Microsoft Zune Black (80 GB) MP3 Player

As a fan of the first Zune, I was skeptical to see how much of a leap the Zune 2 was. It's not really a leap, it's more of a sudden hop in the right direction.

The pad that the Zune uses is nice, allowing both quick swipes and pressing to allow precise scrolling. It's no touch screen, but it's a start. The familiar buttons are essentially there, though they stick out a bit now. Travelers who put these in their pockets may not want to add anything else to the same pocket, otherwise you'll need to lock the device. I liked the Zune because the buttons were curved in, so even if you didn't lock the device, you wouldn't have to worry about it jumping to the next track due to a bump. iPods were always disastrous about this.

The GUI is nice. It's a bit flashier and makes it feel more modern. The introduction to podcasts is nice as well. My old Zune downloaded the GUI as well, so both work with the new system. I thought that was brilliant of Microsoft to do, so older Zune fans won't be completely left out.

The software is better then the original software, though I still don't understand why Zune 2 doesn't have Windows Media support. (Meaning you can't sync with WMP) The software does seem more sync friendly however, as I've yet to have songs mysteriously disappear like the original software did. It loads tremendously faster too, which is amazing considering it's more visual.

The sound quality is still there and I have to admit, using the stock ear buds that came with the device actually seems pretty nice. I've never been one for stock ear buds or headphones but these actually make me feel like my money was well spent.

All in all, it's definitely worth the price it's at. I prefer this over the iPod classic simply because of the GUI and my hatred for iTunes.