Microsoft Zune Black (30 GB) MP3 Player

This device, simply put, is amazing. I'm sorry, but I have to compare it to iPod, because most people have expierence with it. Hopefully one day, I'll compare other MP3/4 players to the Zune.

The Good:
Wireless capability (sadly not that many people have one though...)
Radio (The built in digital read out is great to easily find out what your listening too)
No scroll wheel (That's right, I said it. Personally iHate the scroll wheel, with the zune you can scroll through thousands of songs, without moving your finger, simply brilliant)
Screen size (.5 of an inch doesnt seem like much, but boy it really is! plus this is verically measured, probly about 2 iPod screens)
Unscratchable surface (the screen seems to be covered with very thick plansic, will withstand a key stroke, along with double shot plasic, resistant to finger prints)
Sheer inovation (Microsoft pull off more inovation than that of the iPod. It simply looks much more stylish, feels great too!)
Firmware! Updatable, anything could be changed! Games, more wifi ideas, anything!

The Bad
Size Size SIZE! IF you have a big pocket, then you're good. It wieghts not too far from the iPod, but is almost twice the thickness, definately something that needs improved on. The Creaive ZVM actually heavier and is a little fatter, so it isnt that bad, but hte only downside. Let's see some Zune Micro's

iPod...
Zune has become the number 2 selling product with ipod being 1st, this was achieved in just one week after launch, not bad at all microsoft!

Software isnt bad, but needs some working on. Just overall feeling of software feels a little... rushed. Overall media content is a little more rich than iTunes, Zune= quality, iPod= quantity

Ipods only advantages are size. Go down to BestBuy w/e and check size, if your fine with it, there is NO REASON TO GET AN IPOD!!

So far again, the best MP4 player I've ever tested!

What I like? Everything!! We are talking about a superb gadget!!! 30Gb hard disk are more than enough to store your media, even your movies!!
I also like the now playing display and the great image quality which ipod cannot provide through its smaller screen!

What I dislike? I can quarantee that you are not going to find anything to dislike on this device.

Without thinking I am giving a 5/5 rate to microsoft zune and I suggest that you should stop buying ipods! This device R O C K S ! ! !

I personally love this media player device. The screen is an excellent size and is very crisp and clear. The only down side is it glares a lot in sunlight.
30GB is a lot of space, any more is practically uneccessary unless you have over 7,000 songs or tons of videos. I've got over 80 videos totaling about 50 hours so far, as well as over 200 songs and I've still got 12GBytes left! I only have a couple pictures on it, but they look great. It has a nice zoom in feature which increases the picture size by about two times. You can also set any picture as your main background which is awesome.

The user interface is very easy, I seriously picked it up and felt as if I knew exactly what to do right away.

The Zune program you use to upload media has some problems. They have an Autosync feature which I would HIGHLY recommend you never turn on. What it does is look at your computer folders for the media files you have already uploaded. If you delete the files from your computer, and you have autosync on, the Zune program sees that and deletes it from your Zune. I learned my lesson quickly. Other than that, it's great.

The included headphones work quite well. The sound is loud and pretty clear. I bought a different pair just for comfort reasons.

To charge the Zune you must either buy a separate charger (Which I did, the one made by Monster is small and works great) or you can use the USB cable included with the Zune. That's no problem for me as I have computer access almost 24/7.

The battery life is great for music. They advertise it as 8 hours, but I've gotten about a good 6-7 hours before it gave me a low battery warning. While watching videos with the screen brightness turned to low, it eats up the power pretty quick. I would guess you get about 3 hours of video on a single charge, which is still quite decent.

The carrying case that came with it is very small, and tight. It makes it a little hard to put on, but you get used to it after a few times. It's a simple cloth case, not made for protecting it from falls or sharp objects hitting it. I find it adequate for keeping it clean while on my desk or in my pocket. One thing that I would find useful is if they added a slot at the bottom for access to the power/transfer cable connector.

I have used an Apple iPod, 30gb, and I would say it is much better than it in many ways. First off, I am not partial to the touch sensitive controls on the iPod. They are too sensitive at times and don't feel like they give much control. The Zune has a similar circular format for the buttons, but these you actually have to press. This makes it very easy to use in your pocket with out having to look at it (like adjusting volume and changing songs).

