Zune 120 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
by Zune
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Our Price: $449.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $189.00 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Zune 120 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
Customer Review: Lots of great features with user-friendly software
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd been wanting an MP3 player for some time and had initially been considering an iPod. My husband did a lot of research for me and also spoke with co-workers, some of whom had owned both a Zune and an iPod. The general consensus was that they like the Zune better so I decided to go with it.
Am I glad I did! A distinct advantage for me was that the Zune has a radio tuner in addition to the video and MP3 capabilities. The tuner is a feature that I use quite often and I find that I get a really good signal on it for the most part, even when I'm in an windowless interior room in a building.
As for the MP3 aspect, I find the Zune very easy to navigate. The touch wheel is quite sensitive so simply brushing a finger over it moves it easily down the list. MP3s can be sorted by artist, album, song title, or genre and if you have a good, long list (as I do), you can simply hold down the bottom of the wheel and the device speeds through the list. The album art shows only when you sort by album (along with text giving the name of the album) but I find a text list easier to navigate anyway. When sorting by artist, once the artist is selected, the Zune populates a list of albums by that artist along with the album art and the album art shows on the screen while the songs are playing.
It has taken very little practice for me to become fairly handy with the software. If an album's art doesn't populate automatically, a right click on the album brings up a menu that allows you to search for the art. I was pleasantly surprised to find that album art is available even on some pretty obscure folk albums that I've added to the device.
Creating playlists is also very easy as you simply need to click on a song and then drag it down to the playlist icon on the bottom. Once a particular list is selected, the software will make it the default list until a song is added onto a different list, at which point that list becomes the default. There's a separate screen for the playlists that enables you to create new lists and to also tweak the lists you've already created by removing songs, changing the song order, etc.
My Zune has also introduced me to the pleasures of podcasts. They can be downloaded directly from the website and then loaded onto the device but there's a nice feature that enables you to copy and paste the link for the podcast download directly into the Zune software. You can then use the software to subscribe to the podcast and there are various options to customize how those subscriptions work (such as how many podcasts you want kept on the Zune, etc.). The screen also allows you to download additional podcasts from the list and to delete podcasts that are already on the device.
I've found the sound quality of the device to be very good. I've been able to play it through speakers just by plugging a speaker cord into the headphone port and the device also plays in my car via a standard speaker cord plugged into the headphone port on the device with the other end plugged into the auxiliary port in my car. When I purchased my device via Amazon, I also received a free home A/V kit that enables me to dock my Zune and then plug the kit into my television, allowing it to play through the TV.
Overall, I'm very happy with my Zune and am glad I chose it over the iPod. The radio tuner alone was enough to give it an edge over the iPod but that coupled with the fact that I don't have to run iTunes on my computer makes it superior in my eyes. I'd previously installed iTunes and once I uninstalled it, the uninstall program made a change to my registry that rendered my DVD-Rom and DVD writer inoperable. My husband had to go into the registry itself and make a change so that I could once again use the writer and the DVD-Rom. Thanks for messing with my PC, Apple.
Customer Review: The best choice.
Summary: 5 Stars
I love the Zune. I'm not some anti-Apple person, but I do feel they are overrated. As an owner of a Zune 120 and an iPod Touch, I love my Zune loads better. Why? For one thing, the Zune software you use to manage your music is more attractive and much easier to use than iTunes. I cannot express how much I hate iTunes. Just getting songs from your computer library into the iTunes library is such a pain in the ass. It has such an awkward way of doing things. The Zune software is easy: you have your collection, which constitutes all the music on your computer, then you have your device, which shows everything actually on your Zune. To get music onto the Zune, you just find it in your collection, right click, and select sync. That's it. The organization of the files is also easier to view and manage, and the aesthetics of the colors and design blow iTunes away. It is a very sophisticated, attractive-looking software that makes iTunes look complicated and ugly.
But what I love most about my Zune is that the music quality is better than the iPod. After listening to the same songs on my iPod and my Zune, I can say the Zune has much better sound quality. My iPod did seem to be able to get louder than the Zune as far as volume, but songs on the Zune sound better overall so the small difference in volume doesn't phase me much. The Zune doesn't have an equalizer, but every song I've listened to on it sounds perfect as is anyway. I can definitely tell the difference between this and the iPod.
The user interface on the device itself is also nice to look at, simply yet attractive, and again, easier to use than iPods. You simply have your music, video, pictures, radio, settings, etc. all listed one under the other. You can also change your Zune's background image to whatever image you like. I synced a ton of nice photos to my Zune, and I can go in and set any one of them to be my background image, so it's fun to mess around with and see what looks cool on it.
