4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Great Media Player, Great Price
Date of Review: Dec 30, 2007
The Bottom Line: With 30gigs of storage and an impressive screen you really can't go wrong with the Microsoft Zune.
First Impressions:
The Microsoft Zune comes in an attractive box and artistically designed box. In addition to the Zune there are also headphones, sync cable, carrying case, manuals and software. I was very impressed by the quality of the packaging and innovative design of the box.
Zune:
The Zune comes wrapped in plastic and also has a screen protector to ensure that the unit does not get scratched during shipping. The Zune features an impressive 3 inch screen and a minimal interface of two buttons and a 4 way switch. There is also a hold button and a connector on the bottom of the unit. The interface is very smooth and is easy to operate using the 4 way switch. My only complaint with the interface is you can't view all songs from a particular artist.
Headphones:
The included headphones are the earbud style and are pretty no frills. But they are comfortable to wear and have good sound. I would have liked to see noise canceling headphones included but I really can't complain.
Software:
While the Zune itself is an impressive piece of hardware the transfer software is absolutely horrible in my opinion. I'm surprised that Microsoft decided to create a new program to transfer music to the Zune rather than use Windows Media Player. Although there have been many updates to the software it still has a long way to go. I have had numerous problems getting the software to read my music correctly and also I have had songs skipped for no apparent reason and cryptic transfer errors. I really hope that a 3rd party can develop a better transfer program or else just build Zune support into windows because the current software is a nightmare to use.
Bottom Line:
The Microsoft Zune is a great media player and worthwhile opponent to help loosen Apple's grip on the mp3 player market. With a large 3 inch screen and impressive interface you can't really go wrong with the Zune. As I stated above the Zune software is very frustrating to use and nearly useless, lets all hope that someone can develop an alternative soon. Get a Zune while they are cheap!
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