Zune HD now on sale; Twitter, Facebook, and 3-D games coming soon

Microsoft hits the "reset" button on its foundering Zune line with the touchscreen Zune HD, which hits the streets today with support for HD videos, HD radio, and—later this year—3-D and casual gaming, Facebook, and Twitter.

On sale for $229 (16GB) or $289 (32GB), the Zune HD desktop software is now available for download; the new Zune 4.0 client boasts new features such as Quickplay, which gives you speedy access to your favorite, newest, and most-recently played tunes and content (the Quickplay menu also appears on the Zune HD's main screen), along with Smart DJ, which sets up instant playlists based on a specific genre, artist, or song (similar to Genius on iTunes).

We've known for a few months now that the Zune HD (check out my initial hands-on impressions) would support features such 720p HD video playback over an optional HDMI cradle, HD Radio, and a 3.3-inch touchscreen, but Microsoft has finally revealed what's long been rumored: that apps are coming to the Zune in a big way.

Expect "Facebook for Zune" and "Twitter for Zune" later this year, according to Microsoft, as well as full-on 3-D games, starting with titles such as "Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition" (which should work well with the Zune HD's built-in accelerometer and Nvidia Tegra processor), "Vans Sk8: Pool Service," and "Audiosurf Tilt."

In the meantime, the Zune HD will launch with a handful of "casual" games, along with weather and calculator apps (all of which will be free).

The Microsoft reps I spoke with weren't shy about saying that they see the Zune HD as a true iPod Touch competitor, although they've got a steep hill to climb in terms of matching the massive iTunes app catalog. It's also not clear when—or if—Microsoft will release a Zune SDK for third-party developers.

In any case, you'll have to excuse me—I'm busy getting the new Zune software loaded up on my old Windows XP machine. Stay tuned for my full review of the Zune HD once I've spent some quality time with my test unit.