2nd Generation Zune HD Rumor? Forget Cloning the iPod touch – How About a Zune HD Tablet?

I came really close to buying a Zune HD last year. The reason? One of the handful of free games released for it was PRG which looks and feels a lot like my favorite game series from the old original Xbox: Project Gotham Racing. It was, at the time, the best racing game I had seen on a mobile device. I didn’t buy a Zune HD. But, I still think about it now and then when trying out a racing game on my iPhone 4 or iPad.

So, ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley’s tip about a possible new Zune HD caught my attention.

(Not so) Crazy Microsoft Rumors: A new Zune HD?

There’s no technical specifications assocaited with this rumor. So, let me add a bit of wishful thinking to this rumor: What if the Zune HD 2 (or “7″ as Ms. Foley notes is Microsoft’s new favorite number) is a tablet sized device? Since “7″ is their favorite number, let’s say the Zune HD “7″ has a 7-inch display and is based on the Windows Phone 7 (there’s that number again) platform. Both current generation platforms (Zune HD and Windows Mobile 6.5 are built on top of Windows CE). A true instant on/off Zune HD Tablet with a decent web browser and the ability to run Windows Phone 7 apps might be an appealing device. It would certainly have a more consistent user interface story to tell than what ever kludge is done to Windows 7 to “tablet-fy” it.

So, how about it, Microsoft? How about a Zune HD 7 tablet? I’d stand in line to buy one.

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.