Also, the iPod loses on the screen size. Sure the Zune is less than half an inch more diagonally, but it looks MUCH bigger. Also, I found the Zune to look less pixelated.

The only downside compared to the iPod is the size. Some people may call the Zune huge, I definitely wouldn't. It is bigger, but barely. For something that's NOT made by Apple, the size difference is negligible.

Now, I would only recommend this over a regular MP3 player if you will use the video a lot, or you need something with this much storage. I didn't look around much but my guess is you can find something with similar storage space, for less since it doesn't have video capabilities, or at least as large a screen.

Recap:
+'s:
Great screen
Lots of space

-'s:
Size (negligable)

What I like:
30GB hard drive, built-in FM tuner, 3.0-inch screen (50% larger than the 5G iPod), and 802.11 wireless. It will also come in three colors, black, brown and white.
With the ability to share songs with frinds via WiFi, The Zune supports communities like xBox Live and MySpace. Initially, any song sent to a friend will only be playable for 3x in 3 days, but we all know that will be hacked.

Are these specs better than the iPod G5? I'll let you decide. I know there may be Apple haters out there who want anything but an iPod or nano, and Microsoft will get their share, but an iPod killer? I mean come on! Seriously, do they think a brown mp3 player will catch on. Maybe, for me to poop on!

PROS: The Microsoft Zune has very good playback performance of audio, video, and photos; intuitive and colorful interface; good FM radio with RDS; works well with Zune Marketplace software; integrated wireless allows sharing of songs (limited) and photos; many accessories available at launch.

CONS: The Microsoft Zune is not backward compatible with WMA-DRM9; weak native video support (cannot play protected content) and no video offerings from Zune Marketplace; cannot be used as a hard drive (and no UMS support); proprietary USB; cannot use Wi-Fi to sync, stream, or purchase content; minimal bundled accessories; no podcast directory; maximum capacity is 30GB; larger overall size than the iPod video.

For all the tech specs, click on 'More Information' above.

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My boyfriends 23rd birthday was coming up and I knew he wanted some kind of digital music player. He is definately a music fanatic and specified that it had to have AT LEAST 4 GIGS! I shopped around at a few stores and saw that a lot of the 4GIG music players (ipod...sansa...ect...) were really expensive around $250)
I remember him saying that he was intererested in a Zune. Zunes have 30 GIGS (holds THOUSANDS of songs. They play videos, hold pictures, play music, and have a wireless connection so you can connect to other peoples zunes and share music! Zunes were so expensive though! But, me being the best girlfriend ever, I knew I had to get him one. After searching forever in stores and finding that they all were around $250, I decided to look on ebay. I found tons of Zunes for really cheap, but it was hard telling if they were legit. For something so expensive I wanted to know what I was buying! I also wanted it to be knew in the box and not previously used. I began watching a few items and narrowed down a few I thought were legit. I then messaged the sellers to find out the history of the item and why they were selling it, what condition was it in, ect...
I finally found a nice guy who was selling a brand new in the box never opened before black zune. He was selling it because he recieved it as a gift and already owned an ipod. I made a bid on it and won it for $190 dollars. I got a really good deal considering they are $60 more dollars in the store. I had the item shipped to my parents and I gave it to him on his birthday. It was a total surprise and he loves that thing so much! He uses it everyday. We have over 3000 songs on our computer and we put them all on the Zune. It is so easy to use and organizing songs is a piece of cake. I love the quality of the screen and images and the sound is excellent. I recomend a Zune over an ipod ANY day. They are AWESOME!
My advice when buying anything really expensive, especially electronics, is that you need to definately trust your instinct and find a few sellers who feel legit. Make sure that their description of the item is EXACTLY what you are looking for. If anything is left out in the description that you wanted (such as new in the box, or never used) then don't even consider it. A lot of times sellers will trick people by making their items sound appealing but it won't be what you are looking for.
For example... someone might say "NWOT zune in the box!"
but what you what it "new zune in the box, sealed and never opened."
because they could have opened the zune, tested it out, and put it back in the box!
And definately don't be afraid to ask the seller questions about ANY CONCERNS!

I got my Zune two days ago and exchanged it for a black 5.5 gen iPod today (I had sold my white 5 gen iPod to buy the Zune).

