Zune2 (80gb) Review

[Neoagent]

Zune2 (80gb) Review
After buying 3 Ipods 1 year apart just to get updated features I finally gave up. I got sick of apple making rebuy the same thing to get one or two cool little features that were not even worth it. I did the one thing I thought I would never do. I went Microsoft.

Now last year I got my Zune 30gb, it was nice, slick, the software was great, the battery life was 2-3 hours of video playback, 5-6 hours of audio playback. The software accepted DRM-Free music, had a tag editor, and adding new stuff to the device itself was so easy with it's drag-and-drop sexiness along with the fact that it scanned your system when it first installed.

The Zune 30gb was a bit big, but that was not a problem. It had more battery life then I ever got out of my Ipods, had wireless built in, and even had an FM tuner.

Then came a few months back when I heard about the Zune 2 80gb coming out, and that they were even going to put the Zune 2 firmware on the original Zune 30 players! Now THAT is how to keep customers Apple!

So I waited. The day came and I upgraded my Zune 30 to the newest firmware and the brand new Zune 2 software. It was amazing. You can now sync wirelessly, download podcasts (something zune did not support eariler), and do many other things that were not possible before like record TV shows and sync them to the device.

The software IS a bit buggy because it was rushed for the holidays, and you can't edit tags yet, but they're talking about a patch already. And besides, it's so sexy and the menus transition so well that I didn't even notice that a couple of my tracks were named wrong. Plus ANYTHING is better then iTunes in my opinion.

Then I gave in, I sold my Zune 30 after formatting it to a friend and bought myself the Zune 2 80. I was absolutly STUNNED. It had 50gb more space the the previous one, yet it was 25% smaller with a slightly bigger screen!

Also, the Zune 2s new battery is AWESOME. I get average 4-5 hours of video playback, and 9-10 hours of audio playback before it even says it's low.

Device wise, The audio-playback is simply amazing. I was playing some trans-syberian tracks and honestly, even with the standard earbuds it came with it was like I had my $80 plantronics headset on. It also has Tv-Out for those of you th, I havn't tried it yet though. There are certain formats of video in which you do need a 3rd party converter for like .mov quicktime video or DiVX, but the software converts pretty much everything else to put onto the device.

For all of you who thought about Ipod or Zune 2 this holiday season, if you can put up with a couple misnamed tracks, the Zune 2 is definatly the way to go. It's available in 4gb/8gb/80gb versions. The 80gb is only $250.

I'm in love.

[Firia]

I've been thinking about getting an Mp3 player, and I've been loathed to buy an Ipod. I know they're basicly disposable technology, and I want my device to last for more than one year. More like, 3 or 4 years.

I might have to check out the Zune2.

[Hyphed]

I've been thinking about getting an Mp3 player, and I've been loathed to buy an Ipod. I know they're basicly disposable technology, and I want my device to last for more than one year. More like, 3 or 4 years.

I might have to check out the Zune2.

You should.

They are nifty little gadgets =] My friend has one and I listen to it a lot.

My puny little iPod shuffle is good enough for Snowboarding, and that's all I really need an mp3 player for.

[Talidro]

Up til recently, I worked at Best Buy, so I've seen ALOT of iPods get bought, seen more than a few zunes as well. Biggest reason people want iPods is because of all the accessories, as well as the popularity of the damn things. People put up with all sorts of crap, like the iPods freezing up rather constantly (worked service desk, so seen alot of iPods come back, compared to maybe 5 zunes for nearly 50 iPods, roughly) I have a mp3 player, its a cheap little insignia (best buy brand lol) that I don't use. If I used it enough, I'd likely go with the new zune too.

[ivanelme]

Hmm, I've been wanting to mess with the new Zune. I've seen the commercials for it (they will probably be on as long as the old Zune ones were). Only other mp3 player I can think of that gives the Zune a run for it's money is the Zen V:M which I head it a rather amazing device, but I have problems with Creative that keep me from wanting to get one.

