XBox, the XBox integration leaves me cold but it is all over the new software. Clearly Microsoft is plowing full steam ahead with it’s plan to make the Zune software the core of a vast multimedia entertainment system, featuring many different sorts of device. In that system, the XBox is destined to play a very major role, which is already reflected in this software.

Conclusion

I am very very impressed with the changes that Microsoft has made to the Zune desktop software. While much of it is clearly waiting for the Zune HD to really soar, I would strongly encourage everyone who uses a Zune device, HD or no, to upgrade to the new version. There is a great balance of new features, new eye candy and overall improvements that would be sure to please any music fan, not just Zune enthusiasts.