Zune
 

I want a good MP3 player for the truck and for at work. FM player with some extras. Looks like the Zune might be a good fit. Will it work with my existing music that I have ummm...bought off Limewire? I assume it's all good? What else do they do? I see there is a monthly subscription and assume that is optional? How much is it to purchase music? Are they easy to use....sync is easy to use???? Sell me on them if you love them.....Thank you for the help and suggestions. bt.

I've had a zune since woot.com first offered their refurbs. it'll work with your existing music. it works as a video player (if you want to watch off a small screen). I've never used their subscription service, so I can't attest to how good or bad it is (I've always just ripped tracks from my cd collection). sync CAN be a pain every great once in a while, and if you have a music collection of any size (over several thousand), it can take some time to load them up initially (but you'll have this issue with ANY new mp3 player).

suggestions: watch the web for specials. woot.com will offer them for cheap at least once a month or so... refurbs can be had for less than 100 every day of the week if you know where to look (and I've never had a single issue with the two refurbs I have, one is mine and one is my wife's... she's harder on hers than I am, and it's never had a single issue).

you can do everything with it--podcasts, music, video, and some of the newer ones can do HD and record radio. good times.

I bought a ZuneHd a few months ago it kicks ass much better than the Ipod and holds more music for the same price.

Thanks for the info. So are they easy to use? I basically want a fancy mp3 player that will fm transmit so I can take to work and play on a stereo....never owned an ipod but everyone says they are hard to use along with i tunes. Thanks for the info.

I love my ZuneHD. Much better PMP than my iPhone, and the software is a whole lot more user friendly.

I would be all over the ZuneHD if they would start getting some damn apps out there for it. Preferably the same stuff other app driven devices have. Oh, and charge a fair price for them. MS has a nasty habit of thinking their software is made of gold.

I still wish MS would eliminate that damned MS points crap too.

I use the Zune Pass, which is by far the best music subscription platform out there. $15/month for all you can download, including web streaming from any computer. You also get to keep 10 songs a month forever. So basically you're only paying $5/month to listen to all the music you could ever want on your Zune.

Yeah, if I ever do break down and get one I might just use that since my wife is always wanting new songs anwyay.

Someone said with the ZuneHD you can do a wirless sync. Still haevn't tried it yet though but thats pretty badass.

Indeed, and it is badass.

Howdo I do it? I'll give ya some casino cash.

Zune's are the shit. I've owned a first generation 30gb and now have a 2nd gen 120 gb and love it. My buddy has the ZuneHD 32gb with the subscription service and he loves it. I've never had any problem with either. Easy to add music and recognizes all your music.

I have a Zune30 but my Touch trumps it. Nothing wrong with it though.

Um, the huge difference in the price makes the Zune trump the touch. I don't need my mp3 player to play games, get on the net, etc. I carry a touch pro 2 for my phone and it covers all those bases. Hell if my phone had 50gb of memory I wouldn't even carry the zune (I really like having access to all of my music all the time).

It's ridiculously simple. Make sure the wireless on your Zune is on and connected to your wireless network (the same one your computer is on). Then just click on your Zune on the software and hit Sync.

You and I are different though. I do use my touch primarily for getting on the net, then music, then games, then videos.

I can't do that on a Zune 30. As I said, when ZuneHD starts filling their store with apps like the Touch, then I will look at it.

also, does ZuneHD have a speaker or do you still have to have earphones to listen to anything.

Ok I'm going to ask a stupid question here....I don't keep up with all the new stuff what good does it do me to sync it to my computer? What benefit does that give me??? Like I said I don't keep up with everything....Thanks.

Syncing is merely the process of moving your music/videos/pictures from your computer to your device (in this case, the Zune). Wireless syncing is done over your Wi-Fi connection, eliminating the need for wires.

COWON COWON COWON COWON COWON COWON

Every time these threads come up, I mention it. Nothing even comes close if music is your priority. If you're looking for other pollutants like aps, a Cowon player is probably not for you.

