Others say...

"Microsoft's half-hearted attempt"
I bought the 8 gig Blue Video Zune in a transition over from iPod. iTunes has been having compatibility issues with my PC, and I was interested in trying a different brand of MP3 player. Unfortunately, I should've done more research before making what now feels like a bit of an impulse buy.

The Zune's greatest strength is probably its FM Tuner. You can turn the search on - meaning it'll skip through and find the next station - or off, if you want to go through stations traditionally, every couple of steps up the dial. You can use the click wheel to add any particular stations to pre-set, and if the station is broadcasting it, the Zune will tell you what kind of music the station plays, as well as the name and artist of the song currently playing. And it gives you the option to add a song to your shopping cart, so you can buy it when you get online via the Zune's PC player. Unfortunately, I found the signal strength rather pitiful - as I often shove it in my pocket, then it would kind of fade in and out. And my work place is a half-level underground, and the signal was coming in zero.

Aesthetically, it's very nice. The blue is a very pretty color; it's thinner than my last iPod was (though the same size lengthwise) and the click wheel serves with the same functionality as that on the iPod. And the battery life is about the same length as the iPod nano - around 25 hours (when listening to music).

My greatest criticism of it is in its music interface. It gives you a series of subcategories (genre, artist, album, etc), with a drop-down of all the music below in that order. But it's meaningless. I suppose they thought it would make it easier when searching out one specific album, etc. but it's just as easy to leave it all in one category and find it that way.

What I really hate is the shuffle function. With each of the subcategories, at the top is the option to shuffle through your music, and then it will go through your entire library at random. If you want to listen your entire library with the tracks in order for each given album, you have to make a playlist. And shuffling through that does the exact same thing - shuffling by song, without even the option of shuffling by album. This probably isn't a big deal to most, but I listen to a lot of soundtracks, and shuffle by album is the only way I want to listen to my library.

In the Settings menu, you can also then turn a separate shuffle feature on - which, in turn, will, for example, take an individual album, and play it in a random order over and over. Which makes absolutely no sense. Who wants to listen to one album, out of order, over and over?

These can be seen as minor nitpicks, but they're the kind of details that make me feel like a) Microsoft, knowing that Apple will continue to dominate the market, isn't trying very hard; and b) It continues the Microsoft trend of "I know better than you." In using it, I always felt like access to my own library was restricted, and I could only listen to my music under specific terms.

Add to this the fact that the Zune player you have to install on your PC (separate from Windows Media Player) is a technological disaster. They made it specifically to mirror the interface of that on the Zune, but it's a pain to use. It's a pain to find or alter anything; it's a pain to make playlists on it. And the only Settings functions you can adjust are options primarily related to the online social network. I was so appalled by it that I immediately switched back to using iTunes when listening to music on my computer.

I also didn't like the fact that when it turned off - ever after I left it on pause for a minute - in turning it back on, it would reset itself back to the main menu where you switch between music, videos, radio, etc. Which meant having to go back in and search through to pick up where I left off. Even if I'm listening to a playlist and it transfers it over to the Now Playing subcategory, you still have to scroll down to find that song again. Which makes the Now Playing just as worthless as the rest of the subcategories. And it's just one more detail that makes it feel like the makers of this device weren't thinking out it very practically.

These complaints might not seem like much, but they were enough to make me go back on the Zune and buy an iPod Nano to replace it.

Sure, the Zune isn't the worst MP3 player you could buy. If it's your first, or if you really want something more for a radio, then you might be very happy with it. But if you're transitioning over from another - especially iPod - then, like me, you may find that the Zune leaves much to be desired.

"Best MP3 I've had yet"
I've had a lot of players over the years and this is by far the best I've ever had. It's not just the player but the Zune software and website combined with the player that make it so nice. If you need a fair amount of space but don't need 80 or 120 GB, then this is for you. I filled it three quarters of the way with ever song I have and I'll still get about 1,000 more songs on from the Zune website. It operates smooth and easy. It doesn't take a dozen moves to get your music playing and your options are great. Well worth the price.

