Zune 8 GB Digital Media Player (Red)
by Zune
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List Price: Our Price: $55.00 You Save: $144.00 (72%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days 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 8 GB Digital Media Player (Red)
Customer Review: Works great until you need service
Summary: 1 Stars
Well designed MP3 player. Service is a very good deal, $15 per month, they have most of the songs you will want and you get 10 free per month to keep forever. I have three Zunes (dad, mom and daughter). Beware Zune has a problem sometimes during software updates, it can go dead and not come back to life. Updates are required so you can't skip them. My daughter's Zune dies during an upgrade and that is where my service nightmare began.
I had to send in the Zune to the service center and was told to expect a three week turn around time. Not happy with that and asked who I could complain to since this was a known Zune problem and Microsoft should be able to quickly respond to it. Told on the phone that there is no one to complain too. Level of frustration started to rise.
I received the replacement Zune in about two and a half weeks. I left the unopened box on the kitchen table for my daughter to open since she really missed it. Thought she might enjoy opening the box. Well she opened and the words "this doesn't work" rolled off her tongue. Instead of there being a nice shiny blue 8gb Zune, there was one of the older 80gb black Zune's that wouldn't fit into her pocket. Called Zune service and they explained to me that they gave me a Zune that costs more than the one that I sent it. I guess I was supposed to be happy. I tried to explain that this was the equivalent to someone taking their Camry in for repair and getting back Tundra. I explained that I had no use for an 80gb and I expected an 8gb blue Zune that matches my daughters phone. They apologized for the problem and said if I would send the 80gb back to them they would try to send out a new one once it returned. They couldn't guarantee a blue one either, which really angered me. I tried to explain that they should be forwarding me a blue Zune that day and that I would return their brick sized when convienent. I even said, go to Amazon, that's where I bought mine and they provide great customer service. I was told that my suggestion was not Zune's approved process. I then escalated the conversation to a manager who apologized but held firm that he wouldn't send me a replacement Zune until he had the 80 gb brick in hand. I'm now very upset.
It's been an additional two weeks and now I'm getting a phone call from Microsoft every night telling me that they still haven't solved my problem. Not pleased the point of wanting to throw all three Zunes out the window. Mr. Baumer, having customer service reps that apologize often does not make up for providing bad customer service on a product with a potential fatal upgrade process! Please fix the flaw and start providing good customer service if you want you service to suceed.
Bottom line, beware. Good product unless it dies during an upgrade!
Customer Review: One of the best mp3 player out in the market. With some flaw.
Summary: 4 Stars
I received my Zune yesterday in the mail and I was really excited to open it and test it out. The packaging was nice and I really like their unique graphic designs, really different from the majority. The earphone has a nice magnetic design but I doubt it will be too much helpful in organizing the headphones. Everyone has said the good things about this mp3 player: nice interface (almost, as ill explain later), cool touchpad, small, lightweight, a change from the iPods. But mostly today I wanna explain some of the dissatisfaction that I have with this little device.
First, although the interface is nice, it sometimes make you go around in a loop when you are trying to select songs or viewing photographs. If you have a photo that you buried deep in your jungle of photo collections. Selecting the photo in Zune will take you down to the sub-folder, then another sub-folder, and another till you finally reached it. When you finally done with view it, you have to press back button the same amount of times as you did when you tried to look for the picture.
The size of Zune is good, but not good enough, the thickness of the Zune is about the same as the thickness of my gf's iPod 2G with the silicone case on. I ordered a silicone case and I hope my Zune won't feel too bulky with the case on.
Another peev I have is the software, yes it's cool and easy too use to some people, I feel it's really frustrating that the syncing is no where near as smooth as iTunes. Sometimes it would start another batch just randomly so if your syncing 600 songs, it would end at 50% with 300 songs left and then the software would start from the remainging 300 songs at 0% and all the way till the end.
The most annoy thing in the Zune is that it barely has any foreign language support, so all I see when I upload my Asian music collection is an array of boxes for the titles, not so attractive.
