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Microsoft Zune MP3 Player
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Product Description
Available this holiday season in the United States, Zune includes a 30GB digital media player, the Zune Marketplace music service and a foundation for an online community that will enable music fans to discover new music. The Zune device features wireless technology, a built-in FM tuner and a bright, 3-inch screen that allows users to not only show off music, pictures and video, but also to customize the experience with personal pictures or themes to truly make the device their own. Zune comes in three colors: black, brown and white.
Every Zune device creates an opportunity for connection. Wireless Zune-to-Zune sharing lets consumers spontaneously share full-length sample tracks of select songs, homemade recordings, playlists or pictures with friends between Zune devices. Listen to the full track of any song you receive up to three times over three days. If you like a song you hear and want to buy it, you can flag it right on your device and easily purchase it from the Zune Marketplace.
Zune makes it easy to find music you love ; whether it's songs in your existing library or new music from the Zune Marketplace. Easily import your existing music, pictures and videos in many popular formats and browse millions of songs on Zune Marketplace, where you can choose to purchase tracks individually or to buy a Zune Pass subscription to download as many songs as you want for a flat fee.
To get started with great music and videos out of the box, every Zune device is preloaded with content from record labels such as DTS, EMI Music's Astralwerks Records and Virgin Records, Ninja Tune, Playlouderecordings, Quango Music Group, Sub Pop Records, and V2/Artemis Records.
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Average User Rating:
4.2
out of
5
Number of Ratings:
315
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Price |
Buying Info |
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User Reviews for
Microsoft Zune MP3 Player
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The best portable music device avalible
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Reviewed
November 14 2006 11:08:47 PM
66
out of
75
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
5
out of 5
Pros:
Fast menu, Beautiful Case, Easy use (even easier than an Ipod), Lots of Accesories, Cheap, Preloaded content is amazing, Great video, The screen is actually watchable, Amazing bundled earphones, Fast video, Easy to put on TV, Software is beyond amazing, The sharing actually works |
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Cons:
None to Speak of Display: The key feature on the Zune is really the LCD display. It's actually 44% larger than a video iPod screen. It's large enough to watch a music video, or movie and actually see the expressions on peoples faces. The pixel density is about double that of modern laptops, so it's more like watching a mini HDTV than a mini television. The refresh rate is also higher than a television, which means the frames move extremely fast to make the motion appear fluid rather than jaggy or digitized.
User Interface: The user interface is the second most important feature (after the display) for making the Zune stand out. The large center button can be pushed in 4 directions (left, right , up, down) or pressed straight down. Anyone who can use a web browser can operate the Zune. Pressing the button is similar to clicking a mouse button, it takes you to whatever item is selected, and just like a web browser there is always a back button available. The layout is really minimalist, we observed many people at the LA preview picking up and using the device for the first time without asking any questions or looking for instructions. The menus have a sleek animation from one screen to another that gives the Zune a modern edgy feel, and personalized background pictures stay visible during navigation.
WMA, MP3, AAC, JPEG,WMV, MPEG-4, H.264 media playback
Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) connectivity
30 GB Hard Drive
3 inch video LCD 320x240
White, Black, and Brown Colors
FM Radio
Dedicated song download site zune.net
Podcast playback
Updateable Firmware
Tested 13 hr battery life for audio, 4 hr video
3 day playback of Wi-Fi transfered songs from friends
XBOX streaming
XBOX (Microsoft) points compatability
Preloaded music videos
Over a dozen accessories at launch
5.6 ounces in weight, 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.58 inches size
Metric: 158 g, 112 x 61 x 14.7 mm size
Custom background images
WiFi transfer of photographs
Tag based storage system (Will not appear as drive)
PC Compatability (no Mac client at launch)
Zune tag enabled
Horizontal and vertical video orientation
Simply Amazing
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SO COOL
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Reviewed
November 21 2006 6:45:41 AM
10
out of
11
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
5
out of 5
Pros:
HUGE SCREEN, amazing picture quality, lots of memory, easy easy easy to use! holds video, music and pics |
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only works with zune marketplace, which is bad for napster subscribers like me i got this as a gift and i think it's the coolest gift ever! it's so much fun to use and will make those bus rides to school and home much more enjoyable. i can't believe the picture quality...it's better than my tv at home! (i admit i do have an old tv). the fm tuner just adds to the overall enjoyment of the music. i just wish i could use it with napster, which is the program i used to get music. also, i wish could find more people with a zune so i could try that wireless feature. in due time i suppose.
