Zune 8 GB Digital Media Player (Black)
by Zune
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List Price: Our Price: $74.98 You Save: $124.02 (62%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 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 8 GB Digital Media Player (Black)
Customer Review: Exceeded Expectations
Summary: 5 Stars
First off I want to say Pepsi and Amazon had an amazing promotion with Pepsi Points. Not only did I get CD's, Headphones, and some other products, my leftover Pepsi Points at the end of the promotion were thrown into some Sweepstakes. I thought I lost the points, but ended up coming home to a new Zune 8GB MP3 player that was won with the leftover points. Talk about a suprise.
What's even better than winning the Zune 8GB, is how well it functions. I've played around with the iTouch, but I'm a PocketPC person, and I have an iPaq 211 to meet my work needs. The iTouch too me seemed too much as an MP3 player, and at the same time had too little flexibility compared to the iPaq. I also bought my wife an iPod 80GB classic last year, and I think it's a great product as far as an MP3 player.
I've heard about Zune, and even about the last lock up incident they had with the leap second. While I was excited to win something for simply drinking Pepsi, which I've been drinking all my life, I wasn't expecting much. Then I started using it.
I downloaded the Zune software, and added my personal collection to it. The one irk I've had, the Zune software doesn't play nice with my homegrown and local music. It lumps all the unknown artist's (my own band, local bands, certain CD's I have that were ripped a long time ago) under 1 artist. If I rename the artist on one, it changes it for all. So I tried renaming Pink Floyd to the proper name, now all my music that wasn't identified is now listed under Pink Floyd. This is my biggest irk with Zune, especially seeing my CD collection is over 1500 CD's, and a lot of this stuff is from the 80's and 90's, so it will get lumped under 1 artist (unkown). Other than that important issue to me, I think the Zune software is great. I'm sold on the Zune pass, $14.99 plus 10 permanent song downloads is well worth it. Besides the issue I have with how Artists are categorized, Zune is ahead of iTunes as far as aesthetics and usability. Kudos to allowing more than 1 computer and more than 1 device to be attached to an account. For this reason, I'm thinking of selling the iPod classic and getting a 120gb Zune for my wife.
As far as the device itself, it's not anything groundbreaking, but is very functional and works well. The radio feature is great for me, cause I like to listen to sports and news when I'm on the bus. The headphones that came with the unit are on the average side, so I already replaced those. Wireless connectivity is slow for syncing, but good for device to device sharing. Updating the firmware was painless and added a good amount of features. Syncing with the Zune software was painless via the supplied USB cable, and it seemed easier than iTunes to control what gets synced and what doesn't.
The sound on this device is above average, especially compared to iPods. I was suprised there was no EQ, which is a bit of a disappointment because of all the older and local music I listen too that can use some EQ. For newer songs and stuff I get from Zune Pass, it's fine without the EQ because most of this stuff is mastered to sound right on an MP3 player.
As far as aesthetics are concerned, I have a very unassuming black model. It's light, and seems rugged enough to use to get to work and back. While not important to me, using my own pictures for a background is a nice touch. The screen is small, and I probably won't use it for videos as I have a full 4" VGA screen on my iPaq that will do a much better job. The touch pad is easy to use, but seems on the sensitive side at times. I find it easier to use then the wheel on the iPod classic.
I probably would've given this 4 stars if I bought the unit, just for the problems I have with categorizing artists in the Zune software itself. Seeing I won this in a contest I didn't even know I was entered into, I'm giving it 5 stars. This exceeds any expectation I ever had of a Zune device, and with this experience, I will probably purchase another one.
Customer Review: Cool as an iPod? No way. More loved? Yes!
Summary: 5 Stars
We have 4 in our family (myself, my wife and 2 kids). Over the years we've had several iPods and recently we have a mix of Zunes and iPods.
IPods are great. My wife has an iPod Touch and we've had several previous iPods over the years. However, our Zunes get far more use than the iPods these days.
Here's why:
1) Subscription Service - Microsoft's all you can eat subscription service costs about $16/month. It supports up to three devices. That covers, me and my kids (my wife insists on using only her iPod). The kids and I get gobs a new music as it comes out.
2) Easier to use software - Surprisingly, the Zune software is easier to use than iTunes. Hard to believe, but my wife has no end of problems syncing her iPod and finding stuff she wants to download. My kids (11 and 7) don't have this problem with the Zune software.
3) It works with Tivo2Go. If you have a Series 2 or 3 Tivo connected to a home network you can download TV shows to the Zune. Yes, this is also true for the iPod, but it works very will with the Zune too. My kids have been watching old movies (The Adventures of Robin Hood w/Errol Flynn and Captains Courageous w/Spencer Tracy are their favorites from the TiVo - not to mention Mythbusters).
4) Microsoft has good customer service with the Zunes. I had a HD version die and they replaced it promptly after providing proof of purchase. The warranty is for 1 year I believe.
The big wins at our house is the subscription service. Lot's of great choices (including currently released albums) for 3 devices for about the price of one CD a month. That's hard to bet and makes us very happy.
This particular Zune model is especially nice. It's nice and small, but with the same interface as the large Zunes. Movies play very well on this device. The battery life seems quite a bit better than the HD Zune I have, especially when playing movies. Hopefully it will be a bit more robust than the HD media players. I had problems with both iPod and Zune HD units dying (or is it wearing out). I'm very happy to make the transition to solid state storage with this unit. 8G seems reasonably large for my needs - I don't really need to store my entire music collection on my media player. I currently have 4 full length movies, about 30 albums and several Zune recommended playlists with room to spare.
Granted it's not a iPod Touch, but to be frank, all my wife does is fiddle with her iPod Touch. She doesn't really use it to watch video's or listen to music. I think the iPod Touch is really targeted to folks with a short attention span -folks who'd rather be reading their email or browsing the web than enjoying good music or a classic movie.
This Zune might not be as cool as an iPod Touch (or an iPhone for that matter). But it's an excellent media player with a great subscription service. That makes the Zunes far more used in our house than our iPods.
So don't let your smug iPod owning friends tell you their iPods are better. Just smile and enjoy all of the new music you've downloaded legally for a pittance.
Customer Review: A Zune is Exactly What I Was Looking For, The Zune Software Wasn't
Summary: 5 Stars
Previously owned a Creative mp3 player (a Zen Microphoto) and junked it after I ran into the same problem that almost everybody who has a Zen has run into - I tried to upgrade the firmware and ended up dead in space. I went searching for a new player, trying to keep in the same memory range (8 Gigs). Never been a fan of the ipods, I feel like I'm paying an unneeded 80 extra bucks for a lower case i. I bought the 2nd gen. Zune and I'm completely satisfied. It has awesome audio quality, and, even though I wasn't looking for it, video quality. It's incredibly easy to organize songs and playlists, and is great whether you're like me and just want to make different playlists for different things and don't care about anything else, or you're really obsessed with putting you're life into an mp3 player with album art and info, friends, and the whole Zune social thing.
All being said, the software is sadly lacking, and the fact that Microsoft (1) couldn't design a player that just had a regular old mini usb jack instead of their own custom jack so they could make more money off accessories, and (2) couldn't make their own MICROSOFT product compatible with MICROSOFT software (like Windows Media Player). WMP 11 is a surprisingly versatile player/software, but the Zune can only be run with the Zune software, which while having some nice qualities has really annoying quirks. It always tries to sync with the Zune (so maybe I want my library to be different from my player!), has annoyingly small pop-up windows which you can't make bigger, won't recognize a great deal of video files which it also doesn't have the capability of converting to a file it will recognize, isn't able to change the media information of a file (it will change information in the software and the Zune, but can't change info for you in My Computer like RealPlayer can) and doesn't have a feature that allows you to play songs at one volume. Despite these quirks it is incredibly easy to make and organize playlists, and if you're into it you can find album art for all your songs in a fairly easy manner. If you're like me and just want to load songs into playlists on your player in a one-time deal, this is a great player, and a much better deal than an ipod or creative product. Even if you're obsessive with neatness and organziation, this is an awesome product if you're willing to put up with a few quirks that seem like they could easily be solved in a few software patches.
Final Opinion: BUY THIS ITS BETTER THAN AN IPOD AND CHEAPER TOO!
