As you have probably heard, the Zune HD will be released in the USA on September 15th. Unfortunately there is still no word of an official release of the Zune in the UK.

However, ZuneThings will be carrying the Zune HD in the UK, as we have done with all the previous Zunes.

We are now taking pre-orders and we should be able to start shipping both the 32 gb Zune HD and also the 16 GB Zune HD in the first week of October.

As always we will honour the 12 month warranty on the Zune and will repair or replace the device ourselves should anything go wrong.

To Pre-order just check checkout as usual except choose Zune HD Pre-order at the payment screen and we will not collect credit card information at this point. We will contact you for payment once our stock is here in the UK. You are able to cancel your order at any time if you change your mind.

We will also be adding the new Zune HD Accessories over the coming days which will also be available for pre-order.

The limited edition 80GB Joy Division Zune is now available at ZuneThings. The Zune comes with designs by Peter Saville and is pre-loaded with the documentary film Joy Division.

There is also a version of the Microsoft Leather Case with the Joy Division designs. It comes in a very cool (and huge!) box.

Keep an eye on Voucher Codes for special offers and vouchers from ZuneThings!

ZuneThings currently have the Zune Home AV Pack V1 on sale and we have had a lot of questions about compatibility with all Zune models. Details are here:

The V1 Dock is designed for the 30GB Zune but can also be used with the all the New Zunes by making an easy adjustment.

Here is a great post with pictures that shows exactly how::

http://jeftek.com/media/zune/use-v1-zune-a-v-dock-with-v2-zunes/

We can also confirm that the remote control will function fully for the all Zune’s when used with the V1 dock.

Limitations for 80/120GB Zune owners: This dock supports Composite AV out but not Component AV out. If you want to use the Component out feature of your Zune 80/120, you will need the Zune Home AV Pack V2.

The Amazon MP3 Store is now available in the UK and it’s DRM free. This means you can purchase music and play it on your Zune or whatever device you want without restriction!

From the Amazon site:

“Songs from Amazon MP3 can be played on any MP3-capable device, including iPods, Zunes, Zens, iPhones, RAZRs, BlackBerrys, and most media-enabled mobile phones. Our files are free of digital rights management (DRM) software, so you can burn your songs to CDs, play them on all your computers, and transfer them to all your devices. Songs are encoded at 256 kbps , which means you get high audio quality at a manageable file size”

Please make sure you order any items at ZuneThings by December 15th at the very latest to ensure we can deliver in time Christmas.

December 2nd 2008 Update: The Zune 120 is now back in stock and available for immediate shipping.

An update to the Zune Software has been released today. This is mainly small improvements and some extra games for the Zune. You can see full details at ZuneInsider.

There is also a new TV ad showing in the US:

There is a limited Gears of War Zune 120GB being released on November 7th. ZuneThings will be stocking this Zune for UK customers shortly after the release. It is available for pre-order now.

The Special Edition Gears of War 2 Zune video MP3 player features a Crimson Omen etching and is loaded with a special Gears of War 2 media collection

In the box:

• Gears of War 2 Special Edition Zune 120
• Headphones
• Zune Sync Cable
• Three pairs of foam earpiece covers

Preloaded Content:

• Listen to the full soundtrack of the original Gears of War game, including 28 tracks from the game that started this epic saga
• Nine Gears of War videos, including gameplay, trailers, and behind-the-scenes moments with Epic Games.
• 244 different images, including game concept art, team photos,and custom Zune backgrounds.

This is the next in the series of Microsoft TV adverts featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. They seem to get a lot of criticism for not talking about Microsoft, but I think this is whole point – just funny ads that people talk about!