I was really excited about the Zune, and really wanted to enjoy it. I was looking forward to the large screen, and connecting it up to my 360. But alas, it was not meant to be. The device itself is great, I loved the design, it felt great in my hand (despite being a bit thicker than I would have liked), the screen is beautiful, and the menu system seemed very easy to use. The software loaded fine on my computer, but when I connected my Zune, that's where things went shady.

I disconnected and reconnected my Zune many many times, and got varying results (but never the desired ones). Sometimes niether the Zune nor the software would do anything...sometimes the Zune would start charging, but nothing else...sometimes the the Zune would say "Connected" but nothing would happen on the software side. Once (once!), it actually worked...the Zune said "Connected" and the device showed up in the software and started to update the Zune firmware...then it froze. I even tried removing the software a few times and reinstalling it, to no avail.

I wasted six hours over two evenings trying to get this thing to work, and I had enough. At least I got a new iPod out of the ordeal.

My advice:
- If you own an iPod, keep it! Maybe upgrade to the 6 gen when they come out, as they'll likely feature the few things about the Zune that make it appealing.
- If you're looking for your first media player, consider the iPod or Creative Zen before even thinking about the Zune.

I like the Zune because there is lots of memory and a large viewing screen. Much better value than iPod. The negative is that it is not compatible with Windows Media Player which forces you to purchase your music thru Zune's music store only. That is the only reason I didn't give it an Excellent rating.

I loved the Ipod which I had for a long time, but that was until the Zune came out. The only draw back off the bat for the Zune is the lack of accessories. But in do time, that will change. By now, we all know the basics of the Zune: it's a 30GB MP3 player with a photo- and video-friendly 3-inch (4:3) screen, and it costs $249.99. It runs on a customized version of Portable Media Center software (Windows CE-based) and features the same intuitive twist-navigation like players such as the Toshiba Gigabeat S. But there are many differences both in mind and body that differentiate the Zune from any other MP3 player, which I'll share in a moment. To the chagrin of many Windows Media fans, the device is not backward compatible with WMA-DRM9 (Zune utilizes WMA-DRM9.1), so tracks purchased from stores such as Napster or Urge will not work. Subscription tracks from those services won't work either. In other words, Zune is not a PlaysForSure platform. Instead, it operates within its own software and store, which are not connected to Windows Media Player at all (in fact, you don't even need WMP to sync and manage your Zune).

What is inside the box: the Zune packaging is minimal, but has everything you need to get started. You actually lift the Zune out of the box by pulling on its brown ribbon, and the bundled earphones and rubbery USB cable are nowhere to be seen until you realize the flaps adjacent to the Zune lift open. In addition, you'll get a suede case, a software CD, some guides, and a sticker in the package. While we'd love to see more--such as an AC adaptor (You can buy in circuit city as a home kit for $99.99)the introductory Zune experience is well done. It's a durable device that will withstand scratches, bumps, and bruises, though the primary seam of the device looks as if it might burst open after a hard fall. The body is minimal with no buttons on the sides, only a hold switch and an earphone jack on top and a proprietary USB/accessories port on the bottom. The screen and main controller are surrounded by a thin, metallic inlay, while the three control buttons are dead simple (the small dedicated back and play/pause buttons are flush with the body). The back of the device features a circular dip and it mirrors the d-pad up front. This is supposed to give you a better feel for the d-pad especially as it's used with two hands in landscape mode. There is no kickstand as seen on some PVPs, but you can always get an optional case with a built-in method for propping up the Zune.

The screen is big and bright and automatically switched to landscape mode when viewing photos and videos. And when you are viewing in landscape, all of the buttons automatically changed direction, too. (Meaning up and down becomes left and right.) It would be nice to have some built-in support for left-handed people, but alas, there is none. The ability to send songs wirelessly to friends with Zunes is very quick (about 15 seconds per song). It would be nice to be able to keep the songs for longer that 3 days/3 plays. The sound quality of the Zune is very good when using the headphones that come with the device. I'm running out of characters, so I will sum it up by saying, that the Zune is a great start for Microsoft and could only get better in the near future with experience. Overall, I wish the Zune took more advantage of its wifi features (which apparently will be updated soon), but the device is very well-made, easy to use and fun.

