Zune Remains Editor's Choice

I was surfing, and came upon the PC Magazine's holiday shopping guide of "How to Buy an MP3 Player."  What was intriguing is that there are only three players that get their coveted Editor's Choice designation: Apple's iPod Nano, the iTouch, and the Zune 120 GB.  While I'm not surprised that Apple dominated their choices, I was a little surprised that they saw the value of the Zune.  I've long maintained that "the ultimate music player," that Apple frequently touts its iTouch as, would, by definition, fit all of my music, which is 39 gigs at last count.  I'm not saying the iTouch is a bad product, and I've even been thinking of buying one, but at least to me, I'm looking for it to replace my Palm T/X as nonsmartphone PDA organizer, and not as a music player.

When Apple ceased any new meaningful development on their hard drive based players, and designated them as "classic" to justify this, they ceded this portion of the market.  Microsoft's Zune was well positioned to take this segment over, but unfortunately most of the players sold are flash based.  Still, for the serious music enthusiast, the Zune is the way to go, and PC Mag designates it as "...the best hard drive–based portable media player on the market." 

I'm just glad that someone is making a product with a large enough capacity because sooner or later my Zune 80 will need to be replaced, and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another one.  How many pieces of electronics do you own that fit into that category?  Around my house, that is quite few!

No Place Like Zune For the Holidays

When it is time for some holiday shopping, most of us around here would much rather get some electronics rather than a necktie.  An audio player of some sort is a "must have" item for any gadget fan, and an up to date one with a really large capacity is my personal preference.  While it is hard to believe that I'm coming up on my year anniversary of owning a Zune 80 gig, I'm still intrigued to see what players are being recommended this year for music lovin' holiday shoppers.

I spotted this piece today in The Washington Times.  Topping their list, was, you guessed it, the Zune. They mention that there are both flash and hard drive models available, and that the Zune is "nice and affordable," which makes it kind of the girl next door that you don't think of while fawning after some cheerleader.  At least the paragraph does mention the Zune's strong points: WiFi music sharing (which they got wrong and characterized as streaming), and the all-you-can-eat music pass, which they are out of date and didn't mention the latest iteration to keep a generous 10 tracks a month.

While their details are a little less than accurate, I do agree that the Zune should top any holiday shopper's list.

Two Thumbs Up For the Zune

While we've complaining about the unsubstantiated Zune bashing (see here and here), there have been some positive reports as well.

Over on The Silicon Alley Insider, read about their cautious outlook for holiday sales of the Zune.

Then, jump on "down under" to an Aussie site, Hydrapinion, and read why they think that their Zune is "an amazing thing."

Finally, Baller Status has a more balanced review of the flash Zune here.

Zune 80 Reviewed by The Digital Lounge

Trolling the Web for ClicZune content brought me to this video review from a tech site called The Digital Lounge. The author is reviewing at length the Zune 80GB. As far as video reviews go, it is one of the more comprehensive ones I have so far seen.

UGO gives Zune 8GB thumbs up

A new review about the 8GB Zune has surfaced online, this time over at UGO. Reviewer Karim Tabar generally had good things to say about the Zune, with the pull quote for this review summing it all by stating "watch out, Steve Jobs, you can actually learn a thing or two from Bill Gates' Zune."

In his short review Tabar examined design, features and software of the 8GB model. He found it be "one of the slickest pieces of hardware" he has seen. He was also particularly happy with the FM radio and it's ability to provide song information on-screen.

It is refreshing to see reviews of the second generation Zunes being more positive than the first go around. That's one thing you can generally count on Microsoft to do - learn from its mistakes and improve for the next time around.

Zune Reviewed by PC Magazine

Folks, PC Magazine says the Zune 80 outperforms the iPod Classic. Isn't cool? On the negative side, the reviewer doesn't like the Flash Zune. Well, can't win them all I guess.

Zune 8 Review: My Girlfriend Likes it Too!

We’ve seen Sam’s Zune 8 unboxing video, but here’s my shot on the Red Zune 8.

How do you know if a product is ready for mass market and if it has the potential to become a real hit in sales? Well, the answer is simple, you ask my girlfriend! Valerie does not have the geek profile at, all and electronic toys are not her thing. But even though she’s not a gadget lover like you and me, when a product is extremely well designed, she’s attracted to it. Last year, when the Zune 30 came out, she literally turned her back on it and said it was ugly, bulky and not appealing like her cute little iPod nano. She was right; the Zune 30 won’t be remembered as a design wonder of the 21st century...

