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 guessing... Read review

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Advantages: screen, Fm tuner, new & better software & firmware, customisation, earphones, nice design, cool touch pad
Disadvantages: does not work on mac,

...OK after using my Zune for over half a year I can proudly say that this is an alternative for an Ipod. It's still not out in the Uk or Europe but one can get it via ebay or other websites - just be careful not to be scamed! The player is expanding as recently it was introduced in Canada and Microsoft promised to deliver the music player to Europe soon. The player features a 3inch screen which is amazing (i know some poeple dont like the idea of watching stuff on a small screen but for those who do fancy it - the zune is a great device). It has inbuilt WIFI capabilities which allows you to sync your music and podcasts without having to connect the zune to the computer.... Read review

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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!... Read review

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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... Read review

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

.... 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, and has a number... Read review

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Advantages: Easy to use, great headphones, Fantastic build quality and screen
Disadvantages: Only a 30gb hard drive, slightly buggy PC software.

...mention that everything related to the Zune can be Upgraded. Microsoft are very reliable when it comes to updating software, and this really does pack a punch to the Zune meadia player. One last little point about synchronising with the Zune, is that you cannot use Windows Media Player with the Zune. I personally cannot see a problem with this, as the Zune media player is virtually the same piece of software in many ways. The Zune marketplace is amazing, and the 14 day free Zune pass trial makes sure you see how good it really is. For something so new, it has a very wide range of music. Virtually every artist I searched for was located by the ZMP, and is in a perfect sound quality - every one is 190KBps, and not a drop below. Some new albums did require you to purchase the songs, which is a bit annoying if you have a Zune pass subscription... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

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... Read review

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

...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, easy to use, and really pleasant... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, durable, High quality music, not an iPod
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... Read review

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Advantages: Ease of Use, Sound Quality, Durability, Features
Disadvantages: Design, Size, Weight, Screen scratches quite easily

...I have owned this products for a few months now and it has been the best mp3 players i have ever used. Its firmware allows easy transitions between songs and videos as well as proiding supurb sound and vision. Also for £120 it was great value. Although i did have to by an imported one due to Mircrosofts shortsightedness when not releasing it worldwide. On top of this a few weeks ago the firmware was updated to give it most of the features of the newer zunes, meaning that i can sync it over my wireless network without connecting it to the computer ,another great feature. My main concern with the product is the fact that it can not be used as a portable hard drive as most other mp3 players can including its main rival the ipod. It was also an inconveniance having to buy an imported one however this isnt a major problem as many ebay... Read review

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