Zune 8 GB Digital Media Player Black (2nd Generation)

Editorial Review:

Amazon.com Product Description Music and entertainment, your way. That's what the Zune 8 GB Digital Media Player is designed to deliver. The Zune easily connects you with your music, videos, and pictures wherever and whenever you want, and unlike the iPod, it even has a built-in FM tuner so you can keep up with local news and sports. Your Zune gives you the power to wirelessly share full-length tracks, playlists, pictures and podcasts with your other Zune-wielding friends, and it is available in four bold colors. And when you receive songs that you just can't get out of your head, you can easily tag the songs and buy them the next time you sync up. Whether you're listening to music, radio, or rocking out to the latest music videos on the bright, roomy screen, the Zune allows you to tailor your entertainment, right in the palm of your hand. Watch a demo on Zune.

The Zune easily connects you with your music, videos, and pictures wherever and whenever you want, and it is available in four bold colors.

Share full-length tracks of your favorite songs, albums, playlists, pictures, and even audio podcasts with other Zune users.

(Red Zune shown here with Dock Pack v2 with remote, sold separately.)

Store up to 2,000 songs, 25,000 pictures, or 25 hours of video.

Get all your favorite music at the Zune Marketplace.

Simple, Innovative Controls
The Zune is a breeze to use with new, intuitive touch controls. Don't subject yourself to cumbersome, slow scrolling. The innovative new Zune pad makes browsing your music, video and picture collections fun and effortless. You'll fly through your favorites and get to just what you're looking for in no time flat. This powerhouse device stores up to 2,000 songs, 25,000 pictures, or 25 hours of video. (Please note that music estimates are based on 128 kbps WMA files, with length of 4 minutes each; pictures transferred to Zune will be optimized for Zune screen size; and video estimates are based on 500 kbps WMV files with 128 kbps WMA audio tracks.)

That's a lot of entertainment, and you'll appreciate it even more with the Zune's awesome screen. The super-slim, ultra-portable Zune sports a durable, 1.8-inch color screen that provides uncompromising portable video viewing. This Zune also comes equipped with headphones and three pairs of foam headphones covers. Your favorite music, videos, and pictures have never looked and sounded better.

FM Radio
The Zune also features a built-in FM radio tuner so that you can listen to local FM stations or tune-in programming while you're at the gym. Advanced tuning capabilities allow you to see the name of the song that's currently playing on select frequencies.

Wireless Sync
We're all exhausted by the cables and wires that tangle up our lives. Luckily, the Zune is one device that doesn't require another cord. You can easily connect to your home wireless network and sync your Zune with your PC collection of digital goodies. You can also sync using the dock, AC adapter, or speaker dock accessory (not included).

The Zune Community and Marketplace
Zune is all about sharing and community. At the Zune Online Community, you'll discover, share, and leave your musical mark. Create a Zune card and Zune profile page to reflect your musical identity. From the Zune Online Community, you can invite friends, share song recommendations, post comments, and browse member pages to unearth new tunes and connect to others who share your musical tastes.

When you're ready to purchase music and load your device with new tunes, turn to Zune Marketplace. With more than 3 million songs, DRM-free MP3s, music videos, audio/video podcasts, and more content added every day, you'll certainly get your fill. The store is always open and just a mouse click away. You can also choose between the download or subscription packages--buy individual songs and albums, or snag a Zune Pass subscription with all you can eat access to discover and explore the nooks and crannies of artists and genres.

Zune-to-Zune Sharing
Once your Zune is loaded with good stuff, you'll be ready to embrace wireless Zune-to-Zune sharing. Share full-length tracks of your favorite songs, albums, playlists, pictures, and even audio podcasts. You can listen to the full track of any song you receive up to three times, and you can even pass along songs that are shared with you to other friends. If you find a song you really love, you can easily add it to your wishlist and buy it later when you sync to your PC. When it comes to syncing and importing your music, the Zune makes it easy. Zune software can automatically import your existing music, pictures, and videos from iTunes and Windows Media Player in a variety of formats, including your existing playlists and song ratings.

Recorded TV or Movies to Go
The Zune will also automatically import TV shows or movies recorded using a PC running Windows Media Center in Windows Vista. Record all your favorites, sync to your Zune, and hit the road with your favorite TV shows right in your pocket.