 

This year, Valerie went to Target to buy a red Zune 8 for me. You know want? She couldn’t resist and she opened the box on her way back home! When she came in, she said, “You not what, I could use one of these…”. That’s it folks, I can tell you, that means that Zune 4 and 8 can attract women and this is a major milestone for the Zune. You can’t just release a pink color device to grab a woman’s attention. You have to think about what women want, and I think that the Flash Zune has achieved that this year with the new devices.

Zune Review: Can we Stop Comparing the Zune to the iPod?

Wall Street Journal technology guru, Walter Mossberg, published his review of the Zune. After usual Zune 30 extreme bashing, Mossberg had few goods words for the new Zune players:

“We’ve been testing these new Zunes and find them to be notably better than last year’s entry. They are smaller, lighter and more attractive, and they include three big improvements. First is a new controller, called a Zune Pad, that combines buttons with a touch pad for scrolling. Second is a completely overhauled, simpler PC-software program and online store, the Zune Marketplace. Third is expanded usability of the built-in Wi-Fi, which allows you to synchronize your Zune and your PC without plugging in a cable and makes sharing songs between Zunes — its only function last year — slightly better.”

But then the inevitable iPod comparison kicks in with this paragraph:

“Unfortunately for Microsoft, Apple hasn’t been standing still, either. It now has its own large-screen, wireless model, the iPod Touch, with a radical “multi-touch” interface like the iPhone’s. The screen on the Touch is larger than the one on the bigger Zunes and is much sharper. Its Wi-Fi allows you to browse the Web, watch YouTube videos and even buy music without a PC — none of which is possible on a Zune — though the Touch is $50 more and holds much less content than the new full-size Zune.”

If you have a few minutes, you should read Mossberg’s Zune review. He got it right on a few things, but I think that the comparisons with the iPod becomes less and less meaningful. The Zune is becoming a lot more than a mp3 player. The social aspect of the Zune brings something we’ve never seen before and the Zune music experience is becoming a product a platform on its own. A new product category will have to be created soon.

I’ve been using the ZuneSocial for less than 24 hours, and I already discovered new bands and the songs are already on my Zune 30, thanks to the Wifi Sync feature. That, is an experience. That, is something I could not have done before.

Video Review Of Zune Home AV Kit

This is my Un-box video of the new Zune Home AV kit, and I still haven't gotten my Zune 80 or 8 to review, so I can't review the kit with any new Zune's yet. Well, I hope you guys like it.

Zune Review from IWAPZ dot com

Zune biggest Zune fan (after Steven Smith of course), Stefan Shipman, posted is Zune 80 and Zune 8 review.

Enjoy the reviews.

Audio Quality Test: iPod vs. Zune

Which one is better? The Zune or the iPod? Difficult to say but CNET-Crave found a way to avoid fan bias. They did a simple "Coke-Pepsi challenge" with people in the street.

Participants had to listen to each player and tell them which one sounds the best. Of course, just like the old "Coke-Pepsi challenge", they didn’t know what player they were listening to.

Results of the test: iPod: 2 and Zune: 4. So, based on a very small number of people, the Zune has a much better sound quality.

Great news! I wonder what would be the result with a few hundred people.

Zune Review? Don’t Quit Your Day Job Yet!

We have seen a lot of Zune reviews since the launch in November. Users gave their opinions on the Zune many times. “Zune bashing” is now a sport recognized by all major colleges and universities.

But this guy takes the concept a bit further. In this homemade video, he explains why the iPod is better than the Zune... Check it out! Should he quit is day job (or college?) to become a tech reviewer?

Shure SE210 Sound Isolating Earphones Review

I was lucky enough to get a prototype version of the upcoming new earphones from Shure. I briefly tested the product at CES last January but Shure sent ClicZune a pair of the SE210 for further review of the product. I’ve been using them for week now and I switched back a few times to the Zune earphones to see the differences with different kind of music.

The verdict: Throw away your Zune earphones and buy these in-ear canal earphones right away.

Read our complete review of the Shure SE210 Sound Isolating Earphones.

Silicone Zune Skin Review

This week we took a look at the thinnest silicone skin ever. Zuneone is selling a silicone Zune skin that won’t add thickness to the Zune player and also give a decent protection against scratches.

Product category: Cases, Skins

Description: The silicone skin comes in six different colors; black, blue, green, pink, clear and purple. The product also comes with a screen protector.

Pros:  Inexpensive. Offer your Zune a good protection against scratches. Very thin, does not add to the size of the Zune. All controls are available at all time.

Cons: No protection against drops.