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Zune
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Reviewed
November 17 2006 2:13:09 PM
11
out of
14
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
5
out of 5
Pros:
holds more music and you can share music with wi-fi |
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very thick not small Add this to your list of must have's this season. If you give this to anybody this year ..I know you will get that WOW factor when they see this! Great gift for teens.
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VERY GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Reviewed
November 28 2006 12:05:51 AM
13
out of
19
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
5
out of 5
Pros:
Many Pros |
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| Cons:
NONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Zune is great! You can listen to music, watch videos, look at pictures, and listen to the radio. It has a bigger screen than the iPod. Trust me, I got both the iPod nano and the iPod video. The Zune is much better. Also, the Zune does not scratch like the iPod. The iPod scratches very easily. Trust me, I tried to scratch a Zune with my nail. It left a white mark, but it came off. The Zune might be bigger than the iPod, but the bigger screen, the radio, and the wireless capability makes up for it. THE ZUNE IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Zune takes a bite out of apple!
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Reviewed
November 21 2006 8:59:19 PM
10
out of
14
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
5
out of 5
Pros:
Amazing large and brilliant display(great for movies and photos), Very esay to use and set up, easy navigation through menus, perfect sound quality, great value, wifi song transfers, xbox 360 intergration |
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| Cons:
Could be slightly smaller, but it still is very portable. Roughly the size of the ipod. About a week ago, I purchased the ipod nano. However, when I found out that the Zune is out, I quickly returned the ipod to the stores. Well, The Zune must be one of the greatest purchases I ever made. I absolutely love it.
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No iPod Killer
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Reviewed
March 9 2007 9:15:40 PM
9
out of
14
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
2
out of 5
Pros:
Big screen |
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Cons:
Unstable software on PC and Zune, Zune music market In my short experience with the Zune (less than 24 hours before I traded it in for an iPod), I experienced much disappointment and frustration.
The software that I installed on my PC was constantly freezing up or crashing. Every few tries, I managed to get to the 'sync music' process, but sometimes it didn't sync at all. Everytime it did manage to sync, it would transfer 10 or fewer tracks, and then stop. Also, one aggravating flaw I experienced with the Zune software: Every time I opened the Zune program, it would scan my computer and build my media library, just adding a bit longer to all the waiting.
The entire process seemed so futile, and online tech support was not helpful at all. I found other forums with similar problems, but never any solutions.
Lastly, I used the Zune for about all of 30 minutes. I checked video quality and the screen was just beautiful! However, I was listening to music in my car, and the player just turned off.
That was the last straw, and I traded it in for an iPod. I'd love to get a Zune some day down the road when their bugs are worked out - all for that gorgeous screen.
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Not recommended
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Reviewed
July 6 2007 6:36:09 PM
5
out of
6
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
3
out of 5
Pros:
very nice, stylish, holds alot of music, videos, and pictures |
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| Cons:
Battery life, Sound quality, confusing My Zune is so messed up. I have had so many problems with this product. First the Zune would cut on and off with out warning. Second the sound messed up I would have to wiggle the headphones in the little hole or hold it to the side to hear the lead vocals because I could only hear the instruments. Third it does not allow certain video files. You have to buy the video or the music from the zune marketplace which is so confusing.
