I’ve always found the Zune interesting, but I’ve never been fascinated by one…until now. Come September 15 I’ll likely be visiting my local Best Buy to take a look at the launch of the Zune HD. I’d seen our coverage of the device earlier on and I had read the press releases, but the latest videos on Engadget finally tipped the scales and got me excited about Microsoft’s newest device. I’m really excited to see another mobile product that is really paying attention to a quality look and genuinely interesting user interface.

A new exterior

The brushed metal look on the Zune HD puts the older models to shame, and I’m really liking the transition from that “music playing toy” look to a tempered, high definition portable media machine. The Zune HD looks a lot more serious than its predecessors, and it’s really taken me over. Realistically speaking, I don’t think I’ll be going out and buying one at $219 for 16GB since I already own an iPhone 3GS with a similar capacity, but it’s got me dead-to-rights in the techno lust category. If the old Zunes were Smarties, then the Zune HD is an M&M — and everyone knows that the shell is superior on the latter.

Texty!

One thing that the first Zune nailed was an interesting interface. Doug wrote an extensive review of the device for JAMM, and one thing that stands out is the huge text-based interface. The really striking factor here is the typography of the UI. Instead of using a lot of fancy colours and menu systems, a lot of the Zune HD’s UI seems to be composed of gorgeous and gigantic text — and it works! I never knew that letters turning and tumbling about the screen could be so sexy, and I really can’t wait to try the thing out for myself come September 15.

If you’re looking for more Zune HD details, I definitely suggest you hit up Engadget’s Zune HD hub for some fantastic pics and video demos.