Zune 80 GB Digital Media Player (Red)

I've owned 5 different kinds of iPods, as well as the original Zune, and I must say, that this product is by far the best of the group. I spent the day trying to return my iPod Classic (80GB) so that I could get my hands on one of these---and I had to look just about everywhere in town to find one.
Is this better than the iPod Classic? Undoubtedly. I can make a fair comparison, as I have been toying with the Classic for the last two weeks. I've had iPod Nanos (first and third generations), 3 iPod Videos (5G), and an iPod Classic (80GB). The iPod is a fine product line, but I had too many bad experiences with the 5G video to want to keep them. I heard that the Z80 came out so I went and bought that one instead.
I'm going to spend most of my time here discussing how the Zune 80 compares to its predecessor, the Zune 30, as well as the iPod line--as it has set the standard for mp3 players for the last few years.

Screen- The glass screen looks much better than the original Zune's plastic one. The 320X240 resolution looks great. It looks far better than the Classic's screen. You can turn it sideways to take full advantage of it while watching videos. The iPod Classic's screen can only be viewed from one direction, and it has for the most part remained the same since the fifth generation. The video quality is great. Although this is technically the same resolution as the ipod Classic, nano, and Zune 4 and 8, it still manages to look great because of its size and clarity. You will notice that the quality on the smaller Zune appears sharper, but that's only because there are more pixels per square inch on them, due to the smaller size. Still looks awesome. This screen is slightly larger than the 1G Zune, but overall it is still smaller in both thinness and height. The glass screen is far more durable than the plastic one, and after a few months of testing it now I can say that it does not scratch easily, if at all.
Build- This thing is built to last. It feels a lot denser and sturdier than the last year's model. The first generation Zune couldn't win a beauty contest by a long shot--but I think this one's a winner. Aluminum back reminds me of the iPod line, although it's much better because it is brushed metal. (Meaning you don't have to keep it in a glass case, and bring out gloves when you want to handle it, like you did with the iPods). The paint, believe it or not, is actually very difficult to scratch. I've put it in my pocket with my keys, and the screen nor the paint scratches. I wouldn't want purposefully subject it to such tests, but it happened, and it's still in pristine condition. I scratched the back of my iPod Classic the first day I got it because of the glossy metal back. Scratching the back of your iPod is inevitable. I really don't see a need for a case.
Zunepad- The iPod's scroll wheel was a nice piece of work when it first came out. The Zunepad is better. Bold statement? Maybe. But I can now navigate via touch controls in four different directions as opposed to two with the iPod. And it is very easy to do so. I was skeptical at first, but Microsoft nailed it. You can choose if you want to flick your fingers across the "squirqle" to play your music, or you can just press the buttons to navigate. Nothing against Apple, but the scrollwheel on the Classic wasn't nearly as sensitive as the 5th generation iPod video's. Aren't you supposed to make progress when you release new hardware? I had problems with my Classic's scrollwheel's sensitivity. I can definitely see myself navigating menus much faster using the Zunepad.

A few things that I've noticed: Zunepad doesn't work with gloves of any sort (most of the time). Not that big of a problem, but I have noticed something interesting. Even the analog buttons underneath the Zunepad do not work if you are wearing gloves. It must sense that your skin is actually touching it to work correctly. I found that rather odd. I get some response out of it, but it usually doesn't respond the way you want it to. This is a big deal for me, as it is getting cold. Taking off your gloves to change a song is a burden, although I still enjoy using it more than I did the scrollwheel (which worked with gloves.) I've tried cotton, leather, and suede. This sounds crazy, but it is my biggest gripe with the Zune 80.
Firmware- Not too much different from the original, aside from aesthetics. It just looks pretty. Oversized letters are nice to look at, in addition to some decent animations. You can set your own backgrounds, as opposed to having the iPod Classic automatically flowing album art in the back (I hated that). The "twist" interface is much easier to use than that of the Ipod. I'm pretty sure I can get to a song much faster than someone with an Ipod. It works similar to a spreadsheet, as you have artist, songs, albums etc. listed at the top, with the contents of the respective categories listed below. A simple f lick to the right or left immediately changes categories. Microsoft definitely wins in this department.

Radio- You'd have to pay for this if you bought an Ipod Classic. Although I don't use it, it is still nice to have.

