Zune 80 GB Digital Media Player (Black) by Zune
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List Price: Buy Used: from $135.00 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Zune 80 GB Digital Media Player (Black)
Digital camera Review: 1 word SOUND!!! it blows the "Idontknowwhatmusicissupposetosoundlikepod" away
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm only giving this 4 stars because i can't believe the zune creators didn' put any kind of equalizer on this thing no equalizer at all huh. but i must say it sounds freaking awesome even without an eq. let me start off by saying i have used the new classic ipod and i can't believe for such a popular and expensive item they sound the way they do my musicjust did not sound the same on an ipod. well i bought this yesterday and OH MY GOD this thing sounds incredible i challenge anyone who has an ipod to go and buy one of these and listen to the sound and tell me your ipod can even compare. and if you don't like it just return it. but anyone who has been using an ipod for years don't know what there missing. this thing is awesome for sound alone but all the other new features are killer to. hopefully the eq will be addressed in a firmware update. go out and get one you will love it uhhhhh what music should sound like!Digital camera Review: 100% satisfied
Summary: 5 Stars
By far the best player on the market. Not one single complaint about my 80 GB Zune. It blows everything else out of the water.Digital camera Review: 3 major benefits over IPOD
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm very happy with my Zune 80gig. Three main features clearly make it a better device than an IPOD for me. 1)The screen is awesome. I've put several of my all-time favorite movies on it. People are amazed on what a great video watching platform the big Zune is. Video PODCASTS are also great. 2) Zune Pass. We have 3 Zune owners in my family, all of us share one Zune Pass account. Unlimited music and comedy for $5/month each. 3) Radio. When I work out at the gym, and can dial in the video motitors while on the bike and watch the news.
Digital camera Review: 4 STAR PRODUCT, BUT LETS TALK ABOUT THE CONS
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm going to keep this simple. There are a lot of people out there deciding "iPod or Zune?"
Well, this short review should help you along the way.
The problem with the Zune is first possibly a problem with your computer. Check the message board for the Zune. A lot of people there are complaining about syncing it with Vista. I had the same problem. My suggestion is making sure Vista is COMPLETELY updated before installing the zune. If there are any OS problems, and I mean any, try to fix them before installation. It can save your hours of frustration.
Also, people buy this for the huge beautiful screen. Well, here's the major drawback - the zune of course only supports .wmv files. Yes, there are two other formats it supports, but it's two formats the average consumer won't use - it's not .avi. The zune will not convert the files for you. This means you will have to hit up google and possibly pay for a file converter. My suggestion: use Windows Media Encoder - it's free.
Finally - the zune software is not going to be like iTunes - so if you're unorganized....don't uninstall iTunes. Keep it handy, you will be needing it for editing songs or the tags to them.
Overall though, I would buy 5 zunes before 1 iPod. The iPod is for simple folks who mainly focus on music, the zune is for the people who want complete media entertainment.
Digital camera Review: 5 star device, 3 star program
Summary: 4 Stars
To put my review in context, I have owned a 30GB iPod classic, 1GB iPod Shuffle, 30GB Creative Zen Sleek, and 2GB Zen V Plus.
The Zune is easily my favorite player out of all of the past mp3 players I've owned before.
It does everything an iPod does, and more. One feature I particularly love is the wireless sync. Being on campus, I don't have to be in my room every second of the day. Say I'm waiting for my favorite new podcast to come out, or for a CD to finish ripping. I can leave my Zune software on, and then at any time during the day wireless sync from anywhere on campus and get my new podcast or album delivered to my Zune. Now, granted, those without huge wireless networks to connect to will not be limited to their house (as the Zune can only detect one network at a time), but for a college student on a vast campus, this feature is UNBEATABLE.
Furthermore, the song sharing is pretty darn fun. Whenever I see another Zune around we immediately beeline for each other and swap some songs, and it's a great way to branch out and meet people or find some new bands.
Everything else that is considered "standard" on mp3 players is executed flawlessly. Getting around the player is intuitive, and despite having 60 gigs of music on it, it is very easy to find what I'm looking for. Even has a radio tuner so when I'm in the gym I can listen to the TVs! The screen is also gorgeous, and I've noticed quite a few disgruntled iPod uses enviously looking over at it.
The downside is definitely the software. Now, given that I hate iTunes more, I was hoping the Zune software would let users deal more with the nitty gritty details, rather than "oversimplify" everything as Apple is (in my opinion) known for. I hope that with a future update, they will allow Zunes to be synced via WMP11, and allow them to act as external HDs. Finally, the lack of video formats is frustrating. In my library of over 400 GBs of videos, only SIXTEEN were in the proper format. Not including the most popular video format, .avi, in their list of compatibles just seems lazy and or a sloppy oversight.
IN summation, a few things could be EASILY remedied and that would earn the Zune 2 a full 5 stars. The flawless execution of the hardware, coupled with the unacceptable oversights in software, earn it 4 stars.
Pros:
-large, beautiful screen
-intuitive controls
-wireless syncing
-song sharing
-FM tuner
-easy to manage library (but almost too simple)
Cons:
-not enough "advanced" features in Zune software, I.E. difficult to completely customize
-cannot be used as external HD
-can ONLY be synced via Zune software (using WMP11 or drag and drop would've been nice)
-lack of video formats supported