Zune 120 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)

The Zune 120 is an excellent MP3 player. I have found its performance thus far to be exemplary. The user interface is very intuitive, superior to the iPod. I was able to navigate and use all the features on the device right out of the box without any instructions; very well designed. Battery life is good, particularly if you disable Wi-Fi when not using this feature. FM reception is only so-so, but I live in a crappy reception area, so this is not a fair evaluation of this feature. The display is excellent, as well. Gripes: I do not like the ear buds, but I feel this wall about all ear buds. They simply do not fit my ears (I guess I am a mutant). It is bulkier than the iPod classic (the latest version), but with the added features, this can be excused. The screen and "face" smudge way too much. In this day of "touch" interfaces with anti-smudge surfaces, this needs to be improved.

Last, the Zune software is simply superb in comparison to iTunes, Rhapsody, or Amazon. Synchronization with the device is amazing, and the software is (almost)unerring in its cataloging and organization of music and videos. There are so many features of the software that go beyond the "others'" offerings that they are too numerous to list. Amazing stuff (I know, surprising from Microsoft!).

The Zune has a lot going for it. First off it sounds great. Second it has all the storage space most people could ever want and then some. Third it seems to be very well supported by Microsoft and I find the Zune software to be excellent. Fourth it actually comes with quite decent, very good headphones and I someone who usually goes for very decent mid-range headphones.

What are the downsides compared to flash memory? It is not recognized as a hard drive. I was very disappointed by this. I have read websites that say there is some freeware work arounds for this but have yet to try it. I would have liked drag and drop not to mention using the device to store pdfs, word documents etc. Perhaps Microsoft will add this feature?

Second no voice recording. Not a huge deal, but I did enjoy this on my flash drive players. Third battery life is not so good and the battery icon is not very accurate. It hovers near full for a long time then bam, out of power. My last player a Scandisk Sansa had a VERY accurate meter.

Overall though I am getting GREAT music, very good software experience, and I am probably going to buy a Zune pass soon. They recently added 10 songs per month that become part of your own collection even if you cancel the Zune pass and it is still $15 a month. In addition to the sound is is just plain cool to not even have a hint of a worry with my music collection, pod casts, and photos of coming close to running out of space. The screen is quite good and really this could double as a small digital photo frame. Unlike other people I have only found the radio reception to be midling. It does sound good when it locks something in well though.

A final note. I have a camcorder that records directly to a hard drive or a mini DVD. Once stored on a DVD it creates something called a VOB (video object file). Zune has no idea what a VOB file is. There are programs that will eventually get a VOB into something that will run on the Zune but it is not easy and it sounds like it is very time intensive.

Bottomline: tons of space, GREAT sound, better than average earbuds standard, but some trade offs compared to flash memory mp3 players. Also Microsoft got cheap and did not include an outlet adpator to charge. Given the way the Zune sucks power it would have been nice to have been in the package. Would I recommend: yes. The freedom of 120gb and fantastic sound more than makes up some of its limitations.

MUCH better than the IPOD, though it was a tad hard to figure out the first day.

Very happy with customer service! I was having trouble getting the online feature up, but they were most helpful!

I have the 80 GB Zunes -- well, actually several because I separate my classical music collection from my popular music -- and because I don't like to compress down which can have a negative impact on sound quality of the music

I can't speak to all the supposed bells and whistles associated with the Zune (i.e. WIFI access, playing movies etc). Maybe I'm just old but I don't really care about youtube videos and really -- can't see watching movies on anything smaller than a computer screen. If I'm not near a TV, then I'll read or knit but I have to have my music! I do have to say that I have used the radio at work and it works well to get my local NPR station so that is a big bonus!!

I'm traveling again and in this post 911 era, need my music to keep me chilled out in the airport and in cubicles. I preferred the aesthetics of the 1st Zune -- the matt finish better than the newer "Piano finish" shiny finger-print album viewer of the new interface but since I put this in a leather case, I can live with the new "look".

I'm not into downloading music off the web. I take my CDs and copy them with the highest possible bit rate as possible for the best sound quality. I don't really care about the extra storage required for this since my alternative is hauling a CD Walkman and a bunch of CDs around with me (everything's relative). With the 30GB Brown selling for [....], I can carry two -- one with my classical music library and one with my "normal" music.

I have top of the line Shure ear buds and the combination produced outstanding sound quality -- not to mention being able to be in my own little bubble by blocking outside noise. The interface is very simple to use. I had no problems with the software installation (I'm using Windows XP) or syncing.

In summary, I really like it and it is a "mind saver" while you are flying on noisy cramped claustrophobic regional airplanes. I also like the fact that I can get my NPR fix at work without yet another gadget living there (my company doesn't allow streaming audio through our computers). I highly recommend this product.

NCJAR

The software that comes with it works when it feels like, I had to reformat the Zune twice in the space of 2 weeks, thereby losing all my music. Get an ipod!