I've waited to submit this review because I wanted to actually use the product for a few weeks before passing on my thoughts. I can't make a legitimate comparison to the Apple iPod (or any other mp3 player) because I've never owned one (much less held one in my hand) so, this review isn't biased or favoring Microsoft over its competition; it's just one guy's opinion on his "new toy".

To begin, my wife gave me a (black) Microsoft Zune for my recent birthday. I'm glad that she did because so far, I've had a lot of fun with it. I’ve finally been able to take all of the music I have (on my pc) wherever I go.

Here’s a list of “pros” and “cons”, beginning with the former:

1. SCREEN SIZE: This seems to be a huge reason why a lot of people choose the Zune and for people (like me) who need reading glasses, having a large screen is more than a convenience it’s almost a necessity.

2. BACKGROUND: You can set the background (i.e. wallpaper) to whatever you like. Have a family photo that you really like, or a photo of your favorite sports team or musician? Navigate to the folder where your favorite photo is located and click the center button and then set the photo as your background. This is a simple but pleasant option that adds a personal touch to your Zune.

3. MENU: Music, videos, pictures, radio, community, and settings. The menu is fairly straight-forward and very easy to navigate. For example, while viewing your music you can navigate by artist, playlist, song, genre or album.

4. CONTROL: The back button moves back up the menus and the play/pause button starts and stops songs. Both are small yet quite easy to use while the center button (for navigation and commands) is much larger and even easier to use.

5. VIDEO: Depending on image quality, the videos you add to your Zune will look great. I don’t have a lot of video on my Zune but what I do have is excellent as far as viewing goes. I like the fact that you “need” to turn your Zune on its side to view videos; this allows for maximum usability of the Zune’s screen size.

And now, a few “cons”:

1. TRIM COLOR: This is trivial but don’t pay much mind to the images used by Microsoft to promote the Zune. Every single photo I’ve seen of the black Zune shows its blue “trim” illuminated. Maybe this is just a marketing ploy or maybe mine’s a “dud” but the blue trim on the outside of my Zune’s casing simply does not light-up. No big deal, just a minor dissatisfaction.

2. EARPHONES: Sure, they work but Microsoft could have provided a higher-end pair to compliment the Zune. The earphones that come with it are run-of-the-mill at best.

3. RADIO: This feature is both pro and con. It’s a great feature to have but only if you’re outdoors or live within a stone's throw of your favorite station. I've barely used the Zune radio simply because I don't listen to too much radio.

4. SOFTWARE: I had some initial difficulty using the Zune software. It took me a few days before I got the hang of using the menu and syncing my music properly. Maybe I’m not as tech savvy as I think or maybe Microsoft rushed around getting this product on the market, but who knows...it’s probably a bit of both. But if you suspect Microsoft is playing “catch-up” in the mp3 player market, then the Zune software will nearly convince you of it (I had to update it immediately after installing it).

I hope this review has been helpful...thanks for reading and good luck!

Well, I broke down and bought a Zune. I know most of the pros and cons now. It's good points are:
its capacity
its very clear resolution
its large 3 inch screen

The problems I have found are:
the fact that although it has wireless, if you beam a song to a friend, they get 3 days or 3 plays because Microsoft has used a method called viral digital rights management which encrypts your song whether you want it to or not. Also I ended up calling Microsoft because I could not figure out how to convert my movie to the player. I have since found some great software, which i paid about 30 bucks for, called M2Convert which works wonderfully. Email me if you need a link. Overall i am pretty content with it. I even got a mount for it for my car on ebay. naturegirl1970@aol.com Thanks!

Versatility in your pocket.
I know alot of complains about software issues, but can all be hacked with firmware or codes on zunescene.com

If you, the consumer, are thinking about getting an MP3 player that has tons of GB's, the Zune is for you. I was thinking about buying the iPod until I saw the Zune and its features. You can spend close to $100 dollars more for an iPod that doesn't even have the same abilities as the Zune. The Zune has a larger screen, FM tuner, it allows you to wirelessly transfer media between other Zunes and your Zune, and is a lot cheaper with just as much holding capacity!! Yeah, everything has an iPod hookup to it, but you know that some of those connections apply to the Zune as well. Don't let me forget to mention that I am comparing a 30GB Zune to a 30GB iPod.

Microsoft really knew what they were doing when they made this mp3 player. It's durable, simple to use, it snychs lightning fast, and the sound quality is superb.

