raymbeavers2009

kevdog

Taylor11

Bulldog

Bulldog

macboy

1) can you take pictures with the the zune?

2) can you put songs on the zune that you already have saved onto your computer?

w/b

printzezz

mycazanowak

fixerkid

mls

rolan444

mick_helminski

DCaff

joelransom

europria

eMediaDude

terrybhs06

pdxdean

USA TODAY shouldnt be where i go to get unbiased (or at least in this case negative) opinions about the products i care about! I want to hear the real deal from YOU guys. Cmon Gizmodo! Stop splooging all over the Zune and bust a neutral nut instead!

I cant help but feel like you're all being bribed!

bsegovia

pun

1. Not a better screen, just a stretched screen with same amount of pixels.

2. Scary rumors that MS does not plan to easily allow CD libraries or less-legitimate MP3 sources into Zune-land.

3. The WiFi abilities are lame right now and format support for vid and music is much more limited than the ipod, I think dropping $200+ bucks on the hopes that MS will get it right given enough time is crazy,

4. And yes - someone will create the first WiFi virus to really muck things up.

Maybe I'm wrong, I'm sure MS wouldn't leave their faithful consumers between a rock and a hard place by releasing guinea pig hardware or abandoning products and software altogether... nope, they've never done that before...

Does everyone else really have that much disposable income? Doesn't anyone else have kids to feed or like, give to charities?

rnice

thx in advance

mop

Mishro

but my question is, what if i share a song not able to be purchased from zune marketplace? like a band recording? will that have a limit on plays/days? because it can't be bought from zune marketplace...

xlarrywx

brodie

Worf

litosanj06

starnium

CyanideDream666

pithy

femstix

Hopefully by then MS will have unlocked all the potential that the Zune has.

Thunderous_Thor

If I had room in my pocket for something other than my cell phone (oh why oh why can't they just stick a cell phone into the zune?) I would totally buy one!

I bought my wife an iPod last year and have been amazed at the aweful experience she's had with Apple on tech support. Just replacing the battery was a nightmare.

I think updates sound really good. What kind of processor do these guys sport? Just how complex can the software they run be?

What would be cool is if MS releases a software development kit for this gizmo... actually I think companies should do that for all the small computers we tote around.

ysirotin

Penchum

MS has a habit of letting a market mature and then sliding in, not too strong but just enough to put a footprint on the market. Then they bombarde it with the next generation of their product offering and generally step all over the competition. This of course depends on whether their first offering is succesfull enough for them to go forward with it. I garuntee theres already plans and probably a prototype out for the second gen Zune just waiting on market analysis to come back frmo the 1st gen so they can release the hounds. Zune360 anyone?

Lance Wallen

Idoru, you are crazy. If you've never heard anything but an iPod, you would of course make that statement, but a simple Google search on MP3 player sound quality will reveal to you the truth: the headphone amp and signal processing inside a player can make a world of difference.

It is a sad time indeed when people no longer believe that music players were meant to play music.

Slick

UnnDunn

crosshare

sgodun

Don't like the fact it's not plays4sure compatible: it's the ipod copy I like the least- totally locked into one storefront.

They'll have to figure out how I can share my already purchased, DRM free tracks wirelessly before I buy one of these ... MY music is MY music. Don't put a DRM wrapper on what I already own.

crescentdave

Only concern I have at this point with the Zune is how long it will take before the wifi feature is abused. Just imagine walking past some punk who spams your zune with a bunch of crap ads or viruses, etc...

On the other hand, if you can figure out which punk it is then you can kick the living shit out of him and take out all your spam frustration over the years on him.

Hmm, where do I sign up?

UpIrons

Bistroengine

Should be amazing I Love the white... Maybe i'm crazy... :)

Crazyglues

So, you trust MS not to bail on the Zune after 2 years or move onto to something else?

metroxing

carydf

1. Does it support operation as a USB mass-storage device?
2. Is true native-mode (i.e. Rio Karma) gapless playback supported?

If the answer to either is "No", well, I guess I'll have to go wait for something based on the SigmaTel reference designs, I guess...

radabush

Love the "Guest" sharing feature. I just had a friend ask me how to get the songs her husband bought on iTunes into her iTunes library and iPod. I have no idea of course since I don't use it but nice to see Microsoft picked up on this as an issue.

MonocularJack

menuhin

I'm placing my iPod Photo on ebay this week. My B-day present to myself is a Zune baby...a Zune! Like Borat says, "Crazy, Crazy! Everybody laugh!"

