Microsoft Zune 80GB - Black - HPA-00001 - Room with a view

Microsoft Zune 80GB Leather Case  $16.99

Microsoft Zune Home AV Kit - Multimedia Player Kit  $19.99

Microsoft Zune Cable Pack  $26.24  

Microsoft Zune Travel Kit - Multimedia Player Kit  $19.99

The device works great but likes the openness that is needed to fully use this type of product. Example being it does not sync with media player, a lot of people use media player and have taken a lot of time creating play list that can not be used. The Zune software for the computer is not that good.
 
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This offering from Microsoft has so far lived up to my expectations, and passed them. The pad is incredibly easy to use and makes scrolling seem archaic. I would agree with other users that an equalizer might be nice, and the supplied ear buds are less than adequate. A power supply that doesn't require USB connection should be standard. Video CD format is not supported but after conversion uploaded fine and looks great onscreen. Ipod friends give me a hard time about the purchase but every one of them want to play with it and not give back.
 
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Great new form factor and user interface in the second generation Zune. The large screen and ability to play .wmv files was a key selling point for me. Also, I love the option to be able to use the FM radio. It also connects seamless to a xBox 360 if you want.
 
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I gotta say that after getting a zune from buy.com and for a good price it is worth it. i played around with a ipod a couple of times and they a good piece of hardware but lack in some key features such as having a radio reciever and wireless connection, after owning a 80gb zune i am a believer that this is one of the best mp3 players on the market if not the best nuff said
 
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I got my 80 GB Zune and had no problem getting it setup and files synced with the unit, both via USB and Wireless. The only problem I did discover was what appears to be a known issue of the battery draining if shut off using the method in the documentation. If shut off normally the battery looses it charge. I did some surfing and found others were seeing this problem and the recommendation was to hold down the back button and down button at the same time to totally shut the unit down. This did resolve the problem, but it does take a little longer to come back up when this method is used, but is better than going to use the unit only to find the battery is almost depleted using the method Zune recommends. Based on my research it appears it has to do with the latest firmware version. Hopefully Zune will fix the issue and put out a new firmware version to correct the problem, but until then I will continue to use the method that does work and saves the battery charge.
 
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Well i have had my 80g zune for about a month now and out love to tell you how bad it was or that it didnt work or what not, but that is certainly not the case with it. Im a student and take it with me like its a second heart. I workout with it and use it while im working on my art work in class. I had the first gen. 30g zune before this one and let me just say that the navigation of the new 80g zune is incredible. Not only is it easier to get through a large amount of artest but it almost feels like it knows the exact song i am wanting to go to. I find it stoping right where i need to and find it incredible. For anyone with a hectic schedule i highly recomend getting this.
 
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I managed to get this player for $239 before it's sold out again. All I can say about Zune 80 is it is a great replacement if you want to stay away with the Apple product. 1).The sound quality is great thanks to the included Zune premium earbuds. But there is no EQ option which is little bit disappointing for some hardcore music fans. 2).The touch pad of new generation Zune is a superior feature over iPod's click wheel. You will find it's so easy to use just by swipe your thumb once. After using Zune for a while, I can no longer use iPod's click wheel because it's just awkward... 3).Zune's screen is twice as big as iPod and it's actually made of glass with a nice layer of anti-reflection coating. But since Zune doesn't have LED-based backlight as iPod does, the screen will appear little darker than iPod. The back of the new Zune is made of aluminium which is very scratch resistant. 4). I find the FM tuner useful because I go to gym very often; the social and wireless sync feature is not useful unless you have friends who also have Zune. 5).Battery life is shorter than what I expected But the biggest downside I found about Zune is not product itself. Zune software seems like a simplified WMP that it's not easy to import and organize songs and videos as iTunes does. The most frustrating thing about Zune software (up to now) is it's not intelligent enough to find out which part of your collection has corrupted file. It will simply crash until you find the corrupted file and delete it. The only good thing about Zune software is it supports Vista 64bit system, which is a good news for high-end users. 6). If you have a huge collection of music form iTunes store, stay away with all Zune product, because Zune store and Apple store have different DRM formats that won't let you to use the library for the other. But as long as your collection is DRM free, you should be fine. Overall, if you are looking for a music player besides iPod Touch, Zune 80 is probably the best you can get out of $250 range. So you got to put Zune 80 on your list!
 
