Zune HD

I just got the Zune HD last night, and I have been really happy with it.    Audio quality is wonderful.  The one thing that will surprise you is the size of the player.  The pictures on the web can't communicate the smallness of it.  Web browsing is works fairly well, especially compared to older versions of Windows Mobile's IE.  Apps are ok, and it appears that they have went back to static advertisements when loading.  (At this point, I have yet to see a 30 second video ad when loading so I won't say that it has been removed.)  Reports of long delays when switching out of Apps and Internet, appear to be exaggerated.  There is only about a 5 second change between media and internet/apps.  Changing between Music/Pictures/Video is very quick and fluid.  Video does have the option to zoom in on the image, similar to an HD tv.  When you get to the US, I would recommend taking a look at it.

I tried an indirect sunlight test this morning with settings set to brightest.  It's visible, and usable.  Inside under bright light it shines like nobody's business.  I have used the 120 before in sunlight, and would compare it to the brightness of that model.  I haven't tried it in the car yet, which is my key scenario for use.

Just finished with the car test.  It works surprisingly well.  The display was not as bright as indoors, but was sufficient for use.  You would think that not having dedicated hardware buttons would be a pain, but the screen is so reliable and responsive to touch it didn't make a difference.  It was a little strange to learn to where to tap the screen to start with, but you quickly memorize the position of the controls and taps.  I had no problem navigating through songs while driving without looking at the screen.

The key is direct sunlight, if you hold the player aimed with the screen at the sun, it will be difficult to see.  I don't think you would have a problem seeing the player in a room with bright sunlight coming in.  I have went out on my front porch this morning and had no issues with visibility of the player with the sun shining down through the trees, unless I purposely placed the player in direct sunlight at the angle the sun was shining.  The test yesterday was on my back porch with bright sunlight, but not direct sunlight.   My guess would be that if you are in an outdoor room, with a ceiling overhead, then you should have no problems.  On the other hand if you were in the desert at high noon, and were holding the player out facing directly upwards you would have problems. 

I hope that clears it up for you.