My ****ing zune just died. Just got the J3 32gb Cowon. Oh, and MOTHER**** M$. Apparently there is a common issue with the 120gb 2nd Generation Zunes dying right after the warranty expires. This mother****ing thing, which I had 0 problems with until now and was treated very nicely, just died for no reason while I had it plugged into my xbox. The hard drive died and this mother****ing thing was 3 MOTHER****ING WEEKS OUT OF WARRANTY. AGAIN, **** STEVE BALMER AND **** M$ (except for windows 7 and xbox 360).

My Zune30 original is still going strong.

Not sure why you would want a speaker for something that small. It doesn't have one. Even if it did, a speaker that small would not have any kind of sound quality.

My 30GB Zune that I bought as a refurb on Woot.com about 3 years ago is still going strong. My only problem is that I want something a little smaller and with more capacity. But look around the internet sites that carry Zune 80s or Zune 120s and they are always out of stock. And I'm a little weary of buying one from somebody off Ebay. Screw you M$ and your control of the market! I assume this is done purposefully so they can push their new Zune HDs. The 64GB HD just came out (or is about to come out). But that damn thing is $350.

Enjoy FLAC :D

I don't need it for movies and music but when I am using an app or playing a game I don't want to mess with headphones. Its just more convenient with the speaker than without.

Five years later, Zune's troubled journey comes to an end


As of today, Zunes are no longer corporeal beings, Microsoft announced on zune.net. After five years of struggling uphill against a flood of Apple’s iPod products, Zune hardware is being discontinued, although the brand name will live on as the name of Microsoft’s media services.

Microsoft launched the Zune back in 2006, when Ars’ Nate Anderson called it “quite a compelling product,” though it showed “a strange schizophrenia of spirit” and its basic functionality was “crippled or poorly implemented”. Later versions of the Zune continued to improve but always seemed to fall short of a complete package.

The Zune branding was pushed through to Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace, where it eventually permeated XBox Live and Windows Phone. Microsoft says that, in the future, Windows Phone will be the center of its mobile music and video strategy; as a result, the company "will no longer be producing Zune players."

With the Zune gone, Microsoft has lost the potential to extend the Windows Phone platform to devices where consumers wouldn't face recurring costs or contracts, which Apple has in the iPod touch. Microsoft could still extend its mobile platform to non-phones, though the Windows Phone branding will make that a bit difficult.

The death of the hardware has been a long time coming, but Microsoft promises that current Zune owners will be able to continue their interactions with Zune services just as they do today. Likewise, any lucky patrons who recently placed an order for a Zune player through the Zune Originals website will still receive their shipment.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/...-to-an-end.ars

I sold my Zune a few weeks ago. I loved it but the Nexus S was better to hold my music on.

Sad to see the hardware go. It really is a fantastic product. At least the name will live on.

the zunes on the windows phone work ok. The software is pisses me off, it should be way easier to create a playlist.

Is a Cowon or iPod Classic pretty much it for large capacity MP3 players? I filled up my old 60G iPod Classic and want to see what my options are.

I don't make many playlists, but it's easy if you do it through the Zune software.

I didn't think so at all, and you should be able to drag and drop stuff on your phone/zune the "heart" feature sucks as well.

I never understood the purpose of "rating" your own music. If you put it on your device, you must like it. Right? If you don't like it you delete it don't you?

On my iPod, I use the rating system to mark songs. A three star song is one I don't care for anymore and can delete. A one star song is one that is damaged and I have to rip it again.

I don't remember the last time I had heard the music before it was on my zune. I buy the music then go on my zune then out the door.

I still have my 30GB Zune and my 64GB Zune HD. Great products. Too bad Apple out marketed MS on this. :shake:

It is more that they out apped them. I looked at Zune HD several times but it was always the lack of apps that turned me away.