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| Home >> Handheld & PDA Reviews: Zune 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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User Submitted Zune 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) Reviews (cont...)Date: 2008-12-11 Yes, I'm an Apple Fangirl; and yes, I like the Zune I have an ipod classic, but after ruining multiple classics jogging with them, I decided to get a flash-drive based player, and thought "it's now or never" to try out the Microsoft Zune. First Impressions: The packing is very nice; it's been said before, but it's very true. It made me realize how plain the iPod box is. This isn't a really important thing, but it's a nice touch. The Zune itself is somehow a lot sleeker in person than in pictures; I don't know why, it just is. It's not as thin as my mom's 3rd generation iPod Nano, but it's not super thick either, and the controls kind of blend into the machine, at least with the black. Sort of important: The Games were not already in the machine! I certainly didn't buy the zune for its games (which pale in comparison to the ipod's) but this had me pissed off until I figured it out. You have to update the zune, even if its new, to add the games to it. Okay, ease of use: I've been using the trial for the zune pass, and converting the music using TuneBite (so that I can keep it even when my trial is done), and since I'm not paying for anything, it's a good deal for the next week. :) I decided to not read the manual and try to figure out the controls on my own (to simulate the normal user of a new product), and it took me a little bit, being used to the ipod clickwheel, to realize that you scroll up and down, and not round and round. I miss the click wheel, but since apple patented that, it's not Microsoft's fault and theirs is a decent alternative. The Zune 3.0 Software is gorgeous, much better looking than itunes, but I've gotta say: Personally, I'm all about playlists; I like to get ocd about them; and I just don't like the way the Zune software has you create them. I didn't think I would appreciate or even really use the radio function, since I haven't been into radio since I was fifteen and got my first ipod, but the ability to add things to your cart actually got me listening to local stations again. Plus, it reminded me that my favorite npr "podcasts" are actually streaming 24/7 on the airwaves, lol. The battery life seems about what my mom's ipod nano is; not great, not bad. An interesting note is that the zune doesn't need to be "ejected" from the computer; it can just be unplugged without harming it at all. I didn't use the earbuds that came with the Zune, since I have my own higher-end pair, but they look and feel a lot like the apple ipod earbuds that come with that product. Look, the thing is, product-wise, an mp3 is an mp3 is an mp3. If you're looking to play games on your player (and I understand that urge), get an ipod, but if there's any chance you'll use the radio function, try out the Zune. If you don't mind buying the "newest and latest" once or twice a year, get the ipod; if you don't want to have to bother with that, get the Zune, since unlike the ipod, the Zune's new features are always available, even for older models. All in all, I don't feel nearly as culturally irrelevant holding my Zune in public as I thought I would, and the interface doesn't look cheap or "second tear" at all. It's a good investment, and I'm glad I made it. It's one less ipod classic I have to replace. Date: 2008-12-10 Great product! This little Zune is so wonderful! I got it a lot cheaper than an Ipod and with more storage! We got this for our teenager's bday, she had requested an Ipod but we couldn't see spending a bunch of money (we all know how teen's can be :)) Well, when we gave it to her she loved it and after playing with it for a few hours and downloading music she said she liked it even more than an Ipod! I would suggest buying this rather than spending the extra money on an Ipod. My daughter said this was very easy to use and downloading was a snap. Date: 2008-12-10 Great Features POOR POOR Quality and Warranty, Even Worse Customer Service Do Not Buy This Product!!! As simple as it is the product does not hold up. It malfunctions randomly and Microsoft will not uphold their warranties when they do fall apart. Have had both programming and functionality problems. I have owned this product for 9 months. Have had 3 malfunction personally the 1 that I bought my fater for Christmas last year. Their customer service consists of 1/2 an hour of recorded messages that you have to listen to before you get some idiot that barely speaks english to try and tell you that they won't help you with the P.O.S. that their service center sent you. AGAIN DO NOT BUY!!! Unless you want a fancy paperweight. Date: 2008-12-10 The best media player i had i first had the 5th generation ipod Apple iPod Video 60 GB White MA003LL/A (5th Generation) and at the time i thought that it was good but a year later one of my friends got the zune 30gb Microsoft: 30GB Zune MP3 Music and Video Player - White and he showed me all the great features it had like sharing songs and the larger screen. so i finally decided to get a Zune last year and it was great. Pros -wide screen picture and video viewing -wifi connectivity (used to share songs, search preview and buy songs, wirelessly sync to a computer on the same wireless network) -Games (which i think now with version 3.1 you can play with another person with a zune in games like checkers) -the ability to listen to the radio (then download the song that you are listening to wirelessly or tag it to download later) -the ease of the navigation (scrolling up, down, left and right instead of the ipod click wheel) -the social (being able to add friends and see what songs they are listening to) -being able to choose your own background image with any picture -i like the software and the way it is designed (i think it looks much better and it has little things that i notice for example: when you exit full screen you can still watch the video on the bottom of the page in the middle its a little icon but it works and under where the song title is shown there is a visualization and when you scroll over the album cover how the come out a little.) -also the first generation zune and the second generation zune have the same ability's as far as software (for example both the 30gb and 4gb zune can download songs from the device and all that stuff but the first ipod doesn't have the same software functionality as the new 6th gen classic Apple iPod classic 80 GB Silver (6th Generation) Cons -no notifying sound (when someone trying to send you songs, pictures etc.) -the "Now Playing" (at first the "Now Playing" play list is empty then when you add songs they instantly play and is auto-filled with songs when you shuffle all unlike the quick play list which is separate from when you shuffle all and i liked that better) play list is not as good as the quick list but i know that some people may disagree. -the software is a little to big (meaning that my computer isnt good enought to fully run the software and anything else my computer usually can only run the zune software by itself but that might because i have a low-end laptop) -sometimes when i want to click the center button i click the left or right key by accident but very rarely but if your looking for a new media player i would most certainly suggest the Zune over the ipod. Date: 2008-12-10 Best MP3 player so far I have had an iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, Sansa e260, and Sansa Clip. The Zune blows them all away. The device itself is small and light, nicer looking than the others. Sound quality is great, the user interface is very clean and easy to use. I have not had any of the battery life issues I've seen people complain about. The bundled headphones are not great (I have Klipsch custom-1s and Sony MDR-V700s), but pretty decent for bundled earbuds - better than the ones that came with the iPod and the Sansa. The Zune software is great - WORLDS ahead of iTunes in all ways, and has much better syncing options than Windows Media Player or Winamp. Zune Marketplace/Zune Pass is the best subscription-based music service I've seen yet, and I've tried Napster, Rhapsody, and I have Sirius. I love the social aspect with the online profile displaying your stats. All in all, I'm very happy with the Zune 16GB - there are a few quirks in the user interface I haven't gotten the hang of yet, but nothing major.
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