I choose sound quality over size anyday b/c I am a music fanatic. I listen to death/black metal and gangsta' rap, so all of my music has really deep,powerful,bass-heavy production. This zune kills the i-pod in terms of sound quality. It can handle the Abyss studio prodiction of Immortal and Marduk, and it can handle the bass of ,Bone Thugz, and my Bloods & Crips cds. I had an i-pod during 2005 and 2006 and the cd's with heavy production sounded like crap. It was like a staticky, distorted sound, where on the Zune it's crystal clear. I'll take a little bulkier machine anyday for this good of sound quality.
Another awesome point is the album cover art. It's a nice,huge picture so you can actually see all of the detail on the album cover art. Also, it's a breeze to paste your own cd art too if it doesn't come up.

The videos look amazing on here too. The crystal clear picture looks better than my t.v.

All in all, this is the best mp3 player I've owned for the sound quality and durability alone. But, of course, in America, sound quality doesn't mean anything against trends, so everyone will still buy the crappy i-pods.
But if you like sound quality, then for sure get this!

What I like love about the Zune is all the GB that are in it, the huge screen, and it has radio. What I dont like about it is that fingerprints always get on the screen, but its ok because i can just wipe it off. I wanted to buy it because i wanted a good music player that had video, pics and a radio, and the Zune happened to be the one i chose.

This is the best MP3 player I've ever used. It's simply amazing. I love the design on it. This thing is scratch proof! You can strike a key to it and it wont leave a mark! The device itself is just pure silicon goodness. I wouldnt trade it for any other MP3 player. The screen it just beautiful. The color is just amazing, so is the clarity. I just cant stop talking about the design. I got the pink one, but I also love the brown and white one. If it wasnt for the pink one being limited edition, I would have bought the brown one. But I love this one more. Beautiful Microsoft, just awesome. Though I dont like the black one much..


Now, the software...not the best experience ever. But still fairly decent. Not much to complaing about. It could have been better. But I'm sure that it will be with a couple of updates.

I love it, I would DEFINATELY reccomend it over the iPod. There are so many things much better than the iPod, and this is the best one out of all of them.

Microsoft's Zune is my first digital media player and I am glad to say that I am quite pleased with it's features. I was well aware of Apple's line of MP3/media players but I opted for the Zune for it's wireless capabilities and ease of use with MS products (Windows + Xbox 360). It was easy to setup and the Zune software is fairly easy to use. The battery life is around a good 12-14 hours if you're listening to MP3's, around 3-5 hours if you're watching videos.

The unit itself is fairly light, but the dimensions are kinda bulky if you want to exercise with it. The interface is really simple and you can access music/pictures/video within a few clicks. It does a good job of sorting everything out automatically, but you can rearrange inside the Zune software. Charging the unit is just a simple matter of plugging in the Zune via USB cable, although you can purchase an AC charger kit/DC car charger seperately.

My only gripes with the unit is when I used it the very first day, songs would cutout for a split second and resume playing at regular intervals. After I decharged the unit completely and recharged it however, the problem went away. Also, it can be kinda hard to find Podcasts and non-music related material if you have alot of music stored on the unit. Also, the Zune software doesn't support my Operating System, which is Windows XP Pro 64-bit Edition. All-in-all, I feel that the Zune can hold it's own against other top of the line players. If you're looking for a 30GB media player that has wireless capabilites, FM tuner, decent battery life, and an easy to use interface, then I would reccommend getting the Zune.

-PRO's: Can share songs wirelessly, FM Tuner, easy to use, stream media to XBox 360, decent battery life, bright screen, good software.

-CON's: Experienced first time use poor audio quality, too bulky to run with, protective sleeve/case it comes with is rather useless, no AC charger unit bundled with product, software does not work with Windows XP Pro 64-bit edition

What I like: Almost everything. Great sound quality, huge screen, battery life, FM tuner, simple controls, the wireless option is awesome if you have friends with Zunes, even the Zune software is good- I've had no problems with it.

What I dislike: Honestly, I haven't found anything yet.

Overall: 5/5 for sure... blows the ipod and any other player right out of the water.