Details and pictures after the jump.

Zune Accessory Review: Crystal Case From Zuneone

We’ve just completed a review of a low-end Zune case from Zuneone. The case is a generic Chinese made product. We found out that you can buy the same Zune case from 22Moo and other vendors for more than 60%. This may not be a high product but the low price associated with the case makes it an interesting alternative for those of you with a more limited budget.

Product category: Cases

Description: The crystal case is a simple plastic case that comes in six different colors; blue, green, pink, transparent, smoke and yellow. The case also comes with a color matching neck strap, and integrated kick stand for viewing videos and full access to all Zune controls.

Pros:  Inexpensive case. Offer your Zune a reasonable protection.

Cons: Not easy to open. The hold button needs an adapter to be reachable.

Pricing and availability: $11.95 and available now online

Zune Accessory Review: BoxWave Silicon case for the Zune

This week we are reviewing Boxwave’s FlexiSkin case for the Zune. The company sells Zune accessories but also accessories for many other MP3 Players and mobile phones. Their product line includes chargers, headphones, cases, screen protectors and more.

Zune Accessory Review: Speck’s ToughSkin Case

This week we are reviewing the ToughSkin case from Speck Products. We add a chance to have a close look at their complete line of products at the CES 2007 in Las Vegas last January and we were pleased with the overall quality of their products.

Speck is a young company that likes to do things differrently and is also listening to their customers. We can feel that when we talk to them and at the touch of their products.

The ToughSkin case for the Zune is Speck’s best seller in their Zune accessory line. And after reviewing the the ToughSkin Case for the Zune, we can understand why!

Disney Speakers for Your Zune

If you like Disney’s characters, you may be interested in those speakers just released by Runat. The speakers can be powered by a USB port or a power adapter.
Specifications: size: 220x230x160mm,weight: 400g, power: 2x2W.

More pictures after the jump.

Zune and iPod Compared Using Competitive Intelligence Tools

LeeAnn Prescott from HitWise, an internet data mining and competitive intelligence company, did a very interesting analysis of the searches done on the internet related to the Zune and the iPod.

First thing done by the analyst is comparing the searches made with the keywords Zune and iPod. LeeAnn Prescott wrote “A chart of search volume for 'ipod' and 'zune' shows that the share of searches for 'ipod' was 3X greater than the share of searches for 'zune' for the week ending 12/9/06. Not bad for a product that's only been on shelves for three weeks.”

That sounds in fact “very” good, but things gets a bit more complicated when she looked at how many different search strings would include the word iPod or Zune. This is where the iPod has a really strong advance.

Technorati Tags: zune

Vaja Zune Case Review

Product category: Cases

Description: The Vaja Balance Leather Case is a Slipcase for the 30GB Microsoft Zune Player (1G)

Pros: Made with high-quality and good-looking leather. Changeable screen protector and optional belt clip. Full access to all ports and controls. Gives the Zune a luxury look & feel.

Cons: Some corners of the Zune are exposed. Expensive. Screen protector becomes rapidly covered with fingerprints, can easily be scratched and add reflection to the screen.

Pricing and availability: Available now from Vaja for $60 to $110, depending on options.

Options: Choice of 18 leather colors, clips and personalization with text or graphic

Company website: VajaCases.com

Made for: 30Gb Microsoft Zune Player (1G)

The Zune Interface: The Best one on the Market?

"Zune's core layout and navigation are truly excellent. You'll be up to speed in seconds.

When you're viewing a category, all the other categories on that "level" are aligned along the top, and pressing left and right on the controls moves between them.

For example: Choose Music from the main menu, and you're looking at the Albums view automatically (or whatever view you left it at). Pressing up and down scrolls you through albums with small artwork. But to the right is Artists, then Playlists, Songs, Genres…you get the idea.

On most other players, you select Music and then Artists, Playlists, Genres, whatever. If you want to change the view, you have to back up to the previous interface level and select a different view. Microsoft's approach is considerably faster and easier.
This works on all levels of the interface: If you're viewing the contents of Moby's album "18" in album view, then pressing to the right and left will quickly flip you to the next albums in your library ... "1984," "20," "Abbey Road," "All Killer No Filler," "American Idiot" ..."

I completely agree with Jason Cross on this. The Zune interface is by far one of the strongest elements of the player. The “lateral navigation” that Zune have is making us forget the lack of an iPod wheel we got used to. It did not take me long to make the transition to the Zune interface from the iPod. I find the music I want a lot faster with the Zune compared to my iPod.

