Microsoft Zune

Last Updated: Review by AnythingButIpod (added on 19/04/07)

Microsoft Zune features a 3 inches (7.62 cm) QVGA LCD, 320×240 pixel resolution, 65k colours (16-bit color), 30GB of storage, TV out, a built-in FM tuner, and up to 12 hour battery life playing music with WiFi. The device measures 4.4 × 2.4 × 0.58 inches (11.2 × 6.1 × 1.4 cm) and weighs 5.6 ounces (158.8 g).

Microsoft Zune Latest Price Info

+ REVIEWS:

AnythingButIpod reviews the Microsoft Zune and writes;

“The Zune’s sound quality is good and will suffice for the majority of users, but if sound quality is a very important feature, you may want to look elsewhere. The very high end and the very low end are somewhat blurry, but something you can only tell with a really nice set of headphones and some critical listening…Overall, the Zune is good but not great. However, I remain optimistic because I see the Zune following the same product development path as the XBox with slow but steady firmware and hardware improvements. Realizing this parallel, the Zune will only get better with time.”

TheTechLounge reviews the Microsoft Zune and writes;

“As it stands now the Zune is a pretty face without an agent. I did truly like the interface, sound quality and large screen. But the lack of a solid music store will hurt the computing giant’s ability to compete with the iPod. My advice if you want to add a little brown to your wardrobe? Find a new or used Zune for a price below MSRP, buy your music from an outside source (or rent it) and avoid the Marketplace. It might not be the new white but it’s not as bad as you think. Pros: Large, scratch resistant color screen
Good sound quality, Intuitive interface, Includes FM radio and video playback
I’m down with brown, baby. Cons: Ridiculous Zune Marketplace points system, PlaysForSure doesn’t PlayAtAll, Mediocre battery life, A bit heavy and clunky (compared to you-know-who’s player)”

IGN reviews the Microsoft Zune and writes;

“As we said at the onset of this rather exhaustive review, the Zune has both strengths and weaknesses. While the overall tone reads negative, we must admit we like the hardware. Quite a lot actually. We like holding the Zune, we like the user interface, we like watching videos on it. We like the potential of the WiFi. We like the fact that it’s not an iPod. There’s also plenty that we don’t like, but most of our greatest complaints don’t directly affect our experience of walking down the street using the Zune (especially since the majority of our music isn’t DRM’ed and we encoded all our favorite videos to the Zune easily.) In the time that the Zune has been in the IGN offices a fair number of editors have made the decision to make the switch. Until Apple blows the Zune out of the water with the long rumored touch-screen iPod, the Zune is one of our favorite mp3 players on the market.”

TheTechZone reviews the Microsoft Zune (rating: 7/10) and writes;

“Considering that this is Microsoft’s freshman foray into the world of MP3 players, we should forgive them on some of their faults. The clunkiness can be fixed with the second generation if they slim it down and maybe produce the equivalent of an iPod nano for the masses. The 30GB hard drive is a decent size, but considering that the 5.5G iPod Video is available as an 80-gigger, Microsoft should at least try to keep up. After all, both Microsoft and Apple sport Toshiba-sourced hard drives. They need to de-cripple the WiFi if they hope to use that as a selling feature. A good effort, but there is much room for improvement.”

WinSuperSite reviews the Microsoft Zune and writes;

“Overall, the Zune is absolutely decent. It’s got a nice, large screen, a simple menu system, and intuitive controls. It gets good battery life, and does provide the most basic functionality that most people expect. It is, in other words, completely average. But since you can buy a lighter, nicer-looking, and more capable iPod for exactly the same amount of money, and can find other iPod models that meet different needs at different price points, you should almost certainly avoid the first generation Zune. It just comes with too many compromises.”