Zune Software- I'll be honest, I've been using itunes for a few years now, and I hate it. When I bought the original Zune, I thought that escaping itunes would be a good thing. I was wrong. The original software was abysmal. BUT, the new software is a vast improvement. It's almost too simple. And it's also easy on the eyes. I may consider using this as my default player from now on---something that I would have never done with the original software. The reason why I got rid of my original Zune in favor of the iPod classic was the software. I was tired of using it. Now I have more reason to keep my Zune.
After using it for awhile, I have noticed a few quirks with this software, mainly that it seems to sync a small group of songs over and over again. I see this being fixed by Microsoft's next update. I've been using it for awhile now, and I am not entirely as optimistic about it as when I wrote this review. It is STILL superior to itunes, and definitely the original software, but they need to fix a few issues with it. Namely the syncing options. The software recognizes some of the videos in the mpeg 4 format, but not all. I am thinking that this might have been a problem with the conversion software (Xvid->mpeg4).

The sound quality, which is probably the most important part of this review, is great. One problem is that they removed the equalizer, so what you hear is what you get. That wasn't a smart move on Microsoft's part. I think it sounds louder than an iPod, but I'm not an audiophile by any means.
Premium earbuds. These are alot nicer than most other stock headphones. They're the in-ear type, and they will take some getting used to if you've never used them. Bass response is a plus. I tried them earlier and they are comparable to my more expensive Sony's.

DRM- I don't know alot about this category, so look at the comments that people have left at the end of this review. I don't use this type of content. I do understand that anything downloaded from itunes will not work on the Zune. So if your entire library was downloaded on itunes, don't get this MP3 player. It's their way of making sure you continue to buy their products, as well as preventing piracy.

Wireless sync. I really can't use this. I hear it works nicely though. I can't really imagine using it, so take this one as you will. I really don't see the big deal about this. If I'm syncing my music, I want my Zune to charge as well. Maybe this feature is for lazy people, but I don't see it as useful.

Drive usage. You can't put anything on here that doesn't run through the Zune software. In other words--You won't be using this as a portable hard drive, even though most of us will not fill it up with music. You can do whatever you please with an iPod. There ARE hacks online that require you to alter your registry available online. Google is your friend. Try it at your own risk.

Battery life- Okay, the battery life isn't too shabby when just playing mp3's. I went a weekend with reasonable use without having to recharge it (forgot usb chord in the car). Battery life with video isn't good at all, but I don't think it was too far off from that of the Classic iPod. I'd prefer the large screen and lesser battery life over that of the Classic any day.


Conclusion-

I'm not a Micro$oft fanboy, contrary to what this review might look like. I've owned nothing but ipods before owning the 1G Zune. I must say that this seems to be the best one I've owned, and I don't regret returning my Classic.
It's easier to use, has a nicer screen, very generous capacity, great sound and video playback, a built in radio, and sleek design.

If the iPod Classic can earn four stars, this definitely gets five, as it is the superior mp3 player---by a longshot. It's not without its shortcomings, but they are forgivable, considering we've been under "ipod control" for the last few years.

That's about all I can think of. Hope this helps.

[UPDATE 4]

The rating is actually 4.5/5, but since Amazon doesn't allow fractions, I put down 4 stars.

[Disclaimer]I work for Microsoft. I think I have been objective in this review--you can draw your own conclusions.[/Disclaimer] Also know that I do not work in the division that makes the Zune, so I have no insider information.

Let's start with my likes and dislikes of the Zune 80:

THE GOOD
* Beautiful, bright, large, glass (not plastic) screen. The size (3.2") is so much better for viewing videos and pictures.
* Size and weight (lighter than iPod Classic).
* Capacity (80 GB).
* Built-in Wi-Fi and associated wireless sync.
* ZunePad.
* UI (both of the device and the PC software).
* FM radio.
* Ability to rent music (allowing one to listen to whole songs before deciding whether to buy or not).
* Build quality.
* Customizable backgrounds.

THE NEUTRAL
* Wi-Fi sharing--if there aren't enough Zuners around you, this is not of much use.
* Simplification of the 5-point song rating scale to a 2-point (like/dislike) scale.

THE BAD
* None of the Zunes work as mass storage devices (portable hard drives)--every other player on the market has this ability, so why not the Zunes?
* Automatic playlists are no more.


Now for a more detailed review of some features...

SYNC-ING: USB OR WIRELESS?

