In a discussion with Kin project manager Derek Snyder this afternoon, we’ve confirmed that both the Kin One and Kin Two are built on the same foundation as the Zune HD — in other words, they’re running NVIDIA Tegra silicon, and there’s no reason that anything you see on a Zune HD couldn’t run just as well on a Kin. Of course, that’s a purely theoretical statement at this point since Zune apps don’t work on Kin as it stands — the platform’s completely closed, though Microsoft has been insistent that we should keep a close eye on its over-the-air updates after launch as features evolve. Either way, that’s a marked (and curious) departure from Windows Phone 7 , where Microsoft’s been taking an all-Qualcomm, all-the-time approach. Realistically, we’ve gotten the impression today that Kin doesn’t come close to tapping out a Tegra’s horsepower, but that might be by design: Snyder also mentioned that a key goal of the development phase was to make sure that the phones could go a whole weekend without a charge. Running a Tegra at full bore 24 / 7 doesn’t lend itself to miserly power consumption, so the overall simplicity of the UI — and the lack of 3D gaming — might play a role there. Kin is basically a Zune HD inside, can go for a weekend on a charge originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:43:00 EST

The Zune 4.5 update we saw last week looked pretty good! More codec support, Smart DJ music discovery (similar to the iTunes Genius feature that’s pretty stellar with a Zune Pass), and a few other fun features. It’s available even sooner than we thought, so all you Zune owners go ahead and open up your Zune software on your computer and connect your Zune HD to get the latest and greatest. More

Well hey, here’s a nice little complement to the Zune’s updated software : As expected , there’s a new 64GB model, which is otherwise unchanged, and sells for a hefty $350. As for the 16GB and 32GB models, they’re $20 cheaper now. More

Let’s just be nice and feign surprise , okay? Good. With that out of the way, Microsoft has announced a 64GB version of Zune HD, due out April 12th via the Zune online store (and later via other retailers) with a handful of color options and a strapping $349.99 price tag. Not to be outdone, the 16GB and 32GB will each receive a $20 cut on the MSRP, to $200 and $270, respectively — whatever Amazon and Newegg slash beyond that is up to them. It seems “as soon as possible” is the motto for when the price drop is taking place, so if your favorite online / brick-and-mortar retailer isn’t yet honoring the extra Andrew Jackson in your pocket, have patience.

As promised (and as a sign that Microsoft isn’t forgetting about Zune HD to work on Windows Phone 7), the Zune 4.5 update brings more video codec support and Smart DJ music discovery to the player. More

Wander over to Zune’s website and you’ll see three different capacities for the Zune HD are listed: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. There’s no further info on that roomy HD, but we’ll be here all day, Microsoft. [ Zune Thanks, tipsters!] More

We already got a look at Microsoft’s little XNA show-and-tell as relates to Windows Phone 7 Series, but our colleague Andrew Yoon over at Joystiq had a chance for longer sit-down with Xbox Live general manager Ron Pessner and XNA Game Studio manager Michael Klucher at GDC today, and he’s been kind enough to share the interview with us. The main topic of conversation was the company’s plans regarding Xbox LIve and, specifically, how it would be integrating it into Windows Phone 7 Series. And believe us, there was plenty to discuss — including the sweet science of porting games from Zune HD to 7 Series phones (”it’s 90, 95 percent code reuse… in an hour or couple of hours, we’re taking games that were written for Zune HD and putting them on the phone”), the importance of maintaining a consistent gameplay experience amongst different hardware, and the reasoning behind limiting devices to asynchronous multiplayer. What are you waiting for? Hit the source link to embark on this miraculous journey of discovery

You’ve been up nights, we know, and now Microsoft has finally ended your torment: the long-promised Facebook application is now available for download to the Zune HD. Go wild, but not too wild , alright everybody? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Facebook app now available for Zune HD originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

You can now feed your social media obsession even further by downloading a Facebook app onto your Zune HD . Heads up though, seems that you may need to update your Zune software first. [ CrunchGear ]

Regular Zune users may have already noticed the alert warning of some impending downtime, but those that haven’t should know that Microsoft is advising folks that some maintenance scheduled for tomorrow could last for as long as 24 hours. That will begin at 10PM PST on January 25th, and will affect all Zune services, including Zune Pass, Zune Marketplace, Zune.net streaming and Zune video on Xbox Live. Once the service is back up, users will also have to update their PC software, and users of Zunes other than the Zune HD will also have to update their device’s firmware. This scheduled maintenance is also apparently just that, maintenance — although Microsoft is promising that things like Smart DJ and other features announced at CES, as well some as “unannounced features,” will be rolling out in another update sometime this Spring.