Take a look at this really complete review of the Zune nicely done by Jason Cross from Extremetech. He covers most of the important things you will find on the Zune.

Technorati Tags: zune

Zune Worst Review or Reviewer?

"Avoid," is my general message. The Zune is a square wheel, a product that's so absurd and so obviously immune to success that it evokes something akin to a sense of pity.

The Zune is a complete, humiliating failure. Toshiba's Gigabeat player, for example, is far more versatile, it has none of the Zune's limitations, and Amazon sells the 30-gig model for 40 bucks less.

Andy Ihnatko from Chicago Sun Times was certainly in a bad mood when he reviewed the Zune. OK, the Zune player is far from perfect. We all had installation problems with the software (I still have!), we like the screen but the case looks a bit like a prototype and we were disappointed by the current wi-fi limitations. But hey, the product deserves a chance. We are seeing a version 1.0 of a 2 weeks old product and compare it to at 5 years old iPod that reached its fifth generation. The iPod vs. Zune comparisons are simply unfair at this point. iPod may be a better product for now, but the future may be in the hands of the Zune. Who can tell? I certainly can't! So, is this the worst Zune review or reviewer?

Technorati Tags: zune

Zune on Vista? Sure you Can!

"I recently purchased a Microsoft Zune player (to replace my lost iPod, which never surfaced no thanks to crappy Iberia!). Unfortunately, days before the arrival of my Zune from the USA, I made the switch to Windows Vista. This meant that, when the Zune arrived, I couldn't sync it up with my media-stuffed laptop, as in their infinite wisdom, Microsoft have decided NOT to make a Vista friendly version of the software available yet.

So I set about seeing if the XP software could run happily on Vista! It does... and here's how I did it!"

Of course, you can wait in January to have the official Vista compatible Zune software but if you already migrate your computer to Vista, Paul from the Modaco forum can help you. By the way, I would not call Microsoft to ask for help after that... Enjoy!

via ZuneThoughts

Technorati Tags: zune

Washington Post Likes the Zune Player but not the Marketplace

Beyond the arrogance of requiring Microsoft's own "money," the Zune Marketplace also shows sloppy workmanship. Its registration screen wouldn't accept three Washington, D.C., Zip codes. When presented with a shared song that I'd tagged (and which was in the Zune Marketplace inventory) its search function couldn't find it. And when I tried buying a new album, I only got six of 13 tracks and a message that the others "might not be available."

When Rob Pegoraro did his Zune review, he had almost only nice things to say about the Zune player. But like a lot of reviewers, he had majors complaints about the Zune Software and Marketplace. This seems to be the weakest part of the Zune experience. The installation problems, the Microsoft points and the lack of OS compatibility are the major user complaints as well.

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: zune

Upgrade your Zune Hard Drive!

The 30Gb Zune Player is not enough for your? Microsoft squashed the 60Gb and 80 Gb Zune player rumors? Hey, here is the solution for you! Ipodmods’ guys are able to easily upgrade your 30Gb Zune to a 40Gb Zune player. If you would like a 60Gb or 80Gb hard disk, they can do it as well but be aware that they can’t close the case with those two hard drives.

Technorati Tags: zune

Zune will Work with Vista...in January

When Windows Vista is publicly available this January, it will work with Zune. This will include Vista 64bit support. [zuneinsider]

What a relief! This is really good news reported by Cesar. Of course, we would prefer if the Zune software was working with windows 2000, 98 and Mac but Vista was an absolute must…

Updated: Cesar added that Zune will only be compatible with the consumer edition of Vista!

Zune Review: Zune Podcasting Demystified

There is lot of confusion about whether or not the Zune will support the Podcasts. People are confused because since the beginning, Microsoft tried to say that Podcasts are going to be part of the Zune but without really saying it. In a recent post on his blog, David Caulton (Zunester.com) tried to demystify what was the situation with podcasting and the Zune.

What happen since the beginning is Microsoft is saying that you can “play” podcasts on your Zune. This is an easy one because most podcasts are simply mp3 files and the Zune can play “any” mp3 files. Here you go! Zune will support podcast”

Ah! Not that simple because what users are saying is: Will the Zune “manage” podcasts”? That means the software to handle the subscriptions and the updates from the editors, etc. Now the answer is “no”, the Zune won’t do that at launch.

Zune review: The Zune is Bigger!

These pictures are from Flickr and they show the Zune stacked agains the Zen Vision:M, iPod 5G, iPod nano and the Sansa E200 series.

Yep, the Zune is taller and ticker than most of the other players...but the Zune also heavier than most players as well.

