Zune 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
by Zune
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Our Price: $299.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $139.74 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Zune 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
Customer Review: Much Better Than I Expected
Summary: 4 Stars
Benefits versus an iPod:
* Add music to an on-the-fly "Now Playing" list on the Zune itself. The iPod unit does not have the ability to build a now-playing list on the fly. You have to make the playlists in iTunes and sync to the unit. This a great feature if you're out and want to build a quick playlist to listen to.
* Wireless Sync. I really like not having to plug in.
* Background Image. The iPod menu is just plain white. My Zune can have any image I want in the background.
* "Resume" feature on PodCasts. This is my absolute favorite feature. If I'm listening to a Podcast on my Zune and have to pause it, I can quickly sync to my computer and continue listening to it on my PC at the exact point I left off. The Resume feature works across multiple Podcasts and Syncs between the PC and the unit itself. This is a HUGE plus for me because I tend to listen to lots and lots of Podcasts.
* The Zune Software monitors user-defined folders for new media whereas iTunes only knows what you manually add to its collection.
* The FM receiver works, though I'm not exactly sure how much I'll use this.
Cons:
* Automatic Playlists are not near as robust as iTunes. This is a simple fix that Microsoft will hopefully be addressing (can you hear me MS$)?
* Podcasts cannot be added to a Playlist (manually or automatically)
* On the Zune Unit, PodCasts cannot be added to a "Now Playing List". Oddly, you can add Podcasts to "Now Playing" in the Zune 3.0 PC software, though I can't find where that list can be viewed in the software.
* The Zune Marketplace is not near as robust as the iTunes Store. However, if you don't plan on purchasing a lot of music through the Zune Marketplace it's not a problem. Personally, I try to buy my MP3's through Amazon.com.
* Cover Flow on the iPod is very slick. The Zune has a similar browsing feature, but it's not near as nice as Cover Flow.
* MP3 Tag Editing in the Zune Software is not near as powerful as it is in iTunes. iTunes has features like "Grouping" and "Disc x of x", Notes, multiple images, etc. None of these exist in the Zune Software.
I purchased the Zune because I wasn't necessarily happy with the iPods. My wife has an 80GB iPod Classic and my son has an 8GB Nano. The Classic is great because it has our entire music collection, various videos, all of our family pictures, and other stuff. But, it's a bit heavy and has a Hard Drive that will eventually fail. The Nano is nice because it's small and slick. But for me, I needed something with more "control". The Zune is my first real MP3 player since the very very early days in the technology. Since then I've been using my Palm Pilot TX as an MP3 player along with all the other features the Palm supports.
Also, I gave this a 4 out of 5 because the first unit I received was DOA. On the plus side, Amazon.com replaced the unit for free in 3 days - over the Christmas holiday to boot.
Customer Review: Customer Service Nonexistent
Summary: 2 Stars
UPDATE 10/30/2008: I finally got my Zune back today, 3 weeks after I sent it in, and as expected based on others' experiences, it was returned unrepaired. According to the note I received (this was never revealed online in the "status" section of my repair), cracked screens are not covered by the warranty. See if you can find that language in your warranty, I couldn't. Good luck if you open your brand new Zune and find a cracked screen. Needless to say, I'm disappointed. I've already allowed my Zune Marketplace subscription to expire, and now I guess I'll pop to get the device fixed by a 3rd party for $50, just so I can list and sell it on eBay. I'm going with what my brother got -- the Samsung YP-P2JCB P2 8 GB Touchscreen Bluetooth Portable Media Player (Black). I can keep my Rhapsody-To-Go account that I've liked with my iRiver H10. Too bad -- I had high hopes for this device.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: I received my Zune 16GB flash in early October. I also bought the dock for it. After setting it up and loading some videos on it, I removed it and took it to work. When I got to work, I noticed that the screen was cracked. The device was never out of my pocket or dropped. I can't say it was cracked when I got it -- even slightly -- but it was cracked nonetheless.
So I went online, created a repair ticket for the cracked screen and Microsoft sent me packing material. Easy enough...
I shipped it to them on 10-08 and they received it in McLaren, TX on 10-09. Today, 10-19, the Zune repair ticket still says "Waiting for device".
I'm giving all these facts because you should know that if your device breaks the only way to check on your device is to call Zune customer support (there's no email account for customer service) and figure out the secret word to say to talk to a human (it's "OPERATOR").
Then when you talk to a human, they will not listen to you and instead go through a prepared Q&A. After you convince them you just want to know when you'll get you frackin' Zune back, they'll tell you "10 to 15 days" with no idea what the current status.
So you'll go on the Zune forums and find out that Microsoft considers any screen breakage to be not covered by the warranty and figure out that you'll be without your device for a month without any hope of getting it repaired. Instead, you'll discover you could have sent it in to get it repaired for $50 at a 3rd party iPod/Zune PDA repair place and had it back in a couple of days.
This will be the last hardware I'll ever buy from Microsoft. I'm going to get the screen fixed and sell it on eBay. Too bad -- I was ready to cancel my Rhapsody account and go with Zune Marketplace, which certainly would have made Msoft more money than a $20 screen repair...
Customer Review: 3rd Generation Zune 16GB rocks!
Summary: 5 Stars
I just picked this up yesterday and I am very impressed. Move over Apple!
Pros:
- Great user interface. It's elegantly designed and very easy to navigate. I like the button touch volume control which allows me to change volume through a cover or through my pockets (something you can't do on the ipod). The player itself is beautiful too.
- Lightweight and easy to use device. The actual device is basically the same as the 4GB and 8GB 2nd generation models. LCD, weight, and hardware functionality is basically identical as far as I can tell. Of course, here you get 16GB of memory.