All in all, the Zune 8GB is a cool little device with some flaws. 4 Stars!
Customer Review: For Simple Music Listeners
Summary: 5 Stars
In this "digital age" of music listening, there are so many things that can be done with sound files. They can be purchased, downloaded, streamed, synched, and a host of other users. In order to do this "on the go", one needs an MP3 player. While Apple's iPod currently dominates the market, and I think rightfully so, if you are a "simple" music listener who wants to save a bit of money, this Microsoft Zune product will suit your needs just fine.
After having a cheap MP3 blow up on me a few years back, I decided to step it up and make the "iPod vs. Zune" decision. Basically, I needed a digital music player for two reasons: 1. working out at the gym; and 2. listening to music while travelling. Though most of My research pointed to the fact that the Apple line of products was superior in terms of amount of options and online interface (iTunes), I also got the distinct impression that the Zune was still a quality product...albeit one without as much "flash".
Thus, do to that research and a $50 lower price tag for a comparable product, I chose Microsoft's Zune. For my uses, I have not been disappointed. It's easy to use, simple to add music too, about the right weight (not too heavy, not too non-existent), and very reliable. In the year or so that I had it, I probably haven't even scratched the surface of many of its features, but it serves my humble needs very well.
Thus, if you are a technophile who will know how to work every MP3 player feature/function without even cracking the instructions, then I'd recommend heading over to Apple. However, if (like me) you just need a simple device to play your collection of tunes and don't want to break the bank to do so, then this Zune should be your next purchase.
Customer Review: Best player so far, with interesting new features
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my fourth portable music player since the first one 5+ years ago, a Rio S30, and it is the best so far (size, weight, capacity, quality, and features).
In addition to music, I always need a radio at the gym, both to listent o NPR but also to listen to the TVs, and the Zune has the best reception so far (and a nice interface to select from favorite radio stations).
I love the podcast functionality (subscribe from within the application and it syncs new downloads automatically, and removes the old ones), as well as the ability to sync over my wireless network at home. I don't buy new songs every week, but new podcasts come out several times per week, and they get sync'ed to the Zune, without having to dock it. And not just audio podcasts, but video as well (the NASA weekly ones being my favorite).
The player is easy to control and the display is very nice. The earphones fit nicely and have a nice sound.
The PC software is simple and easy to use, very focused on the task of getting content to the player. It is also easy to buy additional songs through the software, and I get to use the same points I use to buy things on the X Box.
There are some interesting social aspects to the player and software, for example being able to share your favorites and songs recently played with your friends.
8 GB (in red) was the right size for me. The majority of the songs I like to listen to are now loaded in my Zune, with a nice variety of artists and genres. I also loaded a couple of my favorite photos, just to browse through them now and then.
Highly recommend it.
Customer Review: Worst Seller Ever
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought a Zune from this Seller and it was defective during its first use. I asked for help; she told me what to do to get it to charge. It did not work. I let her know this and she said I could return it. I inquired about recouping the cost of my return postage; she said she would pay it but it would have to be through Paypal. I agreed and sent back the Zune. When I emailed her as to the status of my return shipping, she told me that since the Zune worked for her she would not refund my return postage. She also accused me of lying about the amount I requested for return postage ($8.75 v. $4.75 which she claims was on the box, but did not take me up on my offer to send her a scanned copy of the receipt which I finally discarded thinking she was refunding my return postage - silly me). I have filed a complaint with Amazon under the A-Z Guarantee on this. Also very disconcerting to have a Seller call you a "liar" and "untruthful" in an email. I simply wanted a product that worked when plugged in as a gift for a dear friend. I have been doing business on Amazon Marketplace and Ebay for years and have never had an experience like this. Apparently the Zune she sold me was "on a shelf" for a while which is why it didn't charge. I never could get it to work. Under Amazon's policy, "item defective during first use" is a reason to return it. Instead, I am lambasted by the Seller and called slanderous names. For the money you think you're saving buying from this Seller, go to the nearest Best Buy and rest assured that you're getting a product that works the first time you plug it in, and without the negative and meanspirited comments.