The screen also has vibrant, bold colors that really stand out. Album art and pictures are fantastic to look at. It may be my imagination, but I can swear the album art and pictures on my iPod don't have the same resolution and colors as they do on my Zune. The screen is so vibrant and bright, it really looks awesome.
It also has an FM Radio and the ability to transfer songs from one Zune to another, however I don't ever use these features.
One thing the iPod has that the Zune lacks is apps, however, I found most of the apps for the iPod to be gimmicky, flashy crap anyway. Only about half of them were good for anything, the rest were just time wasters like bubble wrap and Zippo lighters. I don't need any of that junk on my music player. I'm not 12.
One GREAT thing about the Zune, however, is it's construction. These things are hard to scratch up. They are made of metal, and the backside is a tough, hard plastic. The iPods scratch SOOOOO easily, I HATED that about them. Their shiny, glossy surface was so susceptible to scratches and other wear and tear, that it was impossible to keep it looking new without having a protective casing on it. My Zune has been dropped a few times and carried around with me everywhere with no protective casing, and it still looks as new as the day I bought it.
Basically, I love the Zune way better than my iPod Touch...the ease of use and the overall better quality do it for me.
Customer Review: Spectacular audio and video device
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using Zunes since I upgraded from my iPod Video to the 1st generation brown unit. I've actually played with both units extensively. Though Zune does have a few flaws, they are not nearly bad enough to stop anyone from buying this device.
The Zune is:
* Durable. I just throw it in my bag and go. In the car, it rides in the center console without any fancy rubberized or neoprene cases. I have yet to get a scratch on the front or back of my unit. iPods are notorious for scratching before you even get them unboxed.
* Functional. MP3s and MPEG-4 videos just play. If the Zune software doesn't like the format, it often just transfers it in the background (transcoding for you nerds) and then loads that version. But this is completely without impacting me - I don't have to think about it. I keep my entire music collection on it, plus a number of videos downloaded from the Internet or ripped from my DVD collection.
* Pretty. The look-and-feel shouldn't be overlooked. iPod set the standard, certainly. But I think Zune has grown even beyond that. I find navigation on the Zune very simple.
* Well integrated with its desktop software. Comparing the Zune desktop software with iTunes is like comparing Notepad and Word. iTunes is woefully inadequate and a miserable experience to use. Zune is smooth, slick, and highly functional. The new 3.0 software added a ton of features. I love that when I search it shows results from the Marketplace as well as local selections.
* Zune Pass. For $15/month I get unlimited music that gets downloaded at incredibly fast speeds to my desktop and Zune player. I use this all the time. I'll hear an artist on the radio or XM, write their name down, and when I get home I'll download the entire album (or often everything the artist has ever released). It beats buying music one tune at a time or ripping CDs. The downside is that I am tied to paying $15/month or I won't be able to play the downloaded music. But just like cable TV, you get the media until you stop playing. I'm fine with that.
* Headphones. They're incredible! For the price of the Zune you actually get a really great pair of headphones in the box. I use the supplied set when working out or listening to music in my office. When flying, I use a Bose noise-cancelling set.
* Cheap accessories. Unline some players that use proprietary connectors, you can get Zune connectors for a couple bucks each. They're here on Amazon or any other online retailer or online auction site. I'm sure the Microsoft authentic accessories are well-built, but for as often as I lose USB cables I'd rather buy a half dozen and not worry about it.
If there are any downsides to the Zune, I only know of one. The battery life when playing videos is really short. As in 2.5 hours short. I can barely get through one movie on an airplane before I get the "Low battery" warning. Because the battery is internal without options for an extended-life cell, this does limit its usefulness.
**Note that I've only listed features that are important to me. There are plenty of other things that the Zune does (e.g. podcasts (audio or video), FM tuner, games) but I don't use those so I didn't write about them.
Overall, I recommend the Zune for anyone looking for a portable music or video player.
Customer Review: Zuneriffic
Summary: 5 Stars
I have the 120 Zune. As a die-hard Microsoft user, I have found the Zune software very easy to use and the Zune itself is more or less idiot proof. My wife has an iPod 16 gb touch that I got for her because it can sync contacts and surf the internet; 2 things missing from the Zune which is numb where most folks who go the Msoft route would likely be at work, older farts like me who use it at the office and would like a means to sync w/ Outlook. Anyway, the Zune is way easier to use as its drag and drop interface is intuitive compared to the cumbersome iPod software which doesn't appear to be simple as both my wife and I have struggled to understand it. An example is the recent Madonna CD Hard Candy. Ripped to the Zune, it files under "Madonna". Done. Ripped to the iPod Touch, some files are filed under Madonna and others are in Various Artists. What the... Just an example of the frustration we've had w/ the iPod versus the Zune.