We knew that already from the iPod vs. Zune chart, but Engadget assures us that the device is still quite pocketable! We will have to wait and see what real users are thinking about the size weight of the Zune…

Zune Review: More Interactivity!

Cnet was one of the lucky winners who had a chance to review the Zune before the official November 14th launch date. What is interesting is they did confirm the interactivity we talked about.

“For music, you'll get the option to adjust play mode, rate the song, show a song list, flag a song (flagged songs and photos transfer to the Zune software in list form and will show up front and center).”

Those features combined with the Wi-fi (that will eventually talk to your PC) seem to be the base of what could be a great innovation coming from the Zune. A better and seamless interactivity between the Zune, the Zune software and the user could really bring something new to the digital media player world.

People at Cnet also had mixed feelings about the casing of the Zune.

“The Zune may be a bit thicker than the 30GB iPod, but it feels right at home in the hand. In my opinion, it's a nice size and weight--neither too thin to hold nor too big to pocket, though others in the office say it's bulky and have even compared it to a prototype.”

Zune Review: Zune Sharing is not for every Songs!

There is an interesting disclaimer on the Ebgames website. We can read in the bottom of the product description page: “The Zune-to-Zune sharing feature may not be available for all songs on your device, and works only between Zune devices within wireless range of each other.” We knew at launch videos could not be shared, but songs we did not know.

Zune review: Yo DJ! Spin that Zune…but no so fast!

When the patent filing was done by Microsoft for the Zune player, the released PDF document was explaining what would be the features of the Zune Wi-fi connectivity. The Zune to Zune sharing was certainly an attractive aspect of the feature. But there was another aspect that was quite interesting and it’s the "DJ mode". As explained in the document, a Zune owner could act as a DJ for a maximum of 4 Zune friends. What is does is broadcasting the song you are playing on your Zune to other Zunes around you.

Since we did not heard anything about that feature since the release of that document we asked Microsoft (Cesar Menendez) if this was still a feature of the Zune. “I would say that wireless is a critical part of Zune, and putting wireless in every device enables several ways that it will help bring music and content to life on the Zune device. At launch, Zune to Zune wireless sharing provides consumers with the first of many wireless features, and offers a compelling new way to connect with friends.”

Zune Review: Battery Life Tested

Today, Microsoft released interesting details about what we could expect from the Zune battery. There was a lot of speculation about how much power the Wi-fi feature would burn from the Zune power. Good news! Maybe…at least in standby mode. Here is what we have from the “Zune Insider”, Cesar Menendez:

• Zune has a battery life of up to 13 hours, when listening to music with the “wireless turned on”.
• When you turn the wireless off, Zune has up to 14 hours of battery life when listening to music with the “wireless turned off”, and up to approximately 4 hours for video or pictures.

Zune review : Zune vs. iPod (Codecs comparisons)

Here is a Zune review of the different codecs of the Zune and the iPod.

	Zune 30Gb	iPod 30Gb
MP3 (audio)	Yes	Yes
iTunes	No	Yes
Zune Martketplace	Yes	No
Play for sure	Not yet!	No
AAC (audio)	Yes	Yes
WMA (audio)	Yes	No
AIFF (audio)	No	Yes
WAV (audio)	No	Yes
.aa (audio)	No	Yes
Podcast (audio)	Yes	Yes
JPEG (image)	Yes	Yes
BMP (image)	No	Yes
WMV (video)	Yes	No
MPEG-4 (video)	Yes	Yes
H.264 (video)	Yes	Yes

                  

Check these other Zune reviews.

Zune review : Compare the Zune and the iPod Specifications

Comparison table for the Zune and the iPod.

	Zune 30Gb	iPod 30Gb
Retail Price	$249.99	$249
Wi-Fi Connectivity	Yes	No
File Sharing Capability	Yes	No
Landscape Video	Yes	No
Portrait Video	Yes	Yes
Preloaded Content	Yes	No
User Tagging feature	Zunetag	No
Gapless Playback	Yes	Yes
Custom Background	Yes	No
FM Tuner	Yes	No
Screen Size	3"	2.5"
Colors	Black, Brown, White	White, Black
Scroll Wheel	No	Yes
Music store	Zune Marketplace	iTunes Store
Podcast	Yes	Yes
Li-ion Battery Life	14 hours of music or 4 hours of video (wireless off)	14 hours of music or 3.5 of video
Weight	5.6 oz	4.8 oz
Dimensions (WxHxD)	2.4"x4.4"x0.58"	2.4"x4.1"x0.43"

Check these other Zune reviews.