BillaBong6

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First things first. I loved my iPods --- 20gb classic, 2gb nano, and clip on shuffle. They are great music players, although I could care less about iTunes (i use vPod), they have been good to me throughout the years.

But this Xmas, the GF got me the Zune 80gb. She knows I needed a 'BIG' hard drive for all my media (pix,vids,audio), and since I own a 360 and knows I love it, she wanted to stick with the microsoft product line. and man could I not be happier.

In almost every way, the Zune tops the iPods I have owned. It looks sexier (really, it does) as it has a awesome glass screen and cool fonts. Background images are great and add uniqueness to it.

But new tactile square-wheel is actually superior to the scroll wheel, as you can fly in any direction you want. FM Radio is a great addition, as I even had the radio plugin for my iPod though.

My favorite part though is definitely the video playback. Man is it awesome. The screen is looks beautiful and movies are crisp. TV-out option also seems promising (although I didn't use it yet). I'm watching "The Office Season 1" right now.

Another amazing feature is the wireless sync. FINALLY i don't need a frickin cord to xfer songs! I don't know anyone else with a Zune so I havent been able to use the zune-to-zune sharing yet :(

Oh, and the earbuds that came with it are the best I've ever owned. I think they are Bose. They are sweet!


Zune software kicks the crap out of iTunes FTW. I really despise iTunes.

Although I have used iPods my whole life, I think Microsoft really is giving Apple a strong competitor. Its actually better than the iPod, but I think Apple's marketing is better. The only iPod im gonna keep is the clip-on one for when I work out.


Anyone else out there have a Zune? How do you like it? I'm ready to put my iPods on ebay cause this baby rocks!!! I can't stop using it! Its so much 'funner' than the iPod too!

Just expressing my excitement that Microsoft has released a stellar product. Sorry for ranting, but the Zune really is better than the iPod. Hehe, at least I think so. I'll probably get the GF the pink Zune for Valentines day, so I have someone to share songs with

CWB

there was/is a thread or two in the BOTH about the zune sales on "woot.com" . check/post in that thread as several of the members have purchased the zune player and posted their findings .

but i agree , the zune is superior to the ipod in many aspects .
to my notion mac products have always been "a little off the mark" , but that is just one man's opinion .

BackdoorJesus

I have a 30GB first gen Zune & my daughter got one for christmas too, and since MS upgraded everyone's firmware they both run the same interface as the second-gen Zunes.

We simply love em...yeah the video quality is fabulous and they're just sweet little players with an easy-to-use interface.

I wouldn't say they "pwn" the iPod - the players are pretty close to one another with the Zune having a couple cool extra wireless/radio features the iPod doesn't (plus that vid quality does seem better in the Zune). The big iPod advantage I see at the moment is that 90% of the accessories & other A/V equipment you see out there is "iPod" compatible, meaning you can't just plug your Zune into the dock that comes with your Sony Home Theater & you have to look around to find the one set of external speakers "made for Zune" or else use the generic headphone jack.

You would think MS would have been a little smarter & used a plug configuration like the iPod's, but I imagine they ARE a little smarter & since they didn't then that indicates that Apple has made that interface proprietary (how un-Apple-like ).

Ah well it isn't too much of a setback - I did get a nice Altec-Lansing dock/speakers for my kid & her Zune, and my Pioneer car stereo accepts a standard dual RCA jack aux input so I'm set with anything I personally need for my Zune.

Long story short - yeah Zunes are teh cool shit mang.

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Wabash9000

you know what the biggest problems are with the zune's?

they are not ipod's!

if I were to carry a zune with me nobody would ever know what it was. 90% of people have never heard of it or have any interest in it. hand me an ipod and people know what I'm using and that I have good tastes in mp3 players.

fm radio is an alright feature, but honestly I don't know many people that use it anymore. I have 2500 songs on my ipod no reason to get new ones, especially when 85% of what's on the radio is crap and 14% are older songs.

wireless sync sounds cool but I have heard from people that have them they it is hard to connect sometimes and most of the time that it takes forever to sync.

itunes vs zune: I don't know why people dislike itunes. personally I have had very few issues with it. it allows me to do everything I would want to do with my music. I guess it's only fault is I have to boot the zune software to share music with my 360( which I never do because it is a game console not a music system). I have never had a good experience with the zune software. I used to run x64 xp and the zune software is Not made to work with that version of windows, great job Microsoft don't support the people that are probably the biggest power users.

The zune just doesn't feel right in my hand either. I held one and back felt crappy and cheap and it just felt like I was holding a piece of cardboard.

My last issue with the zune is the lack of after-market support. There are hundreds of docks and players for the ipod but from what I have found there are only a few decent ones for the zune. Also I use my ipod in my car with a direct link to my head-unit so I can play mp3's on my ipod and control them with my radio. the closest thing to this I have found for the zune is a fm transmitter, or aux inputs from the headphone port, fuck that shit.

In conclusion the ipod started the revolution and it's going to take a hell of a product with an after-market that is good from the beginning to take down the king, and the zune isn't it. sure it has some nice features but it just isn't revolutionary enough or radical enough to catch the attention of the general public.