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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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Zune 120 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
Customer Review: Almost perfect, but has a few flaws
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, during my Christmas break, I decided to go for an iPod classic 120GB. I knew it would be a "perfect" iPod, for the capacity was amazing! So anyways, I walk in to WalMart to maybe take a look at the classic one more time. I glanced over at the other MP3 players. That's when I saw the Zune. I've never heard of a Zune before! I took a look at the Zune. It was also a 120GB! I then started comparing the Zune with the iPod. My goodness! The Zune holds 375 hours of video while the iPod holds 150! I am indeed a video junkie. I travel to places occasionally and I watch tons of videos on my spare time. That time at wal-mart, I decided not to buy the iPod and take my time to research into the Zune a little more carefully. One thing that immediately drew my mind towards the Zune was the gigantic screen it had. Oh boy, that was something I wanted for sure. A few days later, I purchased my Zune 120, giving up the iPod. Now, I do have experience already with an iPod 120, for I have been to an apple store before and messed around with one. I didn't know what a Zune was like, so I went ahead and bought it. Arriving home late at night, I opened the box carefully and saw the Zune. It was beautiful! It was glossy, and unlike the iPod, the Zune's back was aluminum, which I think, is almost scratch resistant. So after a few weeks with my Zune, I began to realize I wasn't going to return my Zune.
Here are some positive things about the Zune
-It holds 375 hours of video, what more could I ask for? :)
-Like I said earlier, the back of the Zune seems almost scratch resistant!
-The sound quality is outstanding!
-The Zune has a gigantic screen for viewing videos.
-30,000 songs and 25,000 pictures will last me a lifetime worth of entertainment.
-Microsoft offers a very user-friendly software.
-When syncing music/videos/pictures, it does not take long at all!
-Scrolling though songs and videos are not tiring at all! My uncle has the first generation ipod classic (160gb) and he almost filled his up. I played around with his, and oh man, scrolling through songs on it was almost impossible for me.
Now..For the Flaws?
-The battery life could use a little more juice. Like I said, I watch a lot of videos, so a couple of hours really isn't enough for me.
-The back button and play/pause button seems a little unstable..Anyone else experiencing this?
-The lock button is completely unstable! It feels as if it's going to fall off any second! I have never touched the lock button until now and it seems to wiggle a lot!
-The ring around my touchpad seems to fall off a little, but that's okay, I pop it back in anyways.
-The glossy finish on the front can attract tons of fingerprints.
-I didn't really know how to turn my Zune on and off the first time I had it..That can be a problem for first time users like me!
-Also, even though the Zune has a big screen, does not mean the screen cannot be scratched! It seems to attract a lot of dust, so a screen protector or a microfiber cloth is a must!
Customer Review: My new best friend!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was starting to get bored with my 5 y.o. Zen 40GB jukebox and was looking for something smaller and preferably with a larger capacity (My music library is just under 1TB). I played with a friends iPod and thought it was well designed, but the software/menus were not exactly user-friendly and I HATE iTunes. So when I saw a new option, and a 120GB option at that, I went to my local store to play with it. Well, suffice it to say, I almost bought it on the spot. Luckily, I showed a little self control and saved $30 by buying on Amazon.
Positives:
-The menus are simpler (in a good way) than the iPod
-The software is efficient (with one beef that I will mention in a sec), --The screen is great for viewing movies/tv shows (I recommend MPEG-4 format)
-Get the Home AV pack if you can. Once you have it hooked up you just dock that badboy and you can play it through your stereo. It comes with a remote, which works well, though it's not too useful if you're far away unless you have 20/15 vision and can read the screen from more than 5 feet away.
(Slight) Negatives:
-Closed source so third party mp3 organizing software is not compatible. Not even Windows Media Player, which boggles my mind. The Zune software is simple and intuitive and does the job as far as transferring music/video to the device, but if you have a large collection I recommend maintaining your collection (for purposes of tagging and organizing) using another piece of software (I use MediaMonkey). A small complaint that most casual users won't need to worry about.
-Toss the headphones that come with it and buy a decent pair. You invest $230 and use the standard headphones and you are wasting your money.
-Video player won't play .AVI files. Must convert them, which isn't a big deal, but an extra step.
Finally, a quick note on accessories. Unfortunately for us, Microsoft has adopted the Apple model of charging you out the rear for every little accessory. Actually, they have been doing it for years with their software, so I guess I can't really blame Apple. The cases in particular are ridiculously priced. If you are looking for a nice case, I found the leather folding case that is priced at $75 on Amazon at my local Best Buy on clearance for $16.99. Odds are if it's on clearance in one, it's on clearance in the rest.
In summary, I love this product. On the way to work I watch episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" or movies I have ripped from DVD or downloaded. I have 100GB's of music at my fingertips at all times. I even catch myself playing the Texas Hold 'Em poker game that comes pre-loaded. Just a cool all-around gadget. And to the Mac fanboys out there, don't let the fact that it doesn't say "Apple" on it scare you away (or cause you to immediately write it off).
Customer Review: Super quality and performance with only minor drawbacks!
Summary: 5 Stars
For a music lover, I came to the mp3 world relatively late. Probably one reason for this is that my only experience with mp3 players was with my wife's Ipod. That device has always seemed counter-intuitive and awkward to me. After dealing with that device for a few years I started looking for a simple player, something akin to a flash drive with speakers, that I could connect to my computer and drag some music files onto and go. Before I ever got around to buying something that simple, my wife bought me this Zune 120 for Christmas and I've never looked back.