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My 80gb Zune came after three days, which was great. I opened it, charged it, and played it. It played just as it was supposed to. Other students at my high school saw that I had it, and they said, "You have a Zune? I want one!" So, for the people that don't want an Ipod, this is a great product. People that have 80gb Ipods all said that they wished they had gotten a Zune instead of an Ipod. It has a bigger screen, a glass screen, wireless syncing, wireless sharing, touch pad (I let the people that had Ipods try it out, and they said it was a lot easier to use that the scroll wheel. I have had absolutely no problems with my Zune (I've had it for about a month so far) so I rate the 80gb Zune a 5 out of 5. Get one if you haven't yet.:)
 
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The Zune has (so far) met my expectations. Form factor is great: unit is small, yet sturdy, and controls are easy to navigate. Two small issues: 1) No equalizer. The supplied earbuds are heavily bass-biased -- far too "boomy" for my listening taste (classical music). Acoustically neutral headphones show the sound from the Zune is actually quite weak on bass. Why no equalizer? 2) Setup and intitial sync were flawless. I then began ripping CD's from my collection using the Zune software. Unfortunately, this led to Zune repeatedly crashing, taking my entire system with it, requiring a hard-reboot each time. After nearly an hour on the phone with tech support, the problem was traced to a file that had become corrupt in the ripping process. Once that file was removed from the sync list, all was well.
 
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The Zune is far superior to the ipod in my opinion,the ease of us,performance is wonderful.BUT! the zunes software does not compare to the ipods,the ipods software is much better by far.
 
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I had an iPod shuffle, which was ok, but I was ready to upgrade to a larger mp3 player. These are my reasons for choosing the 80gb Zune over the 80gb iPod Classic: -the Zune's screen is larger and is made of scratch-resistant glass -music to be loaded onto your Zune doesn't have to be converted to another format like it does when you use iTunes. -the Zune software monitors your selected music folders and automatically adds any new music to your collection. -the Zune can perform a wireless sync with your music collection. -the premium Zune headphones are MUCH more comfortable than the iPod headpones. -your Zune can shuffle all of your music, or you can sort by artist, album or song. You can also add music to a "quick list" (like a playlist)on your Zune. The only thing I would change about the quick list is there isn't an option to shuffle your quick list - it just plays all of the songs you add in the order you added them. Maybe they'll update this on a later version of the software. -the Zunepad is very user-responsive and allows for easy scrolling through your collection. -Zune is fully charged in 3 hours, iPod Classic takes 4 hours. -the Zune just looks more stylish.
 
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We purchased a Creative Zen Vision: M 30 GB last spring and this Zune 80 GB January 2008. We like them both but find the Zune somewhat more intuitive therefore easier to use. The Zune's larger capacity is an obvious plus. There are also more accessories available for the Zune. As the Zen is apparently no longer available (Creative opted to go with all flash based memory? Not sure we grasp the thinking behind this), the Zune is the obvious next best choice as far as we are concerned.
 
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Love this Zune, slimmer design is nice, viewing screen is large, easy software, not real pleased with the ear buds that came with it but put ones on from old Zune and all is well. Highly recommended.
 
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love it...all i need now is a case
 
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Compared with the IPOD the Zune is far less than what I expected. I like that the Zune has a built in radio, but the Zune does not have any of the built in extras that the IPOD has.
 