"zune 16"
the zune 16gb device is great, i had to return it because the battery was defective but the device was awesome.

"Zune Pnk'd by iPod"
I have iPods and decided that the iTunes software rendered them too difficult to use on my PC; iTunes also does not share well with others. This negative opinion is contrasted to the Zune software which slows down my computer, permanently renames directories, is slow and negates much of the drag and drop functionality. I hate to open the Zune software as it is so hungry for attention little else runs and and when songs are finally loaded, a reboot is necessary. If iTunes is annoying, Zune software makes one wonder if a virus has taken over.

The Zune's player controls are good, the sound is good but not quite up to Apple's standards. I kept the thing after very seriously considering sending it back.

"Zune Tunes "
What an easy system to use to get the music and FM radio that you want. This system is really too easy to use and downloading great music via Microsoft Zune web is a snap. Great wireless capability, and the ability to hear a song on the radio and download later is amazing technology that is again, too easy. Great system in a small package.

 

Buy Cheap Software Now!
  Zune 8 GB Digital Media Player (Black)

List Price : $199.00
Our Price : from $112.00

Why I buy this one ?
- Listen to your favorite FM radio stations and click to tag the songs you like for later purchase when you sync your device with your PC
- Download millions of tracks, whole albums, or playlists with the Zune Pass subscription service; extend your subscription online or by purchasing a Zune Pass card
- Connect to your home wireless network and remotely sync your Zune device with your PC collection from your dock, AC adapter, or speaker dock accessory
- 8 GB capacity for up to 2,000 songs, 25,000 pictures, or 25 hours of video
- 1.8-inch color LCD with 320 x 240 pixel display resolution


It's better to buy this one too...

Incipio Vertigo Leather Holster Case for Zune 80/120 GB (Black)
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Incipio Vertigo Canvas Holster Case for Zune 80/120 GB (Tan)
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Incipio Vertigo Canvas Holster Case for Zune 80/120 GB (Black)
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Incipio Leather Wallet Case for Zune 80/120 GB (Black)
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Incipio Leather Flip Case for Zune 80/120 GB (Black)
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What our customer's say!

"paul", Zune 8 GB Video MP3 Player (Blue)Recieved in 3 days very fast service.Haven't used it yet as it is a Christmas gift. Hope it better than the Zune 4 GB one I have that's on its way back from being repaired after only owning it since May of this year. Only was using that 1 hour a day while walking before it stopped working.

"Zune Bests the Competition", I have owned iPods (I still have the Touch), Zens, Sony Walkmans, and Sansas, and this takes the cake. Here's what the Zune has going for it:

Pros:

1) Software (I hate having tons of duplicate songs in my iTunes library and having to import new files. Zune does this automatically. It also has a great system for downloading album art so that your musical library is very organized and colorful. It eliminates duplicates too. It's beautiful, really.

2) User-friendly. The Zune is designed for the sole purpose of playing music and videos. There's no fancy stuff like a calendar, but really, I didn't want this in a player to take up space I would rather use for music and photos.

3) Radio. The radio is great quality and a necessity for me.

4) Sleek design - I love the design of the Zune. It looks great and is very sturdy!

Cons:

1) Battery Life - I usually only get about 25 hours out of this guy, and I wish it were higher, but I'm sure Microsoft is working on this for the future generations. Apple kicks their trash in battery life.

2) Lack of color options. I really wish they offered a bunch of color options. The 120 and 16 GB only come in black. Come on!

3) Smaller selection than iPod and no movies available yet for Zune, but I don't use mine for movies anyway, but if I do purchase the 120 GB, then it might make sense to store movies on that baby.

There are other things I could mention, but that would be nit-picky. Really, the software makes all the difference for me, but I just love the device better. If I could use the software with a different player, I would probably still pick the Zune. I love the touch-pad and the size of the thing.

