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: Another Great Product from Microsoft!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not often compelled to write any sort of review for products. I usually leave that to fanboys and people who get paid to do so. Nevertheless, I find it necessary to write a review in this case for two reasons.
The first of these is to praise Amazon for its absolutely wonderful return policy. My Zune arrived very quickly and I was excited to get it up and running to replace my old first Generation 4GB iPod nano. Unfortunately, after having loaded my music collection onto the Zune, and charging the unit for over 2 hours, I came to the conclusion that the backlight on the unit was not functioning. The screen was way to dark to read. I packed the nonfunctioning unit back up, not without a little frustration, and sent it back to Amazon. This is the first time I have had to use the return process, and I was amazed at how fast and seamless it functioned. The customer service department shipped a replacement unit out on the same day! I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the whole process went.
As for the device itself, I am more than satisfied. I have had good luck with Microsoft products in the past (I have owned a 20GB Xbox since 2006, and have never had a problem with it). I decided to go with the Zune because of my general aversion to Apple products as of late, and because the Zune comes with a radio. My dissatisfaction with iTunes also affected my decision.
This Zune is light, small and appears to be pretty robust in included software. The user interface seems more suited to my sausage fingers and lack of dexterity. The button on the Zune is much easier to use than the navigation wheel on the iPod, and the inclusion of the pause/play and back buttons makes it a little easier to quickly get where you need to go.
The tendency is for devices to do more and more, and as a result the individual functions suffer. I could have plunked down more money for a device that would allow me to surf the internet, take telephone calls and organize my contacts among other things. Instead, I bought a quick, intuitive media player that wont get in my way, isn't a huge brick and has great sound and function.
Kudos to Amazon for their store and return policies and kudos to Microsoft for making a great little device. I recommend both very highly!
Customer Review: What the ipod nano should have been
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the Zune two weeks ago, after trying one out at the local best buy. As an Apple fanboy, I'm leery of anything Microsoft related. However, I'd read a lot of stuff on Headfi regarding the surprisingly good sound quality on the Zune.
Sound:
Rich, full, balanced. It beats my Meizu M6 (which kicks the snot out of the ipod) in the subtleties of the piano. Paired with my Audiotechnica ESW9's, the Zune absolutely floored me.
Fit and Finish:
It's like a slab of polished agate in the hand. The glass front picks up fingerprints, but resists scratches pretty well. The back is really hard to scratch or smudge due to the anodized, brushed metal finish.
The iPod nano...smudges and scratches really easily.
Battery Life:
Very good. I didn't play it all night, and it has an auto-shutoff once the plug is pulled.
Interface:
Really intuitive, but also allows blind operation. The interface is elegant, simple, and just plain works (something I can't say about my Meizu). Compared to the 4th gen iPod nano, it's a tossup regarding which is better. They're both in the same class, but I think the Zune is more flexible.
Compatibility:
It doesn't handle Ogg, but it handles multiple video formats with ease (something my Meizu can't, and iPod's won't).
Wifi, Radio, etc:
It has an excellent radio...which is sometimes indistinguishable from lower quality mp3's here in SF. Wifi is pretty useless (Microsoft crippled it). I didn't use recording.
Gripes:
The Zune is almost perfect. Unfortunately, Microsoft gimped the Zune. The Zune used to be able to log onto Last.fm with Zenses, but can't with the latest firmware upgrade(I think someone's working on a workaround). Also, the Zune software is really slow and hardware intensive (just like a bloated version of iTunes, but worse).
Conclusion:
I don't like Microsoft, but I like the Zune.
I'll be selling mine though, because I'll be heading to Japan and I'd like to have the GPS capability of the iPod Touch (although SQ is only OK).
Customer Review: Microsoft does it again
Summary: 5 Stars
If you want something done right, buy Microsoft. They have more money than God and can afford to hire the best design team and do it right. The Zune 16 is no exception. I still buy CDs because I like to have a physical backup of my music. Once you set up your preferences (which is easy and intuitive) you just drop in the CD and it rips it the way you want it and spits it out. Next time you sync the new music is automatically loaded.
