Microsoft's Big Flop? What is a Zune?

Advantages: sharing with friends, ease of use, price
Disadvantages: wireless feature limited, size, available in the US only, horrible software (not any more)

...Ok everyone who expects a 3000 words expert review please click on this link http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/zune-30gb-blac k/4505-64907-32068976.html This is the longest, best and most detailed review of the zune 30gb available. I did not copy it cause I thought that this would be wrong and I won't paraphrase it (I would achieve around 2500 words). This might have been the chance to earn some more cash or members who trust me but I hate cheating (myself). So now I gonna describe the player. The Zune created by Microsoft and published in 2006 is now a year old and has some brothers the new zunes 4, 8 and 80 (numbers indicate GB - storage). The first zune originally came out in three colours white, black and brown (brown?? yes!! and this colour was the seller number one whether you believe or not) later two more colours joined...

FirstToTry 15.12.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Microsoft Red Zune 30GB

Microsoft Zune 80Gb audio and video player

Advantages: 80Gb disk, FM radio, video player, wireless synchronisation, neat device and OS
Disadvantages: Problems with dvr-ms files, annoying synch app, possible probs with encrypted wireless

...The Microsoft Zune 80 is the Zune 30's bigger brother. It plays MP3, WMV, WMA, MP4 music and video files, displays JPEG pictures and has an FM tuner, but its real value is its truly whopping 80GB hard disk which can hold my entire music library and several full length films. It also supports wireless connection to your home network and can transfer music wirelessly to nearby Zune users (with restrictions) should you have the urge so to do. Given that there are few Zune users in the UK, this latter facility is currently of little value. The device itself is light and neat, with a metal back and a clear glass front sporting only three buttons, each of which is overloaded with context dependent functions that take a little while to get used to. The central 'squircle' button (i.e. a squarish-circle) is the Zune's answer to the ipod 'wheel...

ohingardail 03.02.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Microsoft Zune 80GB

Apple iPod vs Microsoft Zune

Advantages: iPod Ecosystem, New Interface, anodised case. Zune larger screen, Fm Radio
Disadvantages: iPod smaller Screen, easily scratched case. Zune basic funionality, poor software

...could be until now!! Back on November 14th 2006 Microsoft brought out a brand of digital music players called ZUNE. The players came in 3 colours, Black, Pearl White and Rich Brown, had a 30gb HDD, 3" LCD Screen and offered the playback of music and videos, the ability to view pictures, FM radio and also on a limited bases share files wirelessly with the Xbox 360 and other Zune players. Cases are made from silicone rubber and feature what is known as a doubleshot effect. This is produced by painting the inside of the case a different colour then the outside. The two-tone look is quite impressive and looks great. Controls are not touch-sensitive like the iPod but offer a circular controller with four buttons for direction as well as a middle button to select a song etc. The user interface is definitely the Zune's strong point. intuitive...

BitLord 18.10.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Microsoft Red Zune 30GB

Zune. Eh? The Microsoft Zune!

Advantages: Large colour screen, durable, great sounding tracks!
Disadvantages: Slightly weighty, more features possible.

...The Microsoft Zune. Zune. What a name! I bought one of these recently because I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. I can tell you, I was immediately gripped. After handing over (yes, again) my card getting home and putting the kettle on I was enthralled. The Zune appears to have been loving placed into its little box. The USB cable and documentation have been carefully placed into the sub sections of the box ready for an interested user to slide them out... Interesting colour, too. Brown is one of my favourites and after seeing the rather alluring but cliched iPods I wanted something different. It's matte meaning (unlike the glossy iPod) it's highly scratch resistant! The Zune didn't take long to charge. Neither did it take long to upgrade its own software and download the 2,000+ songs I have in my library. I am...

Theavens2005 06.06.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Microsoft Red Zune 30GB

Get the Zune for quality and value

Advantages: Cheap, durable, high quality sound, large screen
Disadvantages: A bit big, some people may not like the nav buttons

...This is a very good choice for a very good value, top end video / MP3 player. Can I also say, once you update the Zune with the official microsoft update, the software of the Zune is updated so it is exatley the same as the new one, along with the PC software. My decision After I broke my Creative Zen Vision: M I was faced with a choice of getting an iPod or a Zune. In the end I settled for a Zune and I'll tell you why. How it looks The looks of the Zune may not be its strong point, however I like its simple design. There are some interesting colours, I've got a brown sort of colour which goes green at the edges in light. It has almost a rubbery feel to it, its does not have a glossy / shiny surface like the ipod. This is a good point as it is difficult to scratch, and easier to keep clean - so it still looks like it is in mint...

