Zune 80 GB Digital Media Player (Black)
by Zune
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List Price: Our Price: $135.00 You Save: $114.00 (46%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Zune 80 GB Digital Media Player (Black)
Customer Review: Great sound is everything
Summary: 5 Stars
Many are the times when I have opted for the slightly cheaper item, only to realise that I should have spent a little extra and bought "the real thing". This was lurking somewhere in the back og my head when I ordered the 80GB Zune rather than an iPod....Was this going to be another example of a poor alternative? Was it really possible to buy a multimedia player with 5 times the capacity, save 110$, and get an FM radio and a better podcast management on top (compared to the iPod Touch 16GB)?
As anyone that has listened to the iPod Touch knows, this has an equalizer with just about a zillion different adjustments, ALL sounding like a plastic megaphone inside a zillion different cardboard boxes.
The Zune has no equalizer, not even bass and treble adjustments, it just sounds great "by nature". The "in ear" design of the headphones excludes almost all surrounding noise, and gives a great sound all the way from deep bass, through a beautiful middle range, and up to the highest tones audible to my 43-year old ears. GREAT sound dynamics!!!
If you can live without the signal effect of having white wires hanging out your ears showing everyone around you that you are a part of the "Apple community", but finds it more important to have great sound in your ears, the Zune 80GB is for you. The Zune headphones have black wires, but trust me, you will "Zune" get over it!! This is a multimedia player for adults!
I can hardly wait for the Zune Markedplace to get fully functional in my region (Europe).
My warmest recommendations of this product! ...and NO I don't work for Microsoft.
Customer Review: Very Good Player - Excellent Software
Summary: 5 Stars
Disclaimer - This is my first MP3 player, but I have seen other ones as well.
The player is very nice - no problems with playback at all. It doesn't even have gaps in between songs. The Menu is very readable, and I like actually being able to see the cover art, unlike some of the non-ipod touch/phones, when I'm listening to music. The case is sturdy, no problems scratching at all. The cover has gotten dirty easy, but I think that would happen with any type of MP3 player I would use.
The strength of the Zune is in the software. By far, the ZunePass is a killer app. Renting music (and getting to keep some free forever each month) lets me expand my music tastes and learn about bands without having to pay for each track. The "social" portion of the software has a god-awful name, but it is neat in functionality: it keeps track of what i play, similar songs, mixviews, and links me with other people who share my music tastes. Best of all, Microsoft actually makes this software work with ALL of the older Zunes.
The downside of this is, yes, you have to run Windows. There is a complex workaround for Mac owners (basically running Windows in Parallels), but I would advise against that. The other downside is Microsoft's awful, awful, terrible marketing campaign involving the Zune. that being said, give it a whirl. Download the software at Zune.net for free and try it out before buying the player. I think the Zune pass currently has a two week free trial. See if it's the right player for you. I'm glad I did!
Customer Review: Zune Opinion - 6 months in
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my Zune for about 6 months now, and it has fast become a valuable and entertaining part of my tech. I was previously attracted to the alternative the Zune gave to the iPod, as the items were previously pretty similar.
However, now that the Zune 3.0 software has been released, it's versatility has increased dramatically. Things such as the Channels, which provide you with a list of songs each week that conform to a theme of your choosing. The Pics section, which provides suggestions for you based on your current listening habits, is a great way to explore new music. I'm not using the buy from FM (a feature which tells you what song and arist you are listening to on the radio, and gives you the option to buy it) or the Zune Marketplace (which allows you to buy songs over a wifi connection and instantly download them), but I can see how they would be useful to others.
But the killer app that compliments all these features is the Zune Pass, which for a monthly fee allows you to download as many songs as you like. This makes finding and trying new music interesting, fun and legal.
I find it amazing how much this device has changed since I bought it, both on the Zune hardware side, and the software side. If they continue to expand this versatility I think I will be owning my Zune for a long time to come.
I'd heartily recommend the Zune to anyone wanting to expand their music collection and expose themselves to new artists and styles. If that's you, then the Zune is your device.
Customer Review: Zune 80 GB Digital Media Player Review
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a quality piece of gear. The screen is gorgeous! I have had a few minor issues with the software, but overall, it gets the job done. It would be nice if the software had a "stop" button once you begin playing a song, but it only has a "pause" button. The player itself has worked flawlessly and I especially enjoy having an FM radio which displays the RDDS data with call letters, song and artist and sometimes the station genre. The player was roomy enough to rip my entire collection of cd's (approx. 300), many of my digital photographs and I haven't used half of the available space yet. I also like that the software gives me the choice of a number of formats to rip cd's to. The variable bit rate Windows Media format, at the highest bit rate, does a very nice job of preserving the full dynamic and frequency range of my jazz and classical cd's. I don't care for the new Windows online store to purchase downloads as one has to go through the silly routine of buying credits and then using these credits for purchases instead of directly using one's credit card to pay for the downloads. I haven't used the wireless feature yet, but it is nice to have just the same. Not sure about the movie capabilities yet, but it doesn't appear to be compatible with the movie sites I have checked so far, but I haven't really pursued that aspect yet. I bought it mainly as a music player and that it does very very well. It even comes with a better-than-average pair of noise isolating ear phones. Good job, Microsoft!!Customer Review: Zune 80 GB
Summary: 5 Stars
Bought this because I absolutely HATE ITunes, I also own a Samsung 4GB YP-K3 which is streets ahead of the IPod Nano.
The Zune excels in every department, but you should bear in mind that a conversion program like Cucusoft or Tmpegenc is an advantage if you are going to put videos on your Zune.
The way the Zune organises your music is really slick, but again, as with an IPod, you need to make sure your MP3's are properly labelled in their 'file properties' to make file organising on the zune slick.
If I had to critisize the Zune I would say that being used to the Samsung, I did miss the graphic equaliser and the ability to customise my personal audio preferences, you can't do this on the Zune, but having said that, I haven't found the need to yet, I guess it's all down to loading high quality MP3's in the first place.
Watching videos' on the zune is real cool, it's a beautiful screen, and watching TV or movies is real nice, but bear in mind that the screen is 640 x 480, so if your going to put a wide screen movie on it you should crop it, otherwise you will get a letterbox movie which is a bit on the small size. I've put a few Divx movies on mine and cropped them with Tmpegenc4 which is an option when converting to Mpeg4, and they are great to watch.
The reports I have read suggest the Zune is a genuine competitor to the Ipod. I think it beats it hands down and the only way Apple will take back the initiative is to make an 80GB Ipod touch, which no doubt will come soon.