PCMag reviews the Microsoft Zune (rating: 3.5/5) and writes;

“Bottom Line: Tight software integration, a subscription plan, and slick design make the Zune an interesting, if not compelling, iPod alternative. Pros: Nice design. Easy-to use. Three-inch screen. Wireless music & photo sharing with other Zunes. Good integration with software. Cons: Small hard drive. Non-replaceable battery. Weak Battery Life. No PlaysForSure support. No Podcasts or Video offering in Zune marketplace.”

ExtremeTech reviews the Microsoft Zune and writes;

“Just like the headphones that come with every portable media device known to man, the standard Zune earbuds stink. They sound awful, just like the iPod earbuds, the earbuds that come with Creative’s Zen, the ones that come with iRiver players, and so on. If you use the “came in the box” earbuds for any of those other products and didn’t mind, you won’t mind these, either. Microsoft did pull one neat trick, though: They made the earbuds a little bit magnetic so they stick together back to back. This really does help keep them from turning into a knotted mess every time you stuff them in a bag or pocket.”

PCworld reviews the Microsoft Zune (rating: 81/100) and writes;

“Ultimately, the Zune is an intriguing mix of innovation and lack of execution. Though its current wireless implementation disappoints, Microsoft’s first MP3 player is a decent all-around media player. The iPod remains the king of the hill here, but if you absolutely must buy a non-iPod hard-drive player, the Zune is a reasonable choice. If the company can follow up with higher capacities and improved wireless access, Apple might really have a fight on its hands.”

Digital Trends reviews the Microsoft Zune, they write:

“It has an audio and video library with less depth than iTunes while the player itself has fewer features than offerings from Apple, Samsung or Creative…Pros: Attractive packaging, Competitive price, Large display Cons: Boring aesthetics, Poor quality ear buds, Closed system, Not compatible with PlaysForSure songs, Credit purchasing system is a joke.”

Laptopmag reviews the Microsoft Zune, they rate it 3/5 and write:

“Setting up the Zune software on our PC was simple and glitch-free but time-consuming, as you have to enter personal information (including a phone number) and create a Windows Live ID (if you haven’t already) along the way…Audio playback was excellent in our tests, and the Zune pumps out a lot of volume. You can customize the sound by switching equalizer settings (rock, acoustic, electronic, and so on), but we wish you could access them without having to back out to the main menu.”

Engadget reviews the Microsoft Zune, they write:

“The display and the exterior didn’t scratch nearly as easily as we thought it might, which is a good sign. The doubleshot — that green, blue, or translucent rim around the exterior of the device — is something of a small delight…Adding songs to a playlist, selecting tracks to send to another Zune, going from music to video, all these things are relatively easy. Getting used to the actual player interface is a little more difficult, however.”

CNET reviews the Microsoft Zune, they rated the mp3 8.0/10 and write:

“The GUI is attractive, intuitive, and customizable with your own photo… As mentioned, the twist navigation makes it convenient to find albums, artists, genres, and playlists without returning to the main menu….The bottom line: The Microsoft Zune with its intuitive interface and solid playback performance will please most users. But lukewarm format support and the cool but limited Wi-Fi capability will have advanced users seeking more. The Zune is a very good start, though.”

Gizmodo reviews the Microsoft Zune, they write:

“The Zune’s screen was bright even outside, and had pretty much zero glare. Movies and pictures played back smoothly, and the display transitioned automatically to landscape mode when you start a slideshow/movie. Pictures are auto-cropped to display large on the screen, and will be auto-resized down from the original whenever you send them to your friends over WiFi. The Zune was easy to hold in both landscape and regular modes—no problems at all.”

+ PRESS RELEASE:

Microsoft to Put Zune Experience in Consumers’ Hands on Nov. 14

Zune device to retail for $249.99.

REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) is putting the social into digital music, starting this
holiday. Today the company announced that the Zune(TM) digital media player and online service will be available to consumers in the U.S. on Nov. 14, 2006, just in time for the holidays. The Zune device will retail for
$249.99 U.S. (ERP) and will create new ways for entertainment fans to
connect and share media experiences device-to-device through the use of
wireless technology and new software scenarios.

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