Here's the deal: Over-The-Air (OTA, aka wireless) syncing is going to be slower that USB syncing, but more convenient. So use USB sync for bulk transfers (e.g., when you sync your Zune 80 for the first time ), and OTA sync for smaller, incremental transfers (e.g., nightly updates). To realize the usefulness of wireless syncing, consider this setup: keep the Zune dock connected to your Home Theater (HT) receiver in the living room, then when you put your Zune in the dock, the player gets charged, the music gets synced and you can play your Zune's music through your HT setup! I think the wireless sync is a very useful feature and finally MS is beginning to realize the potential of the on-board Wi-Fi (though more is possible).

MUSIC: RENT OR BUY?

Both. Renting music allows me to try out unlimited number of songs an unlimited number of times. Buying allows me to not worry about keeping up a subscription--I know that my favorite songs will always be with me. Renting also works well for "in" or "hip" music--this type of music typically gets overplayed and becomes boring before long. The subscription model allows me to fill up my Zune with the latest music for (say) a party, while keeping my options open for permanently acquiring some songs. The Zune Marketplace supports both models.

ZUNEPAD

The ZunePad is a great combination of D-pad (Directional-pad) and a trackpad. It took me all of 30 seconds to get used to it. Scrolling through long lists of songs is a breeze and fun too ;-). You swipe up, down, left or right to navigate the Zune. A quick flick of your thumb will send a long list of songs scrolling in the intended direction, and a touch on the ZunePad will stop the scrolling (the scroll will come to a natural rest too). The whole action is very intuitive and works as expected--for example, the speed of list scrolling is proportional to the speed of your upward or downward swipe.


COMPARISON

It is inevitable to compare any new entrant in the Digital Audio Player (DAP)/Personal Music Player (PMP)/MP3 Player market to the corresponding iPod--the Zune 80's natural competitor is the iPod Classic 80 GB. To compare the Zune 80 to any other device in the iPod family would be like comparing bananas and oranges ;-).

How the Zune 80 is better:
* Larger, better screen (screen size vital when watching video)
* Wi-Fi and associated wireless sync (possibility of new features via firmware updates)
* FM radio with RDBS display (a saving of approximately 50 bucks vs. iPod Classic)
* Sound quality
* The UI is far more visually pleasing, both on the computer and on the device
* Subscription-based access to entire Zune Marketplace song catalog
* Zune marketplace has a well-developed social aspect to it (not such a big draw for me personally, but others will like it more).
* ZunePad. Thumb motions on the ZunePad are simpler than on iPod's clickwheel (or so says my right thumb, still recuperating from a serious, though unrelated, injury).

How the iPod Classic is better:
* Mass storage device capability (aka portable hard disk)
* iTunes store has bigger song collection, and has videos too
* Cover Flow (while visually snazzy, CoverFlow isn't very useful for people like me who have mostly individual tracks, not albums).


SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS

1. Enable mass storage device mode/capability (aka portable hard drive functionality).
2. Use built-in Wi-Fi to enable direct download/purchase/rental of songs from/to the device (I hope this is already in the works).
3. Bring back automated playlists.
4. Let users choose 2-point or 5-point rating scale.


I will add more to the review as I keep using the device...

There is no such thing as a perfect digital player - they ALL have some shortcomings. That being written, I am pleasantly surprised by the Zune 80 gb player. I have owned hard-drive based MP3 players since 2003 when I bought my first one. I was recently using the 5G 60gb iPod and it needed replacing so I start researching players again. After a great deal of research, I bought the Zune but didn't open it right away. I waited a few days. That was a mistake. For a few days, I just used the free Zune software. I have read some reviews that the software is terrible. I initally agreed but after learning it, I realized I reacted in haste. Sometimes it is a bigger challenge to 'unlearn' other product's software. That was my case. Now I like its simplicity. I would recommend some improvements to it though but it is fine in a general sense. The player is quite good. The sound of the music, to me, is better than my iPod. I did a direct comparision listening to the exact same songs with the same headphones on each device and that is how I drew my conclusion. I have read a review that reported a great deal of problems with synching and so forth. I have experienced none of those issues. No doubling of songs. I do see it run back through the list of everything but it isn't resynching everything. To me, it is checking the index of the Zune software's list of files to the index on the Zune looking for differences to know what to synch or ignore. Here is my list of Pros and Cons for the Zune 80.

Pros:
*Better sounding music (even without equalizer - go figure)
*Choice to use click method and/or touch. If you aren't a huge fan of the iPod click-wheel, you will really appreciate the Zune. I love that change. The touch function is more natural. To scroll up, run your finger up on the touch pad. To scroll down, run your finger down. Or just click on the top/bottom/left/right of the touch pad to navigate. Again, it really is very natural to use.
*Extremely easy on the eyes. This is a pleasure to view. Easy to read.
*Friendly navigation. Again, unlearning other players is the biggest hurdle but worth getting to know the device. Once you do, you will really like this device.
*Larger viewing screen.
*Radio - with RDBS. Very nice feature.
*Supports Podcasts. I subscribed to X-Play's video game review podcast with no problems.
*Nicer headphones included. They come with headphones that have inserts to help find a better fit.
*The quick add playlist is very friendly to use. I didn't really like the iPod one mostly because I wasn't a huge fan of the clickwheel.
*Substantial feel. It handles like a quality effort was put into it.

Cons:
*Battery life. Not long enough for me.
*Some software design improvements needed on the Zune device and the Zune software on the pc. I could list a set of improvements but I won't. They are more tweaks that I believe the development team could easily add. My field is software so I know I view things from a different perspective.

Overall: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. I am glad I did not buy another iPod. I am excited about music again thanks to this player. I am actually looking forward to buying CD's and DRM-free music. And remember, there is no such thing as a perfect digital player. Keep an open mind when you are browsing for players. There are many good choices out there, not just one. Oh, and please don't give away music. Pay for it so the artist that you love can devote their creative talents to making even more music. (No - I don't work in the music industry in any way. I just want to at least support the artists that make the music I want to hear.)

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R357K8TL4R8Q4V This video is a basic overview of the Zune. You can see how it functions, and some of the great features. At the end there are pictures of the zune software and the zune marketplace. By Marina

It's not quite as fancy as the iPod Touch but it's got a much better price. For the same cost as the 80gb iPod Classic, it's the indisputable winner. Do yourself a favor, as I did: try out the iPod Classic and the Zune.

The Zune has a screen that lies size-wise between the iPod Classic and Touch. Best of all- it's a beautiful scratch-resistant glass screen. The video and images are stunning.

I thought the iPod had a cool interface with the touch-sensitive circle. Well, Zune has it beat with the "squircle" which is a four-way click pad and a touch-sensitive brush pad. It works better than you might expect. When scrolling long lists, you lightly brush the squircle pad up or down and the list scrolls at a speed commensurate to the speed at which you brush the pad. The scrolling even slows down after a few seconds kind of a like the wheels of fruit in a slot machine. It's a cool effect hard to describe. Again, get a hold of a Zune and check it out. You'll love it.

Sound quality is excellent. I've had many earphones and listened through the iPod phones. The Zune comes with high-quality buds that sound amazing; much better than the iPod buds. I'm a musician and what my friends call a music snob. So take it from one- these sound great.

Several folks have complained about the software. It does have some quirks but is actually quite functional and simple to use. I am sure that Microsoft will continue to fine tune it and it will get better and better. You will also uncover hidden features as you use it more. The screen saver mode, which isn't obvious to find, is super cool and visually compelling. You've never seen your album art so neatly displayed.

And best of all, I have thousands of high-quality mp3's on my Zune (320kbps) and still have plenty of room. Not one single song has DRM or Apple's dreadful proprietary protection on it. I can upload and download my songs anywhere, anytime, with anyone. That's the way it should be.

With my Zune, I bought the overpriced AV and car connection kits. While they cost way too much, they are essential add-ons. In fact, they should come with the Zune. But that whole greed thing gets in the way of companies' priorities! Anyway, the kits allow me to listen to my Zune everywhere. And that's pretty much all I do. I can now listen to my huge cd collection all the time. I put my Zune on shuffle mode and get to hear songs from my collection that I haven't heard in years. I'm finally getting my money's worth from all those cds I bought and listened to only once or twice.

My Zune has already been put through its paces. I have listened to it all day long for weeks, without giving it a break, and it has never experienced a single mishap. It has performed flawlessly and made me a very happy music lover.

The price of the iPod Touch is too much to spend on a freakin' mp3 player with only 8 or even 16gb. And the Classic just doesn't "touch" the Zune. If you're licking your lips at your friend's Touch or iPhone, the Zune won't turn you on, but if you've been considering the Nano or Classic (or any other mp3 player), the Zune will impress you mightily. I've never been a Microsoft cheerleader and I've always been fond of Apple but I think the Zune really is the better mp3 player.

I have shown mine off to friends and two of them have gone out immediately and bought one. That says more than all the words I could say (or write)! It's really that cool.

I got this device yesterday and I haven't been able to keep my hands off it. I was one of many people who made fun of the v1 zune but this device is a huge improvement.

The interface of the desktop software is very clean and easy to navigate. The software on the zune works really well. The Zune pad is a big surprise. I wasn't so sure when I saw pictures of it but this touch sensitive pad is great. It makes navigating your media very effortless.

Setting up and using wireless synching was incredibly easy too.

Now for the down side:
1. Getting help when using the desktop software could use a little "help".
2. Every once in a while there's some distortion on the headphones
3. Increasing the volume while playing video isn't as easy as it is for audio

Overall, this is a great device and it's going to be my buddy for a long time.

I have been an ipod owner for many years. I always had a good experience with them, but when it was time to get a new player none of their offerings really matched what I was looking for. Yes, the itouch is beautiful, but 16gb for that price ... not gonna do it.

When I saw the second generation Zune was coming out, I checked out the specifications and decided it was time to "switch".

What I like:
1. Solid engineering; it is heavier than an ipod and a little bit bigger, but I kind of like the weight of it. I even feel cool having it because it isn't the same mp3 player I see everyone else has -- that is pretty superficial though.

2. The touch wheel is actually a nice interface. This works great even though you do have to adjust to it a little. Navigating through menus is easy and they pretty much nailed it.

3. The menu system looks and works great ... makes some other devices appear "dumb". I hate to say it is hip, but yeah it is.

4. FM Radio ... granted I am a sirius user, but I was surprised how great this feature works. I am sure I will get a little use out of that. My gym has TVs that run sound on radio frequencies, and I was never able to listen to them with my ipod.

5. It has a nice sized screen. This was a good middle ground between the itouch and the ipod classic for me. When I thought about the features of the itouch that I would actually get the most out of it was the screen. This screen seems to have a good quality and you will see my negative comments of it below.

6. Good price for the features.

7. Good sound quality and a decent pair of included ear buds. I have owned a lot of ear buds including some higher end models like shure e2s. I think they supplied a pretty good pair. Beyond just the ear buds I think I can tell the difference compared to my ipod, but that might just be a new user euphoria experience.

8. Can customize the background -- adds that personal touch.

9. Wireless syncing.

What I don't like:
1. Video quality is not bad, but it could be better. If the resolution was higher I think this would be a 5 out of 5, but it really shouldn't be a deal breaker; it still looks pretty good.

2. The zune desktop software isn't shabby at all, but it does take a little getting used to. I have noticed a few things that are lacking or not working great. This is one of those areas where, hopefully, we won't suffer for long if releases are distrubuted periodically.

3. I wish the wireless syncing was faster and there were more options of when to do it. My network is setup in a way that causes a couple of trips between systems, so I probably am adding some latency. It is a cool feature to add one song, podcast or even an album, but I would like some more automation added.



I have only had it for 2 days now, but I am really glad I decided to get this compared to the ipod classic and the itouch. Both of those players have their good points, but the Zune seems to really fit with what I want and need.

Great player - it is a good buy - I am very happy with this purchase. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars if it only had a couple of slight improvements. As another reviewer said - 4.5 stars if it was possible.

I had the Zen Vision: M for quite some time and was very happy with it. It did everything I needed it to do so I had never really thought about upgrading. Then I started putting movies on it and quickly found out that more storage capacity would be a good thing (my Zen was the 30gb). I tried everywhere to get one of these things, even signed up for notifications when they became available online via email alerts; I could never login fast enough to snag one. Then one day on a whim, I walked into my local WalMart and snagged the last one! Let the fun begin...

The unit is neither light or heavy, to me it feels just right and solid. Mine came charged to the degree that I could hook it up and sync my stuff right away had I chose to. However, I waited and plugged it in for the full charge. My Zen arrived with a depleted charge and I had to charge it overnight just to begin with it.

The software was a breeze to install (I disabled all firewalls and anti virus) and when I hooked up the Zune, it was installed no problem. I told the software where my files were that I wanted transferred from an external drive and it began immediately.

The Zune marketplace is OK. I can't find any video downloads (TV shows, movies etc) so hopefully that is coming soon. The podcasts are fantastic.

The display is fantastic on the unit with movies and video podcasts looking crisp and clear. Compared to the Zen, the screen is a wonderful upgrade.

Battery life on the music is crazy long. My Zen would struggle on 9 hours or so, but the Zune is still more than half charged after a 10 hour day at work. I haven't watched a full length video yet, so I can't comment on that. The wireless sync though, will also kill your battery life.