One last note, I've been doing a free subscription for the Zune Subscription Pass, and I may just sign-up for the $15/month deal. So much good music and you get to keep 10 songs a month permanently, even if you cancel! Awesome!

If you're trying to think of which MP3 Player to get your family or friends for Christmas, you cannot go wrong with the Zune!

"Absolutly sucks", I bought a Zune about half a year ago because I wanted something portable to listen to music on and have found this product to be nothing but an expensive disappointment.

For starters, the Zune is only compatible with the Zune software is came packaged with. This means even if you had downloaded music from CDs you own to your computer and stored them on other software you can not tranfer them to the Zune. Even if you are using Microsoft Windows Media Player you have to re download all your music from CDs to the Zune Software (there is no easy way to transfer them).

Next, the Zune did not come packaged with a charger. This has to be bought separately. Of course, it has been designed so that it won't work with a generic charger. You are stuck paying whatever Microsoft wants to charge for this important part of the product. Also, you can charge the Zune from your computer but its batter life is a short 20 to 30 minutes if you charge it that way.

Finally, the Zune market place is a total rip off. First of all, you buy everything in points. Things like TV shows are marked as 160 points which looks good but then you go to buy points and you can only buy 80 points for a dollar, meaning that show you wanted to buy is going to cost you two dollars. This isn't a huge difference but it adds up. Also, the market place is not available everywhere. If you're outside the U.S. they have no problem selling you points but they sure won't let you use them to buy anything.

Thanks for cheating the American public once again Microsoft.

"Not ready for prime time", Ok, first the good. I really, really like the way it looks and the way the navigation circle work. Much better than my Sandisk Sansa (8GB also). I would give it five stars on those two things if it weren't for what I didn't like about it.

The bad: I just like to play songs continuously so I choose that option in the play menu. But everytime I turn it off when I leave my car, when I turn it back on again, it begins playing again at the last song SELECTED, not where it left off in the list. So it could start playing 15 or 20 songs back from where I want it too. I'm always losing my place in the list. That's just plain stupid, stupid, stupid. My Sansa is awesome. When I turn it back on again, it's playing the same place in the same song as when i turned it off!

Second, if I find a song in my list that I discover I don't like, i don't think there's anyway to directly delete it from the player without hooking it up to your computer and using the Zune software. How bad is that! I could be wrong on this one but I haven't found a way yet. Nothing obvious. My Sansa once again shines. Don't like a song. Bam... Deleted!

Third, really bad battery life. I went through all but about 20 songs on my 8 GB Sansa on ONE CHARGE. I've charged my Zune twice so far and I'm only half way through the 8GB Zune.

Fourth, the random song selector is a joke - worse than an FM dj playing the same songs over and over on a playlist every hour, ignoring my favorites that will never be played.

So to sum up, this is the most beautiful of these types of devices I've seen and it's physical interface with us the users is awesome. But because of the really unusability of this device (at least for my purposes - maybe you'll like hearing the same songs over and over), I'm giving it a One star. It deserves a negative star until they correct it's deficiencies.

Too bad, because physically I like it so much better than my Sansa but the Sansa just works better and has WAY better battery life.

"The ZUNE ROCKS !", I won the Zune 8GB thru the Pepsi Points sweepstakes, I own a Creative Zen Sleek Photo 20GB which holds my entire music collection, so the Zune is my work/exercise/take everywhere MP3 player.

The Zune is an excellent MP3 player, the unit itself is well built, it's controls are common sense, the FM tuner works well, the volumune range is good and the overall high end is higher than most MP3's. The sound quality is good, unlike the Creative player I own, the Zune doesn't have a EQ, but the sound is good. The software is very good and easy too use. This MP3 player comes with WiFi built in, although I have yet too use it. Charging the zune is done thru the sync cord via the USB on your computer, and fully charges in about three hours, and battery life is great, I work 9-10 hour days and use both FM tuner and music library all days long and the battery has never dipped below half way. The only downside I can think of is this......with my Creative player which is hard drive based, the music downloads are quick, 4 CD's in under a minute, with the Zune which is Flash (memory based) the downloads are much slower. The upside to the Flash based player is that battery life is much greater.