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I have had my zune for about 10 days now and it is just as good (if not beter) that my 80gb Ipod. Microsoft totally revamped the platform with the 2nd generation zune.It's not really comparable to the Ipod touch because the touch is really a different type of device made for different reasons, so I will compare it to the Ipod classic with the same price and storage ability. I would say the biggest advantage over the Ipod is the new zune pad. It serves as a directional pad where you can click right, left, up, down and the center select button. This makes it very easy to be precise and choose what you want the first time, which is difficult to do with the classic Ipod wheel. But it also works as a touch pad. You can use it to go up and down and side to side by keeping you finger on the pad, (almost like a computer touch pad), or you can slide your finger across swiftly to activate a Flywheel affect. It mimics the sense of momentum the faster and or more you "flick" it. It is very simple to move down a long list and then stop where you want. The screen is beautiful, bright and measures 3.2 inches, an obvious advantage over the classic Ipods. The screen is also made of glass, so it is easier to clean and, much more resistant to scratches that any other player out there. The interface is simple and all of the music and video that I had formatted for the Ipod works flawlessly on the Zune, It read AAC files as mp4s.(this excludes media purchased from Itunes). The zune store is much like Itunes, with nearly as many choices, and while the zune software is not the best it lets you get stuff done pretty well. This will almost certianly be better after a few updates. The zune still has wifi for music sharing and you can now sync your collection wirelessly. Great idea! I think this device is very worthy of competing with the Ipod and a gteat peice of Technology. Oh yea, It also comes with PREMIUM ear buds whch are much better than anything packaged with any other player, and a built in fm radio.
 
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The Zune 80GB media player is a capable alternative to the iPod Classic. It has several advantages, including wireless syncing and wireless product purchase as well as a nifty scroll pad that works like a charm. However the software provided for the Zune seems a little buggy, particularly when it comes to naming and sorting the songs according to artists. If just one of the songs on an album has a featured artist with the main artist, it automatically classifies it as various artists. This is totally inaccurate. Another major shortcoming is the inability to edit entries of any kind within the software itself. All editing must be done in the original programs or players from which the song info was taken (i.e. WMP, iTunes), which is particularly irritating when the Zune software itself makes inaccurate changes. On the plus side, contrary to Apple fanboy info/statements, the Zune and its software allow the Zune to be used as a hard drive to transfer media from one computer to another as long as the Zune software is installed on those computers; pretty convenient for multiple-computer owners with scattered media libraries, don't you think? All things considered, the Zune device is a winner, but the software needs serious retooling.
 
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I was skeptical when I bought this for my son for Christmas. But it was what he wanted. After lloking and it and playing with it myself, I now see why he wanted it. Tons of music, videos, FM radio, and ease of use make this a great MP3 player. The only negative is that the web site is not easy to use.
 
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Finally the Zune arrived after a long wait since I placed my order for it. With much anticipation I pulled it out of the nice packaging. To my surprise all I saw on the Zune was a message - 3 Please Wait. I installed the Zune software on my Windows XP SP2 with much ease. Somehow the Zune device did not show that it was working. Nothing I could do was seemingly going to fix it. While the Please Wait stayed in my face adamantly. Not to be thwarted by its efforts from pleasing my wife who desperately wanted a mp3 player I read all tech helps on Zune. None addressed my concern - all said press the back and the top button and Zune will reset; mine did not even respond to that. So after 3 days of debugging I got the MSFT Zune support. To my utter consternation no meaningful suggestion were ever given. All I got was the buttons must not be working and I would need to return just the device so that the buttons can be fixed. With the doubts still in my head I did what I should have done a long time ago; let the Zune die ( let its battery run out). The next day the Zune was at message 2. I connected it to my PC and tried everything but to no avail to get Zune dispalyed in the left side of my Zune software. I guess time to remove and reinstall the Zune software. Another nightmare, Zune was removed but not from my Add/Programs. Long story short got a Registery Cleaner and went through deleting all Invalid path and file names. I had to let my Zune die several times before I could reconnect and voila it was there in the left corner of the Zune software. I had some mp3 sitting around that I synced to the Zune. The connected and synced message on my Zune were the most benign words I had ever seen in the last 7 days of my hectic struggle with it. My next struggle was playing the songs as I experienced the shutdown and hang of the device now and then and the dreaded message of Please Wait. The back and top button were working!!Thankfully connecting it to PC resolved that only to be greeted to update the firmware. With the update my installed mp3 were washed away. No problem in syncing though what a relief. I wish the software could at least prompt if the user knew and agreed to the term and condition of upgrade that the contents of Zune would be wiped away if firmware is upgraded. Maybe someone who has spent more than 21hrs of debuggin Zune has figured this out, I have not. Now all I need to do is get social. If my debugging allows me some time may be soon I will. Or I will ship it in the prepaid UPS box that MSFT support has sent me to fix its "buttons".
 
