Here is a quick recap for those that are not familiar with the Zune player. The Zune player is Microsoft’s entry in to the crowded media player market that is currently owned by the folks at Apple. The media player was recently redesigned and updated to a new version (2.5) last spring. Ok, now that you are caught up, check out the review.
The first thing I noticed about the player was the simple design; two buttons and a scroll pad that is very sensitive (in a good way). You can quickly set the volume or scroll up or down through your songs (or video) with it. I really like the exterior and the controls are fairly intuitive. The navigation is clean and simple, not busy or crowded and with the ability to change wallpapers you can customize it as much as you want.
If you are used to iTunes, the Zune marketplace can take some getting used to. It looks and feels like a flash application with its cascading pages and slick graphics. Once you get used to it you can easily navigate around to download songs and podcasts or drag and drop items to your Zune quickly.
Zune recently added video its Marketplace so you can find shows from Sci-Fi (only the old BSG, boo!), NBC (for your 30 Rock needs) and Comedy Central (Chappelle bitches!) and download them to your player. The 2.5 spring update also added an Auto Playlist feature, so now any time I add new songs from The Roots to the player they get added automatically to a playlist I set up.
For fans of Pandora or Last FM there is the Zune Social, which is a music based social network. You can check out artist pages and see what friends are listening to as well as share music.
One feature that I liked was the ability to manage more than one Zune unit at the same time. I thought it was cool to be able to quickly and easily flip between units. Another cool feature is the FM tuner; it works well and is great for checking out local music while on the road.
The wireless features on the Zune are pretty cool, specifically the ability to send songs to another user. Once you send a song the recipient can listen to the full song up to three times. Another cool wireless feature is the ability to sync music from a wireless network via your charger.
For those of you who can’t commit to a music purchase or have tastes that vary from month to month, the Zune Pass may be your new best friend. The Zune Pass allows you to download as many songs you want on to your player (plus 3 computers) for a flat monthly rate (about $15). That is not a bad deal since most people get tired of listening to the same music every month anyway. Now some songs and albums on Zune Marketplace are only available as a purchase, while others are only available on the Marketplace. For example, I grabbed Erykah Badu’s entire New Amerykah album but the song "Honey" was only available as a download. FYI - If you want to burn the songs to a CD then you will have to purchase the songs with Microsoft points.
I have used several media players, from the iPod to some of the more generic players on the market, and so far I have enjoyed the Zune player the most. The Zune has some great accessories like the noise isolating, premium headphones ($40), the compact AC adapter ($30) and a home A/V pack ($80) that has a charging dock, wireless remote and video output cables for displaying videos on your TV. All in all the Zune is an affordable, intuitive and well designed media player.
