Zune 80 GB Digital Media Player (Black) by Zune
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Digital camera reviews of Zune 80 GB Digital Media Player (Black)
Digital camera Review: 80 GB ZUNE wins against 80 GB iPod
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this Zune last weekend and I am currently very happy about it. I returned the iPod that I purchased a week ago and I was a lucky one to find the Zune for exchange.
First, Why did I return the iPod? I had problems with the iPod while watching video Podcasts. It was freezing,resetting, etc. After a massive research in Apple's discussion boards, I realized that the 2nd generation iPod has many more freezing problems. It deletes people's libraries, keeps on freezing till the battery runs out etc. Everybody was complaining that Apple released the product without enough testing. So, after spending 4 hours with their customer care, they pretended like there was no problems with my device even disconnected me twice on purpose. That was it. My first Apple product was gone back fairly quickly.
I am verry happy with exchanging the iPod for a Zune. I was lucky to find one on 17th of November because it was out of stock almost everywhere.
SCREEN:
It's screen is almost TWICE AS BIG as iPod's, the image is BRIGHT and CLEAR for both pictures and videos. It is great! Microsoft took the advantage and used the screen very well. THE ALBUM ART LOOKS GREAT while you are listening to music. The fonts in song /album/artist lists are perfect size you may see a lot on the screen.
NEW TOUCHPAD:
iPod 6th generation's click wheel was awful. People with 5th generation even says that it was more responsive before. MICROSOFT WIN AGAINST THE CLICK WHEEL WITH THEIR NEW TOUCHPAD. It is like the touchpad's of laptops, works like a scroll bar while you are searching for music or moving in your library. The faster you scroll, the faster it goes in the menu and with a touch it stops, if you release it slows down and stops eventually anyway. So I liked the touchpad a lot, much more then the irresponsive click wheel of iPod. It was a nightmare to go to the next song in the list with the click wheel. Zune's touchpad also works as a direction pad so you may just click if you need to go just to the next song, or album in the list. The back and pause/play buttons on the sides of the touchpad helps a lot as well. You may press the back button and go back to the main menu. While you are listening to a song you click the center of the touchpad and then you may move to another song in the album by up/down or even move to another album of the artist by left-right. It was not this easy in iPod.
BATTERY:
I watch video podcasts a lot so I cannot give a good review for battery life. But they say it runs 12-14 HOURS only for listening to music.
SOFTWARE:
Zune has its own software. iTunes has been out for a long while and Zune software cannot compete with it yet...However, I found it enough for my needs. I transferred 50 GB of my music at once with NO ERRORS OR INTERRUPTIONS. I hope it keeps on running without problems in the future.
EXTRAS:
iPod had a lot of extras, clock, calendar, alarm, games, etc. Zune has NONE of them. One bad thing is that there is NO EQUALIZER you gotta live with what you get.
RADIO:
Zune has a radio INSTALLED in it, I have been reading to the radio only at the car but if you cannot watch a game and want to listen to it, there you go!
WIRELESS:
I have not tried the wireless sync. I bet I'll have problems because my wireless is not that reliable. But we tried to transfer files from my Zune to another friends 30 GB Zune and it worked pretty well. If you have friends around with Zune's, you may SHARE YOUR MUSIC, and listen to the shared files for a limited time.
FILE TYPES:
Zune is DRM-free, you may transfer divx and wmv files as well.
EXTERNAL STORAGE:
You MAY NOT USE Zune as an external hard drive like you can do in iPod. I could not do it so far. However, you may transfer the music on it to another computer.
OVERALL:
I definitely recommend the 2nd generation ZUNE over the 6th generation iPod.
I think Apple has just started to move to other directions with iPhone and iTouch and they are OK if they loose the competition to Zune in massive mp3/video players. If they keep on disappointing their customers like this, they will eventually loose it.
Digital camera Review: 80 gb black zune
Summary: 4 Stars
I was slightly sceptical about the zune, having heard all sorts of conflicting data on it.
The sound quality is superior. I love the big screen.
The software was easy and quick to install. Very easy to use.
The only drawback I could say about it is the headphones which I dispise. I am going back to the store to purchase some sony retractable ones. They continually fall out of my ears, but that is an attribute of all earbud headphones. Much prefer the clip on ones. but there is something different about the headphones. Maybe it has something to do with the magnets on the back side of the ear pieces so they stick together, but they amplify every sound the wires pick up. It almost acts like a microphone. It is extremely annoying. Today I walked from my car to work and I could hear my feet walking on the pavement louder than the music. Headphones definately have to go. Other than that, I love it and plan on keeping it for a long time.
One more thing. I read in a review that it doesnt convert itunes music. Well that is not true. It does not seek out and find itunes folder when doing a default search, but if you go into settings and find the folder, it imports the music just fine.
You will be very happy if you purchase this product.
Digital camera Review: 80G Zune
Summary: 5 Stars
I had a 40G zune before I purchased this 80G. It works as well as the first MP3 player I purchased. I wouldn't have expected anything different. The main reason I purchased this player was because I had filled my 40G with tunes. An upgraded was definetly necessary. I have tranfered all the tunes I had in my previous player plus 100 more. I like the convenence of having tunes during my commute to and from work. Nothing like cruising down the road with a helmet full of tunes. Life doesn't get much sweeter than that!Digital camera Review: 80GB Zune is great
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had 2 ipods in the last year. My first was a 2GB and the 2nd was a 4GB and I realized it still wasn't enough room for my music, podcasts, and a few audiobooks. I kept having to remove music in order to load the other stuff. The battery on the 2GB is shot and I now have to always leave it connected to power in order to use it. I use the 4GB for walking.
So, I took the big leap and ordered a refurbished Zune. There were no earbuds with the refurbished unit nor CD for software. I called Microsoft Zune help and they unbelievably sent me the earplugs within 10 days at no charge! That impressed me!
I found that downloading the software from the Zune website was a little tricky and took a while but it worked fine. I still haven't figured out the best way to turn the unit off. It seems like it is the same way as the Ipod where you depress the bottom of the round clicker until it shuts down but seems sticky. I have to admit, it is also sticky on the ipods.
When I downloaded the software, it automatically imported the songs that I had ripped from my CD's into iTunes into the Zune which was great! However, it does not import those songs that I had purchased through iTunes. When I talked to the help person at Zune, she gave me a link that over rides this so I can also bring that music in but I haven't tried that yet.
I love the fact that it has a FM radio option AND that you can very easily select a song that is playing that wirelessly syncs up with your computer and loads the song into your cart. I have really not used the wireless option yet as I just leave the USB cord in the back of the computer and connect to the ZUNE when recharging so I don't really have a need at this point for wireless.
I do think it is a little easier to use as it has it's own BACK button. The videos from podcasts play very well on the larger screen. I can even dock the Zune to my Altec using the adapter they provide and hear the exercise podcast and watch it while doing my exercises. Seems easier than connecting to the TV set.
All in all, I love it and will not be returning to ipods. I am getting much more bang for my buck and am not tied to the proprietary stuff from Apple where I don't really own the music I buy.
Digital camera Review: 80GB Zune, 5+ in my opinion!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had my 80GB Zune for about 3 months now, and haven't had any problems. The menus are easy to use, the software is easy to use, and nothing has broken or been erased. I prefer this over the iPod Nano I had... thankfully I spilled coffee on it and needed to replace. :) Geek that I am, I do wish it had AM radio as well as FM, but thank goodness for any radio at all on my "MP3 Player". Now Zune offers a red as well as black, snazzy! ;)