Here's what I don't like.

The sync connector to the Zune is flimsy. For whatever reason, it's hard to get a perfect fit into the Zune on many occasions, however, it will still sync, but the connector is at an angle. I'm afraid the connector will break, or the piece in the Zune is at risk of snapping.

Wireless sync is way too slow to be really useful at all. A video podcast that was only synced 6% of the way wireless, drained my Zunes battery more than halfway after 30 minutes. Hook it up to the PC and it's transferred in under a minute. My hope here is that the Zune will get an update on the wireless function to be able and get on the web...We can only hope.

The inability to delete anything from the Zune only by using the software is completely stupid. Any time I want to delete a picture, video, podcast etc, I have to sync up and delete it through the software. Dumb with a capital D. The Zen would let me delete anything, anytime and it does come in handy.

I don't think the Zune displays as many of the mp3 tags as the Zen. I could get the year of the album, track number, producer, and play count. On the Zune, you get album and track. That's it (unless I'm missing a button combo while the track is playing).

So for the overall upgrade, I'm pleased. But there still is room for improvement on the next update or Zune altogether.

Over 400 reviews already written here so I will try to keep my brief. I am a web developer so I am fairly good with computers, software and gadgets... just keep that in mind. Here is my take on the Zune:

PROS:
1. beautiful - very slim and sexy piece of equipment and the red is a nice touch.
2. good headphones - these are ear in semi noise-cancelling headphones. They do their job quite well. The sound is clear, deep base and they look very nice and modern.
3. georgous screen - the huge screen definitely sets this apart from the ipod. When you fly a lot then having this monitor is a huge benefit. Solid display at a good size
4. quality sound - the sound is very good in all accoustic ranges.
5. FM Radio - I still listen to it. Hello NPR!

CONS:
SOFTWARE - This is the puzzling point. Here we have a company that rewrote the book on usability with windows software, office software, internet software and so forth. Yet they give you an application that, although its intuitive in many ways, it acts at times like it has a mind of its own. Drag and drop is not a simple feature. At times you need second party software to prepare the mp3s to be recognized as belonging to the same album/folder/artist.

Let me reiterate, software is Very frustrating and it is the biggest stepping stone to getting this piece of equipment. I personally would recommend purchasing your Zune from a place that you can return it within a couple of weeks and giving the software a serious test drive. Try its audio syncing, podcast feature, video transfer and so forth. Even for someone like me who is comfortable with applications, I am stunned at how severly limited the application is.

Zune also isn't recognized as an external drive. Forget about using it to carry data from place to place. Hello, its 2008! Worst of all, you can't use windows explorer to drag and drop and manage stuff on your zune hd. This is perhaps my BIGGEST complain. You have to go through their semi-archaic software to manage your music and at times when it syncs, it will screw things up on your zunes HD; files will not belong to the correct artist, some will get deleted cause they no longer are on your PCs HD.

No Equalizer - To this day I havent found anything on how to adjust the sound...

BOTTOM LINE:
Purchase this if you wanna give it a try. Its good but only buy it from a place that you can test drive it and return it. Spend LOTS of time initially learning the software. This is going to be the big challenge. Try every aspect of the application and see if you can live with it... C+ product. God I could have sworn that Microsoft had something to do with making good software?.. If Apple had FM and a big screen on their IPOD, they would have easily won my dollar.

I almost settled for an alternative since these were so scarce, but am glad I waited.

This is a must-have if you've got a child and you want their cartoons/movies available at home, in the car, and on a plane. We previously used a portable DVD player, but dealing with discs was a pain (scratches, changing, etc). Now that we have all the kiddie movies and music on the Zune, all we need is this one device. The HomeAV pack works great at the house when we want to display it on the large TV, and the only drawback is the resolution when displaying on a large screen. It's fine for standard definition or any movies viewed on the Zune screen, but it's not HD quality when sending it to a 50" plasma. We have 83 movies and a ton of songs on the Zune, and still have 32GB available.

I was concerned the wireless features wouldn't be secure enough since our home network is locked down pretty well; however, the Zune supports multiple encryption options (including WPA) & showed the MAC address so I was able to setup MAC filtering too. After the intial setup, we don't even have to connect the Zune to the computer anymore; I can leave it in the car and sync from the garage!

This Zune is also very durable. We've used it quite a bit and it still doesn't have any scratches.