jackthewelshman 11.06.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Microsoft Red Zune 30GB

The Zune-A Good-Valued Music Player

Advantages: You may send music to you friends wirelessly & has a built in radio & long battery life
Disadvantages: Syncing is very slow for movies, especially if it is not with the right format

...I would like to start things off by saying that this review is completely unbiased and is written by a Microsoft and Macintosh fanatic. The zune is a new era of digital media players that is now considered the basics of digital entertainment and music streaming. The Microsoft is a very interesting peace of art developed by Microsoft. First of all, I would like to say that Microsoft did a good or decent job developing this music player. The 30gb zune has many features, which also include a limited internet browsing option that only connect to Microsoft zune's marketplace. The zune is just like other players except that it has a long battery life, up to 24-hours. The cool feature about this product is the wireless syncing. With the correct configurations you can sync your zune wirelessly as long as you are logged into your zune...

rs_2_trader 16.12.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Microsoft Red Zune 30GB

Red Zune

Advantages: Zune-to-Zune sharing and huge screen
Disadvantages: battery life is not very good while watching movies

...HUGE viewing screen, plenty of memory for all of your music, pictures, and videos, plus it is durible. You can drop this and it wont scramble like an ipod... my favorite 2 traits about the zune is 1) when you watch movies you can turn the screen horizontal and make your movies widescreen 2) you can transfer full songs, playlist and pictures to your friends wirelessly!!!!!!! Store up to 7,500 songs, 25,000 pictures, or 100 hours of video has battery life of up to 14 hr. when listening to only music ... if you are watching videos the battery life decrease ALOT ... this is one of the only bad parts about the zune is that the battery life is not very good while you watch movies!...

jjsmithers 08.10.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Microsoft Red Zune 30GB

is the zune better than the ipod?????

Advantages: easy to use
Disadvantages: bulky, hard to sync with music files on comp.

...library. but the zune network runs when an internet connection is running, which with my dial up internet working slows both the connection and the computer down. it can be charged very easily because of its usb connection, but ac mains plugs arent included in the tiny innovative box you receive. i have found my ps2 usb ports useful for once by using it to charge my zune while listening to music. yes the zune has a nifty ability to connect with other zune owners and talk and share music but there are problems. there are hardly any zune owners in this country and after a couple of days music traded is then deleted if not bought from zune marketplace which is very annoying. i bought this device expecting good quality from a microsoft device and thats what i got. it is easy to use, good sound quality, it has that wow factor at the moment...

divyeshp123 19.06.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Microsoft Red Zune 30GB

Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite - The User's Review

Advantages: Brilliant graphics, HDMI Output, Excellent Games Library, Xbox Live
Disadvantages: Expensive Games, Xbox Live Fee, Lack of Blu-Ray, Hardware Errors

...After hearing how good Microsoft's next-gen gaming console was, I decided to invest. And what a good choice that was. I purchased an Xbox 360 Elite last year and how glad I am that I did. Pro's: - Powerful graphic engine - Brilliant display at 1080p Full-HD (HDMI) - Brilliant line-up of games - Excellent online (Xbox Live) system Con's: - Games pricey at £40-50 each* - Xbox Live Subscription at £40 per year** - Lack of a Blu-Ray drive unlike its competitor, Sony PlayStation 3*** - Prone to crashes and hardware errors**** *New games are hard to find at prices lower than £40, which is a lot of money on top of what you pay for the console itself **Xbox Live is a very good service offering a full friends messaging system and a wide range of services such as Game Demo's and Arcade games but considering the Nintendo Wii...

Coops2404 20.04.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite

Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite - Best console ever made!

Advantages: Looks good/Good storage/Great games/Great graphics/can play films and videos/music/lots lots more.
Disadvantages: Very expensive accesories, especially the wireless adaptor

...the reason why I never even considered the PS3 when I was choosing my next-gen console, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that I would never get to play such games as Halo3 or Fable. The xbox live marketrplace is a great feature, it alows you to download themes, demos movie trailers,game trailers and even whole movies. Ofcourse some of this will come at a cost, which in most cases is a complete rip off if you are only buying things such as gamer pictures. This is the only real problem with the xbox 360, the price of the accesories :S. As with many things, microsoft liek to charge excessive prices for simple accesories and force you to buy their £60 versions by mnaking the cheaper ones not work. Aside from the accesory prices though The xbox 360 Elite is the greatest console out and I highly reccomend it, o and I forgot to...

lnknprk 06.07.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite