Today, the Zune HD was unleashed upon the world. It’s a slick device with a 3.3 inch touchscreen, a nVidia Tegra powered CPU/GPU, HD radio, 720p video output, Wi-Fi, a web browser, and app support.

The Zune HD, pretty ain't it?

Most importantly, it also adds smart DJ which is an auto generated playlists that can be created based on a song, an artist or multiple artists. The neat thing about smart DJ is that if you also subscribe to a Zune pass it will download similar artists and include them in the playlists. Apple did something similar with Genius playlists and they’re only part of iTunes I like. Enough that despite it’s many many flaws iTunes is my mp3 software of choice in OSX.

Ever since I picked up my refurb Zune 30 off woot.com two years ago, I’ve been a huge fan. Sure, the hardware is bulky, and it lacks a fancy scroll wheel but the UI is awesome and the software just keeps getting better and better. Microsoft has done an amazing job releasing updates and new features over the past two years. Sadly, with the release of the Zune HD that Zune 8, 30, and 120 support is at an end but Microsoft seems set to provide the same stellar support for the Zune HD and it’s future siblings.

Curious, when I went over to Best Buy this afternoon to pick up Scribblenauts (which was sold out) I took a look at Zune HD. The demo units weren’t fully functional, they didn’t have any music loaded and it looked as if they hadn’t fully set them up yet. Comparisons to the iPod touch are inevitable and the Zune HD is a smaller more focused device. There’s app support but it’s clearly a secondary feature and kept in a submenu off the main screen. The hardware has vastly improved and the device is much smaller than I expected. The UI is the same sweetness that I love in my current Zune but more touchy. The animations were quick and multi-touch seems to work just as well as the iPod Touch. After seeing it I’ve got total gadget lust, if there were physical control buttons on the device I probably would have bought it on the spot.

Really the Zune HD has just about everything I could ask for in an mp3 player except buttons. I’ve got an iPhone and it’s an amazing multipurpose device, okay phone and a crappy mp3 player. My normal usage phone and internet tends to drain the battery in a day. Adding in two or three hours of mp3 usage on a plane is only going to make that worse. Also, the lack of physical buttons means I constantly have to be looking at the screen to play/pause and switch songs. While it’s only slightly annoying at work, it’s a huge a pain in the ass when I’m driving on the highway.

As it stands right now, I’m on the fence. On the one hand, my trusty Zune is starting to show some wear and the Zune HD is a wicked device and a superb evolution on the design. On the other hand, the idea do fumbling around with it in a car isn’t appealing especially based on my previous experience with the iPhone.