[Rehab]

i dont get the point in having such a large memory. I have a 30 Gig Creative Zen Vision M or wateva its called lol and on my computer i have way more music than could fit on it but to be honest I dont need it on their. I only use the Creative when im going out or something and i dont need all my music on it just a bit. Also watching movies on it is a waste of time since it uses up like half its life for 1 movie. Its alrite for pictures but you need tht stupid plastic addon to u can connect it to anything. All u really need is a 8 Gig mp3 player since you can quickly put on the music you want to hear that day instead of scrolling through endless artists names etc to find something to hear and while your doing this while running you'll probably run into a wall or a lamp post

[Dithyramb]

I disagree, I like to put a large portion of my collection on my mp3 player and use it as a jukebox in my car ;D

Additionally, I am very picky about the quality of my mp3s, so they tend to be larger filesizes (eg; I hate 128kbps mp3s).

No repeats on shuffle ftw.

[Innari]

Out of curiousity, do I have to buy anything in addition to the Zune (if I get one) in order to put *my* music collection on it? I've not bothered to look into it much.

[ivanelme]

no, it comes with the software that you need (you can also download it). There are accessories, just like there are with an iPod, but nothing that is crucial to the functionality of the Zune.

[Tarryk]

My mp3 player is about 200gb and plays at really good quality with stream capabilities, and it plays AO too. I love it.

Course, I can't really take it with me anywhere, but why would I need to?

[Firia]

My mp3 player is about 200gb and plays at really good quality with stream capabilities, and it plays AO too. I love it.

Course, I can't really take it with me anywhere, but why would I need to?

Why can't you bring your PC with you? Are you all wimpy? Is it big, heavy, and the extention cord not long enough? These are wimp excuses. That's how real joggers get effective workouts.

[Neoagent]

Just curious as to if anyone bought one because of my review.
Also check my sig, you get one of these if you get a Zune to put anywhere and it updates the image every 30 minutes and goes by what I play both on the device and software. On the Zune boards its in flash like in my profile (click).

Pretty nice huh? Of course you can also choose to hide your played info if you choose.

[Firia]

I want one, but I'm waiting for it to go on sale. 250 bucks is a touch much.

[Stiofain]

I've never had a problem with my iPod, had the origional for years and it still works great, now the 80GB video has been working just as well for quite a while now. Guess I'm kinda biased though, not for Apple, but against Microsoft. After a POS X-box that they wouldn't honour the waranty on, the Win2k catastrophe that got me to switch to lLinux, and a general all around loathing for a company I see having many parallels to Omni and Umbrella, I just can't see ever giving them another dime.

Had any trouble with the DRM yet? I have a friend who bought one and is unable to play any of the protected music he had before he got the Zune.

[eadaoin]

All I know about the Zune is that my brother's on his third one. His advice: "Don't throw it at the wall. You'll break it."

[Stiofain]

Take a look at that iPod I gave you Eadaoin, that dent on the corner is from it surviving worse than your scrawny little brother could give a Zune.

STIOFAIN SMASH!

Broke my share of CD players that way too

[Neoagent]

Yea,
Thats the bad thing, the only DRM-Protected music Zune will play is from it's own marketplace, if you have any other you have to re-encode it. But the Zune is really designed for non-DRM music which it looks like everything is switching back too using now.

[Firia]

What the deuce is DRM encoding?

[Mivat]

My choice, if faced with a Zune and an Ipod? Simple. Zune, hands down. Simply because I don't have to put up with Apple's retarded software and DRM.

Then again, happiness is a cellphone with an MP3-player and a 1gb Memorycard ^^

[Aameul]

I've been thinking about getting an Mp3 player, and I've been loathed to buy an Ipod. I know they're basicly disposable technology, and I want my device to last for more than one year. More like, 3 or 4 years.

I might have to check out the Zune2.

Just FYI my iPod is still working just fine after almost 3 years of daily use. I don't have ADD and require myself to rebuy every time a new generation of iPod comes out, though. I don't even take particularly good care of it, it stays in my car 90% of the time, with all the crazy weather variation here in Detroit (highs above 90F and below 20F regularly throughout the year). It is plugged into my car most of the time, though, so I haven't the slightest idea what the battery life is like at this point.

Nobody "makes" you rebuy an iPod for a nifty new feature. If you must have the new feature, go ahead and rebuy, but if you don't like or want the new feature, just don't buy the freaking thing.