MP3 Players Review

Zune 80 GB Digital Media Player, Red (2nd Generation)

Customer Reviews

Beats Ipod by a landslide

There are so many reasons i prefer this over ipod and you can probably find them below me from other people so i wont bother listing them again. But i will say there is only one thing i dont like about this and i might have just not figured out how yet. When you are playing a song i dont think you can go back to a particular moment during the song or fast forward though a part. Other then that this has so many more features then ipod including my favorites, accepting almost all video file types, finding the album artwork if your files are missing it, wireless syncing through your computer router or zune to zune, customizable background.

Great Player

After my 2nd generation (15gb) iPod died after 4 years of use, I found myself in need of a new player. Having success with my prior player, as well as all the power cords, etc., I first looked at the new iPods. That's when I realized that none of my cords will work with the new iPods and I'd have to buy everything all over again. So, I compared costs to the Zune. For less than the 60gb iPod alone, I was able to buy the 80gb Zune, 2 docking stations (v1), 2 remote controls, 2 power blocks, 1 car charger, 2 A/V cords, and 4 sinc cords. As all my music is from CDs (rather than bought via iTunes), converting to the Zune software was as easy as downloading the software. It automatically pulls everything from the My Music, My Videos and My Pictures folders on the computer. While the playlists didn't automatically add to the Zune software, the playlist titles and song names did, so it was just a matter of using the list of song names to re-create the playlists. Much easier than trying to re-create them from memory alone. The software is easy to use and has a pleasant look and feel to it. Very easy to move around in, and syncing to the Zune was as simple as right clicking (I turned off the auto-sync, so I can pull only specific stuff into the Zune as desired). The Zune itself is very stylish and easy to use. The sound is great. The buttons are easily worked. After having an iPod, it took a few minutes to get used to the scroll - I kept scrolling in a circular pattern. Once I got used to a "paper turning" movement with my thumb, I find it easier on my hand to scroll on the Zune. While I didn't think I cared, I rather like the "social" ability. It's easy to send a song to a friend's Zune, and fun to see Zunes come in and out of range. I'm almost positive my Zune was sending "crash" waves to a friend's iPod today also. :)

Price is TOO high!!!!!!!

What is up with the prices of the MP3 players! You've got to be kidding me, right?!!!! Over $200 for these things that are no bigger than a credit card! Come on people! What are you thinking? Granted the Zune can hold up to 80 GB but YOU have to put 80 GB worth of data on it. Maybe if it came with 80 GB worth of info on it already, it might be worth $200!!! Stop and think people....if we stop paying this much for stuff, the prices would go down to more reasonable prices.

Don't hesitate

I am very happy with my Zune 80. Feature for feature, it is equal to or better than the iPod for a whole lot less money. I have 309 CDs loaded and it isn't 1/4 full. I loaded them in WMV 128k and honestly find the quality every bit as good as 256 mp3, but with 80GB you can load them in lossless. 4 stars is only because MS took out the equalizer to make room for other features.

Zune 80 Gig

My wife bought me the 80gig Zune for Fathers Day. I had told her I wanted one after playing with the Zune software, which can be downloaded at Microsoft's website for free, for a couple of months and after reading reviews on Amazon. The only other player I have owned up to this point was a 3rd Generation 30 gig Ipod. In my opinion, the Zune blows the Ipod out of the water. I found the Zune software to be intuitive and simplistic. When the software was originally loaded and run the first time it synced with my Itunes collection, automatically bringing in all music not protected by DRM. It also had no problem recognizing my photo files and bringing them into the software as well. Since I own an Xbox 360, I was able to log onto the Zune Social and Marketplace right away using my 360 account. It also imported all of my Xbox Live friends into my Zune social homepage. Although none of them use the Zune software, I still thought that was a cool feature and really shows how Microsoft is trying to bridge the two products together. The Zune Social is Microsoft's musical copy of MySpace. You can create you own "homepage" where you can tell about yourself and it displays the music you have been listening to to the Zune community. This is a unique way to network with others who listen to music with similar tastes as yourself and can help you in finding new artists. It clearly states that the Social is still in Beta testing and is not something you have to participate in to use the Zune or it's PC software. The Zune Marketplace is probably the softwares biggest weakness. Microsoft insists on using their points system, which was originally created for the Xbox Live marketplace, instead of just using a saved credit card to purchase music as on Itunes and Amazon. This may have the potential of scaring off some customers. This doesn't effect me too much, though, since I have been strictly using Amazon to buy all my MP3's for the past several months. Hard to beat DRM free music at cheaper prices than Itunes or Zune Marketplace. If you are not doing this yet you need to be, NOW! There is absolutely no reason to buy DRM music. NONE! As for the Zune device itself. When I first synced the Zune to the PC it did a firmware upgrade to the Zune and, once finished, then started moving all the music to the device. Flawless process! After about two hours the battery was fully charged and ready to go. The "squircle", as some call it, is a little different than the Ipod, but works in a similar fashion that I found easy to use. When my wife first tried using it she found herself annoyed at first that it didn't exactly "work like the Ipod" but she quickly got the hang of it. I enjoy the FM radio capability. I would have enjoyed an AM receiver even more since I listen to a lot of political talk radio and my local sports teams. Maybe in a future model they will add this function into the device. Later on, I added in photos of my daughter. The display looks fabulous. All of my pictures show beautifully on the screen as well as album covers. As other reviews point out, there is no equalizer. This troubled me at first, but after listening to the device for about an hour I could care less. The sound is superb and the earphones are, without question, a hundred times better than the Ipod's. In comfort and sound, the Zune headphones are fantastic. The in-ear headphones do a good job of blocking out ambient noise and allowed me to keep the volume at reasonable levels while doing yard work for about three hours. My ipod would have left my ears ringing due to my having to turn the volume way up to overcome the hedge clipper noise. I am excited to see how this works on a plane ride, since I also always have to crank my ipod up to overcome the jet noise. I also really like the fact that the Zune does not use proprietary file types as Apple forces you to do. The device will accept just about anything you want to put on it, including TV you have recorded using Windows Media. In conclusion, the Zune is a solid device and I am extremely happy with this wonderful gift. I have already showed it to several family and friends and have encouraged them to consider a Zune for themselves. Dump the ipod, get yourself a Zune!

Keyword : zune