The Zune operating system is fast and intuitive. I didn't read any instructions and I was using my Zune right away; navigating the menus and going through my library as if I was born with it.
Goodbye ipod. The touch pad works beautifully and just makes sense. Easy control without being over sensitive. The first time I picked up an ipod I had to play with it for a while to figure it out. Somebody had to tell me how to turn it off. Not Zune.
I have the home AV kit with the remote control. This is the way it should be done. All my music at my fingertips.
16gb is enough for me. I have about 4000 songs and three movies on it and still have 5.5gb available.
One thing you will not hear in any of these reviews is the difference between the codecs. The WMA 9 codec gives you a much smaller file size because you can compress the music at a lower bitrate than MP3 or AAC and still have the same sound quality. The variable bitrate WMA produces the tightest files. Ipod does not support the WMA codec because it is Microsoft, while Microsoft does support the apple AAC codec. Again, Microsoft has more money than God and can afford to develope the best codec.
Buy the Zune 16. You won't be sorry. If you own a PC, you will love the Zune software. It has everything you need. It won't take over your system like itunes. The fact that the ipod is more common does not make ipod the best. Do not listen to people who have never owned anything else. I have used both and there is no comparison. Zune 16 is much better.
Enjoy your Zune
Customer Review: Great Slim Sleek Player
Summary: 4 Stars
I took the plunge and bought a Zune and boy is this one fun little device.
The display is very crisp. The user interface is so intuitive that I can't believe it's a Microsoft product. The firmware updates bring free additional features, improvements and games. Wifi sync saves me yet another cable lying around. And for someone who just started working out, the slimmer 16GB works much better than the bulky 30, 80 or 120GB Zunes I see guys have strapped awkwardly to their arms.
With the built-in FM tuner, I get all the channels in the gym. Jumping to the next song is as easy as a simple tap - no need to pull it out and fiddle with it for most functions. The sync interface (Zune software) on the PC is really crisp and doesn't try to install additional browsers or software like a competing product. I'm getting tons of free audio and video podcasts, my own videos and over 1500 of my own songs and am only using half the space.
Minus 1 star for a lack of built-in Equalizer (EQ) or presets - and for the step down in earbud quality from previous models. Even with the lack of an EQ - normally a deal killer for me - the sound was good enough that I really couldn't gripe. After I picked up some JBuds J2 Premium Hi-FI Noise Isolating Earbuds (Onyx Black), the sound was so good, I didn't even notice the missing EQ.
Haven't used the social features (like trading files, friends lists, etc.) so I can't speak to those. But as a slim, sexy, very small MP3 player, this takes the cake.
Customer Review: Very Disappointed
Summary: 1 Stars
A friend of mine bought a V1 Zune and enjoyed its ease of use: simply plugging it into a computer, and dragging over songs to add to the player.
Unfortunately, the V2 Zunes use a "special" software package to sync up with your computer collection - ultimately an iPod-esque program that is as useless and annoying as it is stupid.
Not to mention, the Zune broke within 2 weeks of having it - the back light only comes on when it wants to, sometimes it's prompted by shoving in the headphone jack/power cable in really tight.
I have a flash version, and while it charges up in about 45 min, it charges down in about 2hrs - simply unacceptable for a little flash player these days.
There's literally nothing good to say about this - it's annoying to use, crappy-cheap, and way to expensive for what it is. Go off and buy some cheapo MP3 player instead of this ripoff. Actually, I guess the FM radio is okay when it actually gets a signal-which never happens indoors, but whatever, I've gotten used to being BF'd by this MS junk-piece.
Also, I bought the car-charger/FM transmitter device - complete piece of junk - only buy if you need the car charger and live where radio towers don't exist.