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I adore the new Zune. I have been terribly impressed by it since receiving the surprisingly small box from Buy.com. Microsoft has done a great job of providing an experience from the very opening of the box. Filling the Zune up with music was simple enough, but this was mostly because I preordered the Zune and therefore had time to download and learn the software that accompanies the player. The software, despite many people disliking it, it not so bad. It is regrettable that Microsoft does not simply allow us to use WMP11, but the Zune software is very slick, so the loss is not so great. The player itself looks fantastic. It is far more boxy than anything I have used, but the size of it still fits comfortably in my hands. The Zune's interface is very well polished and full of neat effects. The squircle is an excellent control pad - the touch controls are wonderful. Flicking your finger across the squircle in a list causes a wonderful physics-like effect sort-of like spinning a wheel. Sound quality seems fine, an audiophile friend of mine borrowed the player and gave it a listen through a set of high-end Shure earphones and said that, for the most part, it sounds very good. I have had no troubles with sound quality through both the included headphones or speakers. I use the player mostly for audio, but I have sampled the video and it looks nice. The screen is plenty bright and the video seems sharp, although I find it difficult to watch anything on a device of this size. Album art looks very nice, though, on the now playing screen, although if the image is of low quality, it is painfully apparent. As for the included headphones, it should be noted that they are not the normal cheap earbuds included with almost ever popular player these days. They are the Zune Premium in-ear phones which seem to retail for $40. They have good sound quality, but I am not much of an audiophile so I do not know if others think so. There are a number of nice touches, though, including a nylon-wrapped cord which adds durability and little magnets in the back of each earpiece, allowing them to stick together when not in use, preventing tangles. Overall, the package is an excellent buy and well worth the price.
 
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Totally beats the iPod classic. Social, wireless, send music to friends. Also a HUGE screen for videos. I will admit the iPhone is better but come on it is also a phone. Except the Zune is A LOT more durable. I have seen and heard many cases where people are cracking their iPhone's screen. The Zune has a really sturdy screen and plus you can get a case for it. For an iPhone a case would be kind of awkward because most of it's value is how sleek it looks (Zune still looks good though even with case) and you need to be able to touch the screen. Also friggen 80Gb of space, come on I am so there. But someone might say "well the iPod classic comes in 160Gb" Well first off there is no way you are going to will up 160Gb of space with just music, I say just music because videos on that small screen are pointless. Only real con: No DivX / Xvid support. it is a pain in the butt to convert my videos. Yet iPods do not have the support either so it is not a big deal.
 
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I have owned the 5.5G Ipod 80Gb for the last year or so. When I was first contemplating a media player, I looked at the Zune 30 because of the screen size but the smaller 30Gb drive was a no go. So I was stuck with the Ipod since they were the ones with the biggest hard drive. And I admit I was happy with my Ipod in most respects. But the Zune 80 is the player that everybody was waiting for; some serious competition to the Ipod. I've just had it for a week now and I haven't loaded any songs yet. But I loaded about 40 videos that I had encoded for my Ipod. They worked flawlessly in the new Zune player. The screen size is bigger, nearly twice because of the landscape mode. The standard earphones are about the best that I have seen with any player. They are kind of noise reduction earphones. All in all, I'm happy with my new Zune so far. Will know more in a few months. With Apple screwing up the sound quality in their new lineup and Microsoft coming out with a better alternative, a shift in the market is predicted.
 
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What you can't see in the product photos is the way the "Zune pad" (the big center control that looks a little like a d-pad) works. Yes, it clicks and rocks like its counterpart on the Zune 30. But it's also touch-sensitive, which means that you need only skim your finger across the surface to scroll. Even cooler, if you flick your finger across the pad several times, the scrolling gets faster, exactly as if you were spinning a weighted scroll wheel. And when you stop touching the pad, the scrolling gently slows to a halt--again, just as if you were manipulating a physical device. If you want to stop the scrolling immediately, simply tap the pad. It's hard to describe this new interface well. I find it even more intuitive than the iPod's clickwheel. (I'm always trying to "spin" the clickwheel the wrong way.) If you see one (either in a bricks-and-mortar store or in a friend's hand