Halenstone

citizen.lambda

Gotta give props to MS for putting effort into that "doubleshot" effect. Their strategy to "wow" and get some attention at the point of sale is a good one.

But count me as another anti-brownie. That brown with snot green glow is really uncalled for.

ThriftyTechie

It plays Mp3s, and other compressed files. That bit is going to do far more damage to your perceived sound quality than whatever headphone amp they're using.

'Course, all that is assuming you have your own headphones. I assume the Zune ships with rubbish headphones like all other MP3 players, but it would've been nice if the Giz could've confirmed that.

idoru

KesCaesar

....."Tinny" will make lyrics understandable, and maybe translate those hi-hats that get lost on .mp3s sometimes. It also, however, says to me: no bass. My headphone judging criteria boils down to "gimme some thumpin' clear bass, don't make the mids muddy, and don't clip off the high-end."

.....Most portables won't drive a set of high-impedence, quality headphones, at anything more than a whisper.

AcidReign

Bowler Hat

THIS IS WHAT MOST PEOPLE WILL DO!

sagiv

Zamemee

Brian Lam, Gizmodo Sanitation Engineer

"1. the clear surface of an ipod is not a two shot mold."

Maybe you have a different name for it, but yes, the white/black top bezel with all of the attachment features is shot from plastic, then the clear is shot over the top. Maybe vise versa, but its not just a clear part that's back painted.

It goes by many names, some of which may be incorrect, but yes, it is 2-shot/co-molded.

@ gadget gav

"I'm sorry, but as a design engineer that is just day to day design work. You design something, you build a model and you refine it. That's nothing that makes the Zune any different to, say, a toothbrush."

As an industrial designer, I'd have to disagree with that statement. Color and finish selection gets blown off more often than not. I think the Zune is a great example of that tide changing. but all too often, the colors are predetermined - selected before the materials or even the design. And its the massive corporations that are usually guilty of this.

Also, this application is the sort of thing that you can't just look thru the Pantone book and say, "that one looks pretty". I think the implication of the statement is more that they prototyped hundereds of minutely different colors, to get the look and feel just right.

thrillhouse

ProsumeThis

Am I the only one that doesn't care that it doesn't have a touch sensitive wheel? I hate those! I have touch sensitive buttons on my current MP3 player and it's annoying that one graze of my finger and it's on a different song. I'd rather just skip the whole "hold" button and be able to touch the device without worrying about whether or not I'm touching it in the wrong spot.

Oh, and I'm going to add my two cents about the brown - it looks good. I'd rather not have my choice between white, black or pink - thank you VERY much.

maura_ea

Jason Chen

No, brown is a fashion / accessory color.

Even nerds should know this much.

Jimmy M

I might get a brown one, because the color is a very neutral and rugged color. I am already picturing it on one of my work dens where the room is mostly filled with brown wooden furniture.

vtorch

BWGunner

.....I'd put up with DRM if they'd actually make a unit that sounded good. As it is, this review says absolutely nothing about how it sounds, is it loud enough? Is it noisy? And of course, can you put your ripped .mp3s on it?

.....Not a "Full Review," people. Sorry.

AcidReign

rainfever

Gosh! Now I REALLY have to get one. I may wait until they release the second gen. of the Zune. I'm holding out for now for a larger capacity Zune despite my strong desire to have one now.

Exactly, 120gig is all i want now. Its pretty much down to whomever gets it out first...then at that point i'd spend the next 5 months saving money to get one haha.

rainfever

nonpareil

krazydonutboy

macspec

andrewkfromaz

1. the clear surface of an ipod is not a two shot mold.

2. the zune isn't even the same material that is on the top of an ipod. the ipod is a strong abs plastic (which is used on the core of the zune).

3. the outside of the zune is a TPE (thermoplastic elastomer)...basically a strong rubber. so no, its not frosted, it is molded in a a texturized mold. the zune feels similiar to a grip on a drill or scissors or what not, except that it more rigid. the zune doesn't feel like rubber, but there is enough TPE to make it feel soft to the tough and very scratch resistant.

i just want to say, there are other gadgets that have a "soft touch" feel to them..like mice, cell phones (pebl), and some other shit, but they are all spray coated and usually wear off, i know i have a spot on my mouse that the "soft touch" has rubbed away from my thumb. The zune will not lose its soft touch because it is actually the physical property of the molded material. kudos to microsoft for making such a smart housing for the zune.

ronnsprocket

quitebuttery

bdkennedy1

Sheesh

jackjumper

I will say that I dig the brown just because its different and has a nice refined look. The two tone double-shot look is great, too. I think they've nailed the design, the rest is up to customer acceptance.

thrillhouse

dimensionaltrend

froggy

I dunno...it's the best I could come up with.

samuelk

So to say they are forcing you to upgrade is bogus, its you DECIDED that you wanted such and such a feature.