The key selling point for me was that the Zune will play lossless music which means it's supposed to be as good as listening to a CD. MP3's are not the best sounding because they're compressed. Lossless WMA on the Zune is great and you can listen to it on a home theater and appreciate the quality. I listen to mine at work on a Bose AWMS so you can tell the difference. The problem is lossless music takes up a crapload of space which necessitates the Zune's mechanical 120 GB monster hard drive vs. the dinky solid state 16GB stuff that it competes with.
I don't travel any more so I can't say if the Zune lasts for days on a battery. I unplug it from my laptop at work and it seems to play lossless tunes for a couple of hours so that's not too bad unless you're flying to Afghanistan in which case you have far larger issues than just battery life. I would say it ranks as a 'meh' on the suck to awesome scale with 'meh' squarely in the middle there.
I don't watch video on my Zune but I suppose you could. It's just wicked small so really, what's the point? I don't get it but some folks are all worked up if it won't play HD video. I understand the newest Zune will play HD video but it doesn't have a big hard drive so I'm not sure what the advantage is there.
The Zune is bulky but since I grew up in the 80's, it's a long way from the original Walkman or the Aiwa tape decks we used to cart around. A Nano iPod seems to be about 1/8 the size so if you're a jogger, go w/ the iPod.
Is it tough? Dunno. It works all the time for me but I haven't accidentally dropped it, kicked it or parked a cross-town bus on top of it. I think it's a glass screen so though it is really clear and nice looking, glass isn't renowned for its resilience to blunt force trauma.
Gripes? The cord stinks. I keep mine plugged in all the time and it's all frayed. That said, it still works but jeez. No other real gripes.
As for features like the awesome iPod touch screen etc well, Zune ain't an iPod. But if you have a Blackberry for internet and contacts and stuff but want a solid unit to play very high quality tunes on and you don't want to hire the neighbor's kid to show you how to make a freakin' playlist, Zune is simple, easy and is an outstanding unit for playing tunes.
Customer Review: Very Underrated Media Player
Summary: 5 Stars
Three years ago I purchased my first mp3 player, an iPod video with 30 gigabytes of storage space. I loved the iPod, and I found it's features to be quite extensive, especially at the price point I paid. However, upon seeing my first Zune, I knew it was going to eventually become my next mp3 player. I purchased my Zune 120GB in January and I must say that it is quite impressive. The Zune is rather sleek in design, utilizing a small frame and large screen, while also being sturdy and durable.
The scroll pad in the middle of the device is sleek and can also be used as directional keys in case you do not like the "scroll" function. I had become accustomed to the interface of iTunes, and at first the Zune software seemed like a foreign language. However, after only 5 minutes of experimenting with the software, I began to enjoy its interface. The main complaint people have about the Zune is in regards to its software. I counter this argument by saying that it simply takes some time to get used to, but once you get used to it I don't think you'll ever want to go back to iTunes.
The Zune, by default, will automatically sync with the library on your computer, however, this option is very easy to turn off in order to allow the user to manage their library on their own. The display of the Zune software is vibrant and it allows the user to easily see what they are listening to, whereas with iTunes the display of the software resembles an Excel spreadsheet and lacks any sort of attractive display for the media. With Zune it quickly sorts your artists, genres, albums, etc. and displays them alphabetically and with incredible detail for each album. If any albums are lacking information, such as album art or track numbers, these can easily be added into the Zune software by highlighting the desired media that needs correction and simply clicking on "Edit". Another common complaint is in regards to the synchronization time of the device. This really comes down to your own individual computer's performance levels.
Since the Zune software contains larger media imprints and tags, it takes a little longer than iTunes to sync. However, if you plug the device into a high speed USB port and if your PC contains a decent amount of RAM, you should be able to copy hundreds of songs to the device within minutes. I tested this out by plugging my newly purchased Zune into my highspeed USB port. My laptop contains 3GB of RAM, and when combining this with the highspeed port, I was capable of copying 32GB worth of music onto the device in under an hour. Besides the ease of use for the Zune, I enjoy the added features of the Zune as compared to the iPod Classic.
The Zune allows the user to trade songs with other Zune owners via wireless communications, and it also allows the user to customize the display wallpaper using customer chosen and downloaded images. The Zune is not as scratch prone as the iPod either, however, both are very susceptible to fingerprints. If you're looking for a great mp3/mp4 player, you cannot go wrong with the Zune. After using the Zune for about a year now, I wonder why so many people still choose other devices over the Zune.