The Zune, though certainly not the IPod killer than many were hoping for, and also not a groundbreaking player by any means, is a fairly good little media player. The screen is very large making it excellent for view movies. The 30GB of storage space is more than adequate for most people. The wireless sharing is neat, but in all honesty I have never met anyone else with a zune which makes this feature pointless. The new wireless syncing that the latest firmware added is also very nice. The first generation of software was not especially innovative, but it worked. However, Microsoft has released a completely new piece of software for managing your zune. Unfortunately I despise this software. Although it is definitely more simple which is what Microsoft was aiming for, it is in many ways too simple and has dumbed things down enough to infuriate experienced users. For example, you must now constantly keep files in your library even after you have synced them to your zune, otherwise the software will automatically remove them without giving you a choice.

Besides the new software, the only real disadvantages that I see to the Zune 30 are its battery life and size. Though it does just fine with music, videos really consume battery life, I usually get somewhere between 3 and 4 hours, which is exactly what it is rated at, but a little bit lacking when it comes to long trips or flights. Also, the zune is little bit clunky. Though it is nowhere near as large as some of my first mp3 players, it is thicker and longer than the Ipod.

The one big thing to remember about the Zune as of now in November of 2007 is its price. When originally released it sold for $229.99, but you can now pick up a refurbished model for around $110.00, which makes this player a steal if you are looking for a simple media player. Sure, it doesn't have a fancy touch screen or a bunch of apps like the ipod touch does, but it is a heck of a lot cheaper and will serve its purpose admirably.

I rated this product as a good rather than an excellent simply because of the new Zune software, if Microsoft had merely updated the visual appearance of the software and added the podcast features, instead of greatly reducing the functionality and adding infuriating factors to it, I would have given this product an Excellent rating, the full 5 bars.

I've had my Zune for about a week now, and I'm loving it! Works as expected, had no problems so far. The Zune interface is easy to use and nicely organized. The software has a little to be desired in that it isn't necessarily intuitive. It takes a little bit to figure out exactly how everything works with syncing and such, but just mess around with it for awhile, and you'll figure it out. One small negative thing I have noticed with the Zune is that the buttons are a little loud, and you have to press decenly deep to actually push them in. Not a huge deal, but a little annoying when you're pressing the buttons a lot. The player feels very durable, and the earbuds that come with it sound great. And lastly, the battery seems to run out decently quick, especially when watching videos. But overall, I love my Zune!

You bet! My friends that have the 40G iPod were sure surprised with my Zune. The screen is better and the picture quality is awesome. I use mine mainly for music and both the Zune and the service are terrific. I would recommend that if your serious about your music that you pony up for some quality headphones/earbuds. I use my Shure E3c's on airplanes, at work and working in the yard and they block out noise and produce great sound. Good job Microsoft!

I love my zune by microsoft. It is so much better than the ipod. It is very user friendly. I am almost a senior citizen, and I had no problem downloading to the zune. I love the fact that it also has a radio, and I can stockpile my pictures of my many grandchildren. I have very eclectic taste, from r and b to 50's and 60's songs, and of course my gospels. I was able to find everything i wanted under the zune download service and believe me if I can do it anyone can.

Thank you microsoft for such a wonderful product.

My brother really wanted a music player to listen to on the subway to school and back. Being a Microsoft fanatic, I got him the Zune.
The Zune that I got him is amazing, don't get me wrong. It does all the features it said it'll do. It plays songs magnificently. It's light-weight and has a nice screen.
However, it's major downfall is that it doesn't play AVI files. I thought that it would, why wouldn't it? Turns out, you have to convert the AVI files before you can watch it on the Zune. Fine, how bad can that be? Then guess what, the program that came with the Zune doesn't convert videos. So, I found one that a lot of people suggested people with Zunes use. It took over 1 hr to convert 1 movie. Worth the time? Nope.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Zune. I use it whenever my brother doesn't. But if only it played AVI files, life would be easier.

I Was In The Market To Buy A New Mp3 Player With Video And I Was Very Impressed With The Zune The Screen Is Vibrant And Bright Big Pictures That Pop Up When The The Album Is Displayed And The Video Quality Is Much Greater Than The iPod And Its A Bigger Screen I Love My Zune Its Affordable And It U Dont Have To Use The iTunes . I Hate iTunes With A Passion The Zune Converter Software Is Fast And Easy 2 Use So If Ur Buying A Mp3 Player Think Zune.