Customer Review: Best MP3/MP4 player i've ever had!
Summary: 5 Stars
As a former iPOD nano user, I bought this player just to test it and see the difference between my ipod and the Zune. The winner stays with me, and the other goes to my sister. After testing the player out, Zune stays with me :)
Zune is more of your "music enjoyment device". If you dont need a calendar (which you can get in your mobile phones), games (which are better on PSP), PIM (which your organizer does best), or tend to forget your player cables often, then Zune is just for you. I got my hands on the Zune, the first thing that attracted me was the packaging! Not just a transparent cheap looking transparent plastic which many China players have imitated, but rather an elegant black box with a nice Zune logo embedded on it. I opened it and the player, earphones and USB cable are separated with smaller boxes. Very neat indeed! Above all, amusing but rather fashionable, Zune came with three pairs of earphone sponges with three different colors to suit your current style!
After charging the player, the Zune loaded and I just loved every second I discovered the new features in it. What it has and iPod doesnt have, is the Wireless sync which enables you to sync your player with your laptop without cables. Although syncing 8GB is slow and battery consuming, wireless syncing comes handy after you have added your favourite tunes for the first time! Another thing I love about Zune is the background changing feature. Trust me, I really dont like the root menu of iPOD. Even before I had my Zune. The idea of having the screen always splitted into two for iPOD just didnt attract me. Also, I love the quick playlist feature! I mean, I just uploaded all of my music from my hard disk to my Zune. BUT, not all of the songs are my favourites. Hence, as you are listening, shuffle all the songs, skip the ones you dont like, listen the one you like and add them to the quick playlist. You dont have to make a playlist from your computer anymore! I guess Zune's "Now Playing" screen is awesome! Why? Because the new iPOD nano has a similar interface for their Now Playing like that of Zune's! ;)
I know I'm sounding bias here. I'm not saying that iPOD is a flop. IN fact, iPOD ranks second among all other players (iRiver, Sony, Creative, etc) and that is why I have not used the term "loser" for iPOD at all :) Its just that Zune has won me over iPOD. And took the first place which once blonged to iPOD :)
Regards,
shahz
Customer Review: Pleasantly Surprised
Summary: 5 Stars
It is too bad Microsoft didn't (couldn't?) release the original Zune at a lower price point as to better compete with the iPod.
I find this second generation Zune to be near perfect in its design, functionality, and overall feel.
This is the third media player I have owned. My first two were by SanDisk. I find the SanDisk players feel very cheap and they simply remind me of toys. The usb cable for the Zune looks identical to the cord for my SanDisk Sansa though and so I wonder if SanDisk makes the Zune.
I ordered my Zune from OfficeMax and so did not have a chance to play with it / try it out before purchasing it.
I must admit I was excited to discover the touchpad as I had not known this was a feature.
I have never owned an iPod and do not plan on owning one any time soon.
Generally speaking 'first' is always superior and with Microsoft playing catch-up I doubt they will ever be a serious player in the media player market.
I find the menu navigation of the Zune to be very intuitive with a nice look.
The sound from the included headphones is not great but like most iPod and media player owners, I will be buying higher-end headphones soon anyway.
Battery life is very good and as long as I remember to bring the usb cable I can just plug it into my pc at work and not waste battery time.
The touch-pad is just like you would find on a laptop and is very responsive. Again, maybe if the first Zune had this it would have truly taken off.
The case back is metal while the front is plastic with a rubberized (ala IBM laptop coating) feel.
I will not (and have no reason to) try to convince the Apple / iPod loyals that this is an option for them because they are already attached to a great product they love. What I will say is this. If you are not one of the anti-Microsoft/Bill Gates crowd, don't want or need to jump on the bandwagon, and want a truly nice player for your $, and have found a great deal on one, pick up the Zune.
You will not be dissapointed.
I must warn you, I had mine on my desk for 10 minutes before someone walked over and said, "oh, is that a iPod wannabe?"
Like I said, the iPod loyalists remind me of far left fruitcakes, not only do they have an opinion and beliefs, but they cannot keep those two things to themselves.
Hope this helps. Hope not to offend.