All things considered, I highly reccomend the Zune.



 
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Read this reviews before You buy...

"Customer over 40 Review", I purchased the Zune for my wife to use for audio books. The setup was easy enough but trying to get items to the playlist doesn't work all the time. The unit we received from Amazon was deliverd promptly as promised, but after spending 2 hours setting up the Zune and downloading items to it we found that the plug for the earphones was defective. I notifyed Amazon and they promptly sent another unit. However after setting up the unit and downloading we descoverd the unit was also defective. Amazon stated they would refund our money since there was a problem with the units we received.

"Customer Service Nonexistent", UPDATE 10/30/2008: I finally got my Zune back today, 3 weeks after I sent it in, and as expected based on others' experiences, it was returned unrepaired. According to the note I received (this was never revealed online in the "status" section of my repair), cracked screens are not covered by the warranty. See if you can find that language in your warranty, I couldn't. Good luck if you open your brand new Zune and find a cracked screen. Needless to say, I'm disappointed. I've already allowed my Zune Marketplace subscription to expire, and now I guess I'll pop to get the device fixed by a 3rd party for $50, just so I can list and sell it on eBay. I'm going with what my brother got -- the Samsung YP-P2JCB P2 8 GB Touchscreen Bluetooth Portable Media Player (Black). I can keep my Rhapsody-To-Go account that I've liked with my iRiver H10. Too bad -- I had high hopes for this device.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I received my Zune 16GB flash in early October. I also bought the dock for it. After setting it up and loading some videos on it, I removed it and took it to work. When I got to work, I noticed that the screen was cracked. The device was never out of my pocket or dropped. I can't say it was cracked when I got it -- even slightly -- but it was cracked nonetheless.

So I went online, created a repair ticket for the cracked screen and Microsoft sent me packing material. Easy enough...

I shipped it to them on 10-08 and they received it in McLaren, TX on 10-09. Today, 10-19, the Zune repair ticket still says "Waiting for device".

I'm giving all these facts because you should know that if your device breaks the only way to check on your device is to call Zune customer support (there's no email account for customer service) and figure out the secret word to say to talk to a human (it's "OPERATOR").

Then when you talk to a human, they will not listen to you and instead go through a prepared Q&A. After you convince them you just want to know when you'll get you frackin' Zune back, they'll tell you "10 to 15 days" with no idea what the current status.

So you'll go on the Zune forums and find out that Microsoft considers any screen breakage to be not covered by the warranty and figure out that you'll be without your device for a month without any hope of getting it repaired. Instead, you'll discover you could have sent it in to get it repaired for $50 at a 3rd party iPod/Zune PDA repair place and had it back in a couple of days.

This will be the last hardware I'll ever buy from Microsoft. I'm going to get the screen fixed and sell it on eBay. Too bad -- I was ready to cancel my Rhapsody account and go with Zune Marketplace, which certainly would have made Msoft more money than a $20 screen repair...

"AWESOME!!!", The zune 16 is awesome. The features were great. Unfortunatly, the backlight on my Zune was broken when it arrived, but Microsoft is very good at fixing these fast and it is all covered in the warranty. BUY THE ZUNE 16!!!

"Better than the new Nano", I will admit that I generally hold some kind of bias against apple products, but it is not unfounded. One example of why I chose Microsoft over apple can be seen in their hardware lines. Apple creates new ipods every 6 months to a year and basically counts on your current one to somehow fail so you keep buying the newer model. Meanwhile, since launching the Zune, Microsoft has stuck with the same hardware platform and instead upgraded the firmware (for all Zunes) between launches. This means that even if you were an early adopter, you now get the benefits of FM radio tagging, XNA games, accessing the marketplace over wifi, and much more.