Your Games. Your Music. Your Way.
Another awesome feature is the Zune's compatibility with the Xbox 360. Plug your Zune into your Xbox 360 to customize the soundtrack in supported games. You also can stream music, pictures, and videos from the Zune software on your PC to your Xbox 360 console using a wireless connection. Whether you're staying in or going out, travelling or working, the Zune can be right there with you, providing loads of entertainment direct from your pocket.

What's in the Box
Zune 8 GB Digital Media Player, headphones, sync cable, and three pairs of foam headphone covers.

Features:

8 GB digital media player stores up to 2,000 songs, 25,000 pictures or 25 hours of video
Features wireless Zune-to-Zune sharing so you can swap tracks and other media
Big, bright, 1.8-inch color screen
Compatible with Zune Marketplace for media downloads and subscription services
Automatically imports your existing music, pictures, and videos form iTunes and Windows Media Player in a variety of formats

Accessories:

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Accessories:

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Very pleased I chose this product
I got a Zune 4GB about three weeks ago and it is great. It took just minutes to download the Zune software and sync a few dozen songs to get started. The sound quality is great. I have two issues: 1) the ear buds wouldn't stay in my ears when I was active (gardening) and 2) the software is not the easiest to grasp, though I don't know how it could be improved much. I bought a set of headphones to solve the gardening problem and by perseverance (and trial and error) I have just about mastered the software.

The built in FM tuner is a nice addition - that was the tipping point in my comparison with the i-Pod.

I would certainly recommend the Zune to anyone who wants an MP3 player.

Rating:

- Zune 4GB podcast shortcomings
Zune 4 GB Digital Media Player Black (2nd Generation) This MP3 player advertises it will play podcasts. I found that on a daily 3 hour podcast the device will only play the first hour. Listening to podcasts was the only reason I bought this device so I sent 3 e-mails to Zune in as many weeks without any noticeable interest by Zune in my problem. It appears I have wasted my money.

Rating:

- If God would make an MP3 player...
...he would call it Zune. I'm not a "Zune Fanboy" or an "iPod Fanboy". I was just on the market for an MP3 player. My older brother owns an iPod Nano(first generation) and absolutely loves it. I've played around with it a lot and really like the product. The first Zune came out and I thought it looked stupid. I finally got a job and got tired of burning CD's and changing them and looking "Old School". Then I saw the Zune 2. I thought that it looked very similar to the Nano 1st Gen.(which I have no idea why they changed it to that dumb triscuit lookin' thing) And decided that now was the time, I was either gonna buy a Zune 2 or an iPod. I up and one day spontaneously bought a Zune. I don't even remember how the decision came to be, but it happened. I bought red mostly because of it's glossiness. I was overwhelmed with impressiveness. I thought that it was amazing. I didn't know it contained a Radio(which is very, very good.), had video playing capabilities, Wireless song, pic, and video sharing. You can also set picture backgrounds in place of album art. It's built completely solid, and actually kind of heavy(which is a good thing). It's a very sturdy MP3 player. I've dropped it several times, and nothing has happened to it. The buttons are really tight fitting into the holes for them, which keeps dust and water out. The screen is made of glass and not plastic. Glass is stronger, more scratch resistant(I have ZERO scratches on my Zune screen, my brother's ipod...looks like he put it in a blender). And provides a clearer picture. I did have a problem with the Zune. One day, the back button didn't work as responsively as it should have. Sometimes wouldn't work at all, sometimes worked right away. I filed a report with microsoft. The next day a box arrived at my house with all the packing materials and free overnight shipping back to the repair facilities. Four days later, brand new Zune was at my house. No questions asked, no paper work, nothing. I am DEFINITELY a Zune fanboy now. All of my friends have a Zune now, and the wireless sharing is so much fun. You no longer have to say "Listen to this song" and hold out an earbud, but just send it to them. There are absolutely ZERO cons to the Zune. It's Economical, user friendly, stylish, durable(very...very durable), fun, just overall one of the best purchases I've made in my life. Click the "Buy" button. 'nough said.

Rating:

- Best MP3 Player On The Market
Great overall quality, price, and features.
The Zune offers a wide array of cool features like wireless song sending to another Zune, and has good album art display.

Rating:

- Major Upgrade
I am a technologist and musician, and love both with a passion...I love this techology and being able to take it with me. Now I own a Zune 8. This review is more about how I think MSFT should improve the Zune and gain some market share over iPod, which IMO is overrated.

