Zune 8 GB Digital Media Player Black (2nd Generation)

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Product Description
Music and entertainment, your way. That's what the Zune 8 GB Digital Media Player is designed to deliver. The Zune easily connects you with your music, videos, and pictures wherever and whenever you want, and unlike the iPod, it even has a built-in FM tuner so you can keep up with local news and sports. Your Zune gives you the power to wirelessly share full-length tracks, playlists, pictures and podcasts with your other Zune-wielding friends, and it is available in four bold colors. And when you receive songs that you just can't get out of your head, you can easily tag the songs and buy them the next time you sync up. Whether you're listening to music, radio, or rocking out to the latest music videos on the bright, roomy screen, the Zune allows you to tailor your entertainment, right in the palm of your hand. Watch a demo on Zune.

The Zune easily connects you with your music, videos, and pictures wherever and whenever you want, and it is available in four bold colors.

Share full-length tracks of your favorite songs, albums, playlists, pictures, and even audio podcasts with other Zune users.

(Red Zune shown here with Dock Pack v2 with remote, sold separately.)

Store up to 2,000 songs, 25,000 pictures, or 25 hours of video.

Get all your favorite music at the Zune Marketplace.

Simple, Innovative Controls
The Zune is a breeze to use with new, intuitive touch controls. Don't subject yourself to cumbersome, slow scrolling. The innovative new Zune pad makes browsing your music, video and picture collections fun and effortless. You'll fly through your favorites and get to just what you're looking for in no time flat. This powerhouse device stores up to 2,000 songs, 25,000 pictures, or 25 hours of video. (Please note that music estimates are based on 128 kbps WMA files, with length of 4 minutes each; pictures transferred to Zune will be optimized for Zune screen size; and video estimates are based on 500 kbps WMV files with 128 kbps WMA audio tracks.)

That's a lot of entertainment, and you'll appreciate it even more with the Zune's awesome screen. The super-slim, ultra-portable Zune sports a durable, 1.8-inch color screen that provides uncompromising portable video viewing. This Zune also comes equipped with headphones and three pairs of foam headphones covers. Your favorite music, videos, and pictures have never looked and sounded better.

FM Radio
The Zune also features a built-in FM radio tuner so that you can listen to local FM stations or tune-in programming while you're at the gym. Advanced tuning capabilities allow you to see the name of the song that's currently playing on select frequencies.

Wireless Sync
We're all exhausted by the cables and wires that tangle up our lives. Luckily, the Zune is one device that doesn't require another cord. You can easily connect to your home wireless network and sync your Zune with your PC collection of digital goodies. You can also sync using the dock, AC adapter, or speaker dock accessory (not included).

The Zune Community and Marketplace
Zune is all about sharing and community. At the Zune Online Community, you'll discover, share, and leave your musical mark. Create a Zune card and Zune profile page to reflect your musical identity. From the Zune Online Community, you can invite friends, share song recommendations, post comments, and browse member pages to unearth new tunes and connect to others who share your musical tastes.

When you're ready to purchase music and load your device with new tunes, turn to Zune Marketplace. With more than 3 million songs, DRM-free MP3s, music videos, audio/video podcasts, and more content added every day, you'll certainly get your fill. The store is always open and just a mouse click away. You can also choose between the download or subscription packages--buy individual songs and albums, or snag a Zune Pass subscription with all you can eat access to discover and explore the nooks and crannies of artists and genres.

Zune-to-Zune Sharing
Once your Zune is loaded with good stuff, you'll be ready to embrace wireless Zune-to-Zune sharing. Share full-length tracks of your favorite songs, albums, playlists, pictures, and even audio podcasts. You can listen to the full track of any song you receive up to three times, and you can even pass along songs that are shared with you to other friends. If you find a song you really love, you can easily add it to your wishlist and buy it later when you sync to your PC. When it comes to syncing and importing your music, the Zune makes it easy. Zune software can automatically import your existing music, pictures, and videos from iTunes and Windows Media Player in a variety of formats, including your existing playlists and song ratings.

Recorded TV or Movies to Go
The Zune will also automatically import TV shows or movies recorded using a PC running Windows Media Center in Windows Vista. Record all your favorites, sync to your Zune, and hit the road with your favorite TV shows right in your pocket.

Your Games. Your Music. Your Way.
Another awesome feature is the Zune's compatibility with the Xbox 360. Plug your Zune into your Xbox 360 to customize the soundtrack in supported games. You also can stream music, pictures, and videos from the Zune software on your PC to your Xbox 360 console using a wireless connection. Whether you're staying in or going out, travelling or working, the Zune can be right there with you, providing loads of entertainment direct from your pocket.

What's in the Box
Zune 8 GB Digital Media Player, headphones, sync cable, and three pairs of foam headphone covers.

Customer Reviews: Read 198 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Zune- bye, bye Zen and Windows Media too November 14, 2007
139 out of 160 found this review helpful

I have a couple of Zen MP3 players that have worked well for me for a couple of years now, but both have begun to have problems and I decided to take a chance on the new V2 Zune. It was a good decision. This is a great product. All that comes in the box is the Zune, a sync cord, earphones, and brief documentation. You need to go online and download the Zune software to a PC and then hook up the player before you can get it to do anything. This doesn't take too long and the Zune will provide you with some sample content to try out as part of this process. The Zune sounds great, with plenty of volume and a decent set of earphones. The click wheel is intuitive and masterable in just a few minutes use.

As nice as the Zune is, a pleasant surprise is the Zune software. This is really more than just a tool to sync your tunes with your Zune. It is an attractive, intuitive, easy to use full fledged media player as well. It can easily replace