Falconfire

Agro

Voohoo

primetime4

its like taking candy from a baby.

but if the baby's got rotten teeth already you can't feel bad right

I love to hate macs

Cache

I can't decide on a color either, but I'm considering a white to match my 360, but the Black looks pretty slick, too.

MIKEAWESOME

Gunmetal gray anyone?

HDC

BTW, did you know other mp3 players are upgradeable too, like this one called iPod? I bought a video iPod over a year ago and got an upgrade on it a few months back that added gaming features and a few UI enhancements to it.

R2B2

made2last

I also wonder how long it's going to take someone to;

1. Create a converter for iTunes music so they play on the Zune.

2. Create virus for the zune that takes advantage of the WiFi abilities.

diverguy

phi

blank

GadgetGav

Second... regarding the marketplace screenshot, are you one of those freaks who leaves the stickers on his gear to remind himself what exactly he spent so much on...?

vince77

I really want to get hands on with one and if everything feels right to me, count me in.

Black for me though.

msg007

djdare

superbad

Doubt it??? I have some Pony mushrooms you can chew.....Win XP home... Nuff said!

Besides, i'm gonna wait for Iphone, knowing Apple, they will release it the week of X-mas, with a silent whisper..

On a side note, it would be funny, if you uploaded a bunch of CD's to your ZUNE, and MS charged you "automatically" twice, due to the Wifi scan, and your Library being different...

The possibilities are ENDLESS!

Loremaster

Doubt it??? I have some Pony mushrooms you can chew.....Win XP home... Nuff said!

Besides, i'm gonna wait for Iphone, knowing Apple, they will release it the week of X-mas, with a silent whisper..

On a side note, it would be funny if you uploaded a bunch of CD's to your ZUNE, and MS charged you "automatically" twice, due to the Wifi scan, and your Library being different...

The possibilities are ENDLESS!

Loremaster

JB3

fardated

LillieDesigns

Catalyst

cbb

FROST1

And yeah, the black one has my name all over it!

dubsar

Progressive software updates, upgradeable, and a focus on the user? Sounds so much like the 360 which they have handled extremely well. Some smart moves and decisions made in the Microsoft camp, I hope they keep it up.

FenixConnektion

chrisaroz

Perhaps I am in the minority (although I would expect NOT to be). Does one HAVE to use the software to use this?

I have an Iriver iHP140 and absolutely love it. Only downside is the display is horrendous. But it has a TREMENDOUS amount of features and I don't have to use it with any sort of service. I plug it in via USB and it's recognized as an external hard drive. I just dump folders on with mp3s and go. I use it equally for a portable drive as I do an mp3 player.

I don't ever see myself using a 'pay for music' type of thing (I either buy the cd and rip it or I download from other sources), so this is a must have feature for me.

Can the Zune do this or will it be all closed minded?

Can someone enlighten me?

Neight

SpudMills

Paradise

cjmal

FROST1

-- Zune-Online.com

Zune-Online.com

Homer-S

ara

Let's face it, Microsoft is terrible at innovating from scratch. Their business strength lies in taking a strong product of a competitor and shelling millions of dollars into making that product better, and then killing the competitor.

This may be the only true iPod killer.

The Hoff

robotstephe

The real question will be- how fast are they able to do those upgrades? This is a great start, but if it takes 6-8 months to get the first upgrade out, it's going to hurt them. If MSoft can keep the ball rolling, especially by making the Zune interact with other devices (which is where it's capable of being much, much stronger than the iPod), it sounds like they could be pretty competitive.

It's also nice that they made the device feel so great. A lot of people like the iPod more than other players simply because it has a better form factor- it feel better when you hold it. It's impressive to see MSoft do the same thing, without just copying the Pod. This is why they pay Allard the big bucks, I guess.

KurticusMaximus

BurstAneurysm

(Nice boy: gave his seat up to an older lady.)

oudemia

Maybe it doesn't work directly with Rhapsody/Napster, but could you take those drm track and bring them into ZM?

Can't find any missteps? Sticking it to your partners (real/napster) seems to be a big one :)

zuneosity

JAG42

jcc123

combat chuck

Sean Harrington

ugadawg