Now to talk about the product itself: the flash Zunes are practically identical to the new ipod nanos in terms of size, storage, battery life, and price. Allow me to talk about the few differences here:

FM radio tuner: This is one of those things I would have expected to be standard in mp3 players. While I only occasionally use it, it's a nice feature to have. One interesting use I thought of is plugging an FM transmitter into some other product (cd player, friends mp3 player, home entertainment system,) and using your Zune as a wireless receiver. Zune 3.0 software also added FM song tagging, which displays song info and allows you to add songs to your "cart," queueing them for purchase/ download.

The Controls: as the scroll wheel (which is a wonderful concept) has been patented by Apple, Microsoft needed a different approach for the Zune. it settled on on a square pad that allows you to control two axes by either pushing the sides of the pad down or sliding your finger vertically or horizontally across the pad. This form of navigation becomes very easy to adopt and allows you to quickly navigate through your library. This also becomes useful for XNA games, which can now make use of a trackball-like control system.

Wifi: This is definitely a feature that some people will use more than others. The first of two main uses for the wifi is connecting to other zunes. Doing so allows you to trade songs with eachother (the other person will get 3 plays out of your song for legality's sake.) In addition, you can simply see nearby Zunes and what others are playing, if they choose to enable that feature. This would be great features if more people actually had Zunes around me... as a result, I usually leave the wireless turned off to conserve battery life. In addition to this, you can connect to wireless networks (which don't require web logon pages) and access the Zune social network and download songs from the marketplace directly to your Zune. This becomes especially useful with the Zune Pass, which I'll talk about now.

The Zune pass is a subscription music service which charges $15 a month for the opportunity to legally download any amount of songs from a very vast library. It is NOT necessary to use a Zune, and Microsoft also allows you to buy songs with one dollars' worth of Microsoft points, similar to itunes. Music you get with the zune pass is DRM'ed, and will only play on your computer and Zune (no cd's/ file sharing.) In addition, if you cancel your subscription, the music becomes no longer playable. Some may be wary of a system where you're renting your music and do not actually own any of it, but it liberates you to try many bands and genres that you wouldn't otherwise consider and pays off if you consistently buy 1-2 CD's per month. I would at least recommend trying it for a month or two, in which time you can greatly expand your musical tastes and then if you wish, cancel the services and buy any of the CD's you've discovered from your trial. Microsoft is actually currently offering a free 14 day trial, so it doesn't hurt to give it a shot.

One last thing I want to mention is the new XNA games system that released with the 3.0 firmware. This is the same platform that Microsoft has for the XBOX 360 (constrained to 2d games though) and allows developers or even your average Joe to make a game and put it on Zunes or share/sell. The Zune comes bundled with Hexic and a Texas Hold'em game, but I'm sure many more games will come out soon. Microsoft has additionally announced support for multiplayer games over wifi, which seems promising.

In conclusion, I agree with many others who have called the Zune a viable Ipod contender. While you may not use some of its features very often, they are still nice to have. In addition to the great hardware platform, their record of updating the firmware and the XNA game system offer plenty of new potential for your device over time.

"Good Switch from an IPod", I was using an IPod touch before switching to the Zune. I'm glad I made the switch as the simpler controls make it much more convenient. I only decided to switch after reading many articles on the improvements made with the 3rd generation player and software. The included radio tuner, functionality with Audible, the available subscription service, and an available 8GB flash drive model is what prompted me to finally switch. Perhaps if I were traveling more, the touch would have more functionality, but this is a much more convenient and functional music player for me. The sound quality is excellent combined with the included headset and I was glad to find that it had a progressive fast forward feature for my podcasts and audio books. The display can seem a little dark at times and probably the one featue I would like to see them add would be an easier way to flip thru the tracks of an album as it plays. I'm very happy with this player and I don't miss ITunes in the least. A few of my coworkers, after having seen my new player and heard about the improvements have told me they plan to buy one for themselves soon.

I really hope to see MS do well with this player as better competition in this market will only be good news for us as consumers. I think what MS has done with this generation Zune is good step forward and I look forward to their version 4 software.

 
 
 

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