Hm, then I'm gonna get the bundle with the dock. It plays in 720P and it's free with the 32GB. It's $40 above my budget I set up, but it will be worth it, lol.

Lol, for gaming upgrade, I'm getting the 3DS, I am 90% sure. Sony might so something amazing that surprises me, but I wen with the DS this last gen, all while people were talking shit about it, and I am very much happy with it. I can't wait for the 3DS. The PSP2 might be great, but I can't live without my Nintendo games and I don't think I'll be buying two gaming systems.

kowenicki, since you're from the UK, may I ask a question?

Are you able to log into Zune marketplace? If I try to log in from the Zune Software on my PC, I always get the error message "Sorry, can't sign in right now". I'm afraid that's because of my IP address which is not from the US (I have imported a Zune HD and changed everything to US English on my Windows, so I'm out of ideas how to solve this problem). I was able to download firmware 4.5, though.

@OP: If you don't need apps, Zune HD gets my full recommendation.

the biggest benifit is that if you purches TV or Movies you can sych them with your Zune HD since Zune is the overarching service... renting however doesn't work like that...

Go for it! Its a great device especially as you dont care for apps. I have one and they are absolutely fantastic. The zune Pass is the greatest thing since the invention of the MP3 player and is definitely worth the $15 a month. But even without it the Zune HD (or any zune for that matter) is/are great players.

TBH I wouldn't go for pure portable media device since it seems like an unefficient waste of space. If you have the cash, go for all in device that can do everything those portable media devices do. I'm talking HTC HD2 or SEricsson Xperia10 on android platform. They have everything IPhone or ZuneHD have, but better display, more features and options and open platform. I myself have gotten HTC Diamond2 which still runs on WM6.5, but can do everything those other devices do (just more clunky on Windows Mobile).

I think it's worth to save the extra buck and have a device that is superior and all-in-one, rather than carrying several devices at once, which can't do the stuff as good, even when they are focused exclusively on it.

Yes, but even than it's good to give it a good hard think, if that isn't something he'd profit for in the future. It's really hard not to buy things on impulse, I've wasted so much money through bad decision and buying on impulse that I rather don't even try to remember them all.

I'm not so interested in Windows 7, I was an avid supporter of Windows Mobile devices for years, starting with first Siemense PDA's, and even though Windows Mobile needed revamp, it wasn't this kind of revamp. From the last showing it's pretty much the same model that Apple has, restrictions everywhere, total control about what you can do with the device, very little room for developers to work in. They might have superior OS to apple's, but I really miss the open platform. And the complete lack of backwards compatibility between WM 6.5 or less with WM7 will kill decade of software developement which provided milions of applications. But maybe the future isn't as grim...

BTW Windows 7 devices are the same as Android devices, it's 90% 3rd party hw manufacturers and the only difference will be the OS instaled.

hey if you are interested in Zune HD as a app device they do have an open source development kit called ZDK the guys over at Zuneboards build it up and Doom has already been ported... there is a lot of proof of concept right now but they are working on an app store as well...

That is incorrect.  It will play over USB in whatever resolution the file is.

No, if your zune HD is connected to the Xbox, and if you have a HD video on there and you wanna play it, then it will be played in 480p.

Maybe over a computer it will be whatever resolution the video is but on Xbox its 480p.