First I'll list the good stuff:
- All of the instructions were clear right out of the box.
- The Zune software/computer interface is also pretty intuitive. I learned to use it quickly and can see the benefit of having that proprietary software in place to provide a structure to the contents and files I have placed on my Zune device. Its WAY better and easier to use than the Ipod/I-tunes software.
- This thing has a HUGE amount of memory. My Zune is barely 1/3 full and I now have every scrap of music I own (2,500 songs) and a ton of video (including 50 episodes of the Three Stooges) stored on this device!
- The battery life is very good, especially if all you want to do is listen to music. It also charges quickly, both in the dock and when connected to a USB port on my computer.
- The sound quality is excellent, the volume goes plenty high enough, and the screen is large and crystal clear. I don't mind watching video on this screen at all.
- Probably my favorite thing about the Zune though is the ease of navigation. It took me about 5 minutes to get the hang of moving between the menus. It is also super easy to use the "Squircle" pad, and the swipe touch sensitivity is incredible. It sure makes super fast scrolling down a list of songs a breeze.
The only "downsides" I have encountered with my Zune are:
- The screen is a fingerprint magnet, and seems like it could scratch easily (I have been careful/lucky and so far my screen is still in great shape).
- Connecting the Zune device to a TV is not terribly intuitive and I have yet to find a good set of instructions on how to accomplish this.
Overall, this device has taken me from someone who never liked MP3 players to someone who now couldn't live without it. It is a very high quality player with great performance features and an intuitive, easy to use feel. Highly recommended!
Customer Review: In a word, Great!
Summary: 5 Stars
For background, I have only owned a Creative Nomad Jukebox. When I got my Nomad, it held a massive amount of music on it compared to anything around and it is the size and shape of a portable CD player. I would still be using it today if I had not lost the power cord that it needs to recharge it's four replaceable batteries. (They still offer archived software updates that I could use to bring it back to life.)
For the record, I am not one to hold pictures or videos on my small electronics (cell phone or player) or music on my cell phone although it is capable of doing so. I don't believe in putting person items on portable objects that can be lost or stolen. I bought this Zune to replace my Nomad and hold the extremely large amount of music I have ripped or downloaded over the past 10 years. We also own two cars with cassette players where we have always played music thru a cassette adapter. (I don't plan to upgrade our car stereos as our current units work well.) I also have large hands and did not want to deal with small players with tiny buttons.
All I can say is that the Zune has changed my mind about how I planned to use it. I have already installed all of the games and am hooked on two of them. I plan to install some of the numerous podcasts available as we travel a great deal. I already loaded the music from my laptop and will hit my larger storage tomorrow. No issues there. Regarding the head phones, I have no problem with them though I have so many head phones from previous cd players, walkmen, and such that I already had plans to use my favorite old one.
I also did not miss an equalizer. I played songs with heavy bass, classical, rock, and folk just to test it out and it handled all of it as it was supposed to. I also tried the radio and found it to be great - finds channels and lists the music well.
I have a closure with the software, but know from experience that it has more to do with the my operating software than the Zune software. All I can say is that I feel that I did well with my choice after days of research. Getting the Home A/V package for free with this unit here on Amazon was simply icing on the cake!
You should feel really comfortable buying this unit.
Customer Review: From an MP3 Newbie View
Summary: 5 Stars
I was very wary about whether or not to get this over an Ipod. My main concern was size, because I hated my old 16 MB D-Link MP3 player (which I got when MP3 players were The New Thing, and only held 3 songs on it at any given time, which still sits in my room unused), battery life, and interface.
To do my homework, I read the zune and ipod community forums, reviews both good and bad on amazon.com and on websites googled up, and even looked on youtube.com to get a 'feel' for the thing.
I LOVE IT!
Reading up and doing my homework (as well as being a definite Apple hater [for the record, my friend has the CEO of Apple's private email address because she's had so many problems with their goods, especially running a TV station, not to mention my own bad experiences with their stuff]) convinced me that I'd like a Zune better.
Besides, I love the changing your background thing on the Zune. The interface is sleek and being an artist, I never run out of great backgrounds to pick from and put into my Zune :)
But back to the basics, the interface is smooth and intuitive. I was so worried I'd pull a 'stupid' and not be able to figure it out, but I got the hang of it in a day and learned some advanced tricks with it the next day. I love that I can play the radio on it or listen to a podcast.
The only reason I bought one was because my CD collection is getting out of hand, and I don't even consider myself an audiophile. I used to have two AM/FM walkmen, two boomboxes for use in my room, and 3 portable discmen (even from the 'best' brands), and they all died on me. Well, my boombox is on its very last legs- takes about an hour or so to read any given disc now, but when my last CD player died, I was like "that's it. I'm getting an mp3 player this time."
Durability with the zune remains to be seen, as I'm very careful with it, but I read from various sources that the hardware is built for durability, and otherwise, I don't have a single complaint about this thing. I love it!
PS: if you want to get a little risky and don't want to pay full price, go stalk down a 120 gb Zune on ebay. I got mine brand new for 60 bucks plus S&H. {grins}
Have fun!