alseltzer's Full Review: Microsoft Zune Black (30 GB) MP3 Player
Hello darlings!
To be fair – some STD you have to pay for too, but those come with some pleasure at least. Now to the review dear ones, onto the breach!
The beginning of it all.
The Hyundai Santa-Fe of SUVs! The Jay Leno of US stand-up! The letter “A” of the alphabet (a wickedly over-rated letter)! The Zune! What do all these things have in common? The fact they are large and boring. To set facts straight, I need to clarify that I am a simpleton. I like my women frank, my friends honest, and my family loyal. I also like my media players drag & drop, simple to use, effective, and affordable. Unfortunately Zune is none of those things.
1. Space – 30 Gigs
A plenty of space for a plenty of media, you can fit 6,000-10,000 songs on it, or a dozen of DVD quality movies, or of course you could have a load of your favorite podcasts on the player and feel superiorly educated to everyone else. I for one, hate podcasts. There’s really not much to say about the presence of 30 Gigs of space – it’s a lot.
2. Transferring media to Zune
Whichever mozzie (Microsoft zombie) came up with the idea of “syncing” seriously needs to get his brains washed by the Chinese Politburo. Horrible idea, and I’ll tell you why.
There is no drag and drop on this player, therefore all you need to do is select whichever media you want to be synced with your player and then it happens; sounds lovely but the problem is in execution.
Firstly, it took me absolute ages to get used to the syncing software that mozzies wrote up, it simply takes too much thinking and work to figure out where you need to go and click which buttons to add one song to the player. I felt like an inadequate mouse in a maze.
Secondly, let’s say that you do add the song/s that you wanted. Next you turn on your Zune and try to find the song… where is it? Well, here’s the case when Zune becomes your master and you spend the next minutes trying to locate where the buggery your $250 machine deposited that song/s. Not my idea of effectiveness.
Thirdly, mozzies think so lowly of us (masses), that they decided to include “Auto Sync” option in their software. I reckon it was meant for those of us who can’t master drag & drop. Fair enough. To get to the chase; if you turn on auto sync – the software will just take whatever it can find in specified folders and add it to the player in any fashion it sees fit. Therefore, yet again – all your songs end up upside down and in wrong folders.
Fourthly, of course, like the IPod – Zune converts all music to it’s own format, and that takes time. It also has to convert movies and often they don’t work. Too much work. Too much hassle.
3. In-player interface
Nice enough, easy enough, alike to IPod or any mainstream player that has a circle doing most commands. Mozzies say it’s intuitive, I say it’s good enough. Nothing fantastic, works easily, simple to control.
4. Design and durability
Sleek and sturdy, say mozzies. A brick is a brick, say I. Now, I’m not being rude. A brick is durable, isn’t it? Absolutely, it’s brick, it was made to be durable. In fact I think that a Zune, if properly used will last longer than a regular brick. So, sturdy? Yes. A brick’s design is, however, a different story. The Zune is chunky, rectangular and fairly large. I prefer my players less bulky, more petite, and with a bit of personality. Zune’s not my type of girl.
5. Sound quality.
Great quality, absolutely nothing to complain about.
6. IPod killer?
I don’t fancy IPods either, so they can murder each other all they want, preferably until they’re both dead, and players with real personalities can prevail. And what is this Microsoft’s desire to kill everything? Someone needs to give Steve Ballmer a chill-pill.
7. The social
The overhyped social networking, where you can listen to your friends' songs via wireless technology, if your friend is located nearby. You can't even take the songs! There's a trial period for listening!
Frankly, me and my friends have very different music tastes, so this is completely useless.
The conclusion.
The Zune is chunky, spacious, and as boring as licking wallpaper on a Monday night. It does the job when it comes to storing music and movies, and it does a good job playing them. Battery is strong, lasting through a dozen hours for music and a few hours for video. Not amazing, but took me across a few cross-pacific flights on one charge. I bought mine for $250. I struggled with it for a year and then sold it to my friend for $50, like a stone off my shoulders.
Humble advice
Need a player for music only? Go for something from Sony, SanDisk, Samsung or Cowon. Less space, but much cheaper and doesn’t weigh the pocket down (literally). Want to watch videos? Add $250 and buy a small laptop. You’ll be able to watch anything you want on a proper screen, do your work, surf internet, and maybe even play games, if hardware allows. My conservative advice to you: don’t waste your time watching podcasts on the train, and stare at all the beautiful women… or men.
A bonusreview
The Zune carkit is a waste. Of everything. Your money. World's resources Your time.
Package contents
- The Zune - USB wire - Earphones - Manual - CD with the software - The actual box
Off I go! Enjoy yourselves!
Alex
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 250 Recommended for: Audio Book Listeners - Download Audio Books and Radio Programs
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