- Love the FM radio and new Zune 3.0 features. You can easily add songs you like while listening to the radio to your cart (on your device) and then download them either when you connect to your computer later or immediately through a wifi network. You also have the wifi marketplace which allows easy download of songs with Zunepass and I like now that there is a clock on the device.
- The software PC interface is slick and intuitive. You can easily drag and drop songs to reorganize them and I the interface is far more slick than iTunes. There are helpful features to get album art or even missing tag information on music as well. MixView is a very cool feature that enables you to see related artists with a simple click of the mouse. There's also a user rating system for songs though the classification is binary - either like or don't like.
- Great sound fidelity, although there is again no equalizer
- Superfast download/sync speeds. Downloaded about 3,000 songs in minutes!
Cons:
- You need Zunepass to get the most out of the marketplace, and it's expensive at $15/ month. But for that, you can wirelessly (through wifi) preview songs and download them (and most songs/artists are available on Zunepass). And if you ever stop your subscription, you lose your music. If that's unappealing, you can always download and pay for songs individually.
- Online marketplace interface can be a little vexing and still a work in progress. The music is there, but not the easiest to get to it.
- Earbuds that come with the device are so so. To get full sound fidelity, probably will need to upgrade them.
- 1.8" screen is great for navigation and music, but only adequate for video. If you want primarily a video device, I'd get the 120GB 3rd generation video player. The screen is much bigger (3.2") though the overall device is bigger and heavier (4.5 ounces vs. 1.7 for the 16GB)
- 16GB model only available in black and like previous versions, scratches/smudges show up easily.
All in all, I am psyched they came up with a 16GB version without increasing the size. I primarily use this as a music player and couldn't be happier with my purchase!
Customer Review: Zune rates a Z alphabetically
Summary: 1 Stars
We had nothing but problems with this from the 1st time hooking it up.
Wireless sync is tempermental and could not get this to work after hours trying and getting help online.
Music downloads are easy to do but we had trouble with the Zune being recognized and kept having to restart the computer since no matter how many times we would plug and unplug the sync cord it would not be recognized on the PC.
Zune software takes forever to download and our computer is not slow by any means.
After the 2nd day owning this product we wanted to try it out with the new Zune car pack transmitter we purchased and the when we plugged the Zune into the Zune transmitter, it locked up or fried itself and we are not sure which since we could not get the unit turned back on no matter what we tried. Wasted countless hours the first day downloading music never being able to listen to most of it.
When it did work the sound through the premium headpphones (extra purchase) was excellent. Very good highs and lows out of both the Zune and HP.
Zune would not allow me to add a lot of the MP3 music I had downloaded in MSMP.
This was my first MP3 player but I do know quite a bit about them and how to get around on a computer. I did not want to buy the IPOD since we are MS shareholders but after this Zune died, I was so mad that I got on Amazon and filled out the forms to return this device. It will probably take weeks to get my money back if I get it back at all but I did not care. This thing is nothing but junk AFAIAC.
Two hours after the thing died, we went to a local store and bought a IPOD Nano 16G and I already have more music on it in just a few hours and it is so much easier to move around in than the Zune. I think this is my last purchase off Amazon since saving $20 or $75 or however much is not worth it if it takes weeks to get a the order and then having to replace it if needed. Lifes to short for that BS.
The people at MS have a long way to go to catch Apple in the MP3 platform IMHO. Yeah the Nano does not have the FM radio which would be a nice feature but what the heck, I bought it to listen to my music and I can do without the FM.
The Nano is considerably smaller in size and weight, the screen seems bigger and it rotates when you rotate the Nano.
I was hoping the Zune would be a decent music player but the one we bought was a P.O.S in my opinion. I was hoping that it woulld last longer than the 18 hours it was plugged in.
Customer Review: Awesome Device that doesn't get enough attention.
Summary: 4 Stars
About a year ago I had a 8gb flash zune, and I loved it. There was 1 one problem with it, and that was that it was nearly impossible to sync for me. My Music was on my familys Mac, and I had to transfer it, and manage all the DRM wrapped up with it. I ended up only getting some of my music, and it was a total deal killer.
Now a year later I decided to try a Zune again. Im glad I did, because the software (for the PC) has gotten much better, and I was smarter about managing my music.
Now that its all working, I can play with my awesome zune. The design hasn't changed much (its the exact same) but the firmware inside the device was ungraded (3.1 is the latest). Any Zune device, even the oldest brown ones, can get this update without a problem (a very useful feature).
The Zune has a lot of Pro's, which includes having awesome navigation. I can fly through my 2200 songs quickly and precisely. Audio quality is also better on the Zune than the iPod, which is what I had before (I've had 7). You may or may not notice this, but I sure do with a decent pair of headphones. The Zune is feature rich too, but you can find out about those somewhere else. Its nice that you can get the same stuff on every zune device (even the $90 4GB zune). Battery life is decent, not great, but perfectly acceptable with the wireless off and the brightness not on high/backlight not always on. The Marketplace on the Zune works well and is actually helpful. Typing in my 26 letter network password was not as slow as I thought. Your Zune tag (identity on the Zune social) can be linked to your Xbox live account, and you can use the microsoft points you already have. $15 a month gets you a Zune pass which means 10 song credits and unlimited music downloads that stay as long as you keep your Zune pass Subscription going. I would use this because it looks great for discovering music, but Im terrified of DRM. Overall the Zune is great and you will most likely be pleased if you buy it.
The only cons that come to mind are the EQ (it doesn't exist), and the desktop software. I wish microsoft could put in a adjustable EQ. The problem with the desktop software is that its too slow. That means it looks really nice with effects and such, but its slow. If your computer isn't that good I suggest you download the Zune desktop software first and try it out just to make sure. Otherwise your experience with the zune could be misrible.
Anyways, the Zune is great, and you should definetly try it out.