A little background first: Christmas 2006 I bought my teen girls 80GB iPODS. These replaced Creative 20GB Sleek's which were just not very good, especially the clunky cable design and poor battery life. The iPods are good and lots of folks keep buying them but I am not a fan of being forced to use iTunes.

My first personal MP3 player was Creative Zen 1gb for exercising - sound quality actually better than either Zune or iPOd but the interface is tiny, and the unit eats AAA batteries. This year I decided to step up in capacity first with a Sansa Clip 4Gb. But it was hard to read the display and the menus were confusing and fiddly, and it was buggy, so I sent it back.

In the mindset of "you get what you pay for" I finally just decided it was worth the extra bucks to go with the leaders, being either Apple or MSFT. I really like the design of the Zune over iPods, especially in the 4 and 8GB offerings. So I ordered this Zune 8GB from Amazon (the price beat all, to boot). It arrived in just a few days, the order being fullfilled in typical Amazon expediance.

Zune Pros: great form factor and build quality. Menus are well thought out and easy to navigate. Don't have to use iTunes...IMO iTunes is a pest... Zune sound quality, compared to my teen's iPods, is superior. Also, the FM radio is a huge deal for me and I'm baffled as to why Apple avoids including this in iPods.

Con's: the removal of an equalizer and a proprietary cable instead of mini USB (Sansa Fuze now offers this but I think they have other issues i.e. their interface is awkward, quality suspect)

Thoughts on Zune:

Lack of equalizer - I'm not sure this is a big deal as the sound is pretty good and I have not missed it. I have experimented alot with the iPod equalizer and I never found it to help much. However, I think MSFT is making a mistake here just because people expect it to be there.

Proprietary cable interface - only hurts, IMO does not help build market share. Sansa Fuze offers standard USB. Is Zune just copying iPod to have a proprietary cable? what's up with that...I say to heck with the marketing guys - give us standards where it makes sense and proprietize in areas where it does not hurt the consumer. Let the essence of the product - the user interface, build quality, reliability and performance - speak for itself.

Build quality: very good. I turned away from buying more Creative and Sansa products after experiencing first hand, and also reading about persistent quality issues. Comparitively, the ZUNE has been trouble free after several weeks. The unit feels good in the hand. Come to think of it I have always had good luck with MSFT electronic gear - even my xBox and xBox 360 work just fine.

Battery life: The battery life so far has not been great BUT this is likely the way I use it....I hardly ever use the ear buds as I prefer to run it through AUX jacks into car, home and even my home studio mixer, where I run the volume at like 15, 16 etc way higher than most folks using ear buds so batt life may suffer. But running the sound from the 3.5mm headphone jack into an AUX jack is likely way less efficient than if it were via the main Zune port - my guess being I would get a stronger signal and would not have to crank it to get the signal to overcome lack of preamplification going into the AUX jacks.

UI: Compared to the iPod, although I like the wheel on the iPod, the Zune is easy to flip through to find songs. The user interface is well thought out compared to Sansa and Creative products. I would say iPod and Zune are both well design interfaces and it comes down to what you get used to.

Accessories: I see a sea of iPod junk,,I mean, accessories,,, when I walk into a store or browse Amazon and alot less for Zune. This likely hurts Zune market share and so it chicken vs egg etc. I think MSFT needs to get on top of this and drive OEMS to build more accessories i.e. a Bose system for Zune with a Zune port (instead of just the AUX jack). Or just go with standard USB for goodness sake. In fact, I think MSFT should pander to technologists like myself and even audiophiles - offer things I take for granted in my home studio i.e. fast USB 2.0 interfaces, higher sound resolutions that appeal to audiophiles etc....just me 2 cents. Apple does not do this and I think Microsoft could win market share by educating folks about better sound quality and features that differentiate Zune from iPod (right, right, going off topic I know but just a little grist for the mill).

RAP: I look forward to two things - 80GB of flash memory instead of delicate hard drive techology; and the ability to control Zune from my car and home stereo - not just in a Ford via Synch...hmmm...does Synch even let me control my Zune?

Bottom line: Zune is a superior player that deserves way more credit and attention. Maybe version 3 will take the cake.

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Zune 8 GB Digital Media Player Black (2nd Generation)

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