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Well executed Product on all levels
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Reviewed
November 23 2006 5:46:58 AM
7
out of
11
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
5
out of 5
Pros:
Clean Look, Easy Interface, Easy to use Software |
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| Cons:
Relatively Small Hard Drive This is my first foray into the new generation of MP3 players. I first started using portable music with the Original Walkman, so that tells you my history. I was previously using my Palm Treo, but the SD card just didn't hold enough music. I recently bought my wife an iPod Nano 4GB, so that would be a point of reference for the main competitor. I think this is an excellent product. It feels intuitive, from the pc software to the player itself. It is small and portable enough for my liking and robust feeling. The software is way better than iTunes which does all the things that I hate Apple for. Automatic Gapless Tracks, Automatic Album Art, lack of configuration options, unable to monitor folders for new media and my pet peeve, unresponsive while doing whatever it does automatically. The interface on the player is as intuitive as the iPod and more enjoyable to my liking, but that is personal preference. They both are functional and allow easy navigation to what you need. The video display is superb. I found a place to download podcasts really easily too (feedyourzune.com). If you are in 2 minds about this product, don't let the Apple sheep talk a hole in your head. This product is excellent.
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Good alternative for the iPod
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Reviewed
May 5 2007 11:15:12 PM
4
out of
5
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
4
out of 5
Pros:
low price tag, big hard drive, nice display and sleek design |
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| Cons:
WiFi is just a tease, controlls not as intuitive as iPod I got my Zune last month when my 2 1/2 year old ipod crapped out and Im pretty happy with it so far. The sound quality is just as good as the ipod and the display is superior, by far. Ipod users will probably be pretty frustrated with controls that look like the "click wheel" but function slightly different. The zune software is definately inferior to itunes and is typical of Microsoft. I had to manually find most of my album art from the net where itunes was far better at getting the album art. I also liked the interface of itunes alot better. The WiFi feature is cool in theory but in my opinion, is just a tease. I think that Microsoft should have went ahead and given it a full browser if they were gonna mess around with WiFi at all. Also, not enough people have a Zune for the neutered WiFi to be of any use. I live in Asheville, NC (pop - 70,000) and I have yet to find anyone to swap files with. Although, I suspect that more people will have one soon enough. The price tag is probably the most appealing aspect of the Zune. I paid $180 through ebay for mine which came with the AC charger, usb cable, and a leather case. The zune is a nice little device that will please most people.
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Awesome...best thing by far
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Reviewed
March 11 2007 4:57:06 AM
3
out of
3
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
5
out of 5
Pros:
Huge screen, lots of space for music/videos/pictures, easy configuration, very easy to just plug in and put songs on, sorting of songs/music/pictures my artist, etc/title/month added., hard cover, not easy to scratch cover, buttons are much better and less sensitive, FM Radio |
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| Cons:
Screen vulnerable to scratching, problems putting on some videos, if pictures arent set just right then they are small The Zune is a must buy when it comes to MP3/Video players. The iPod offers extras like games that the zune doesn't. High cost is expected but well worth the money. Not many accessories for it but if you have the time to look around you can easily find some(expected for new device). I have one and have used only 5.99 gbs of space for 735 songs, 255 pictures, and 88 videos. Battery depletes quite quick but Zune's web page offers troubleshooting for that certain problem and it helped fix it. Has a built in FM radio which comes in handy if im on the road and a game comes on that i dont want to miss. Different equalizers offer different settings. Can go wireless to send music/pictures to friends. Pictures organized by folders/date added. Videos organized by Music videos/Movies/All videos. Music organized by Song/Genre/Album/Artist/Playlist. I think the Zune is better than the overrated iPod by far but if not it offers great competition for Apple. Also has a message that says "Hello From Seattle" on the back(being my favorite city i found that awesome). So if you want my opinion then i think the zune would be great for all kinds of people and it overpowers the iPod unless u like games and small screens for videos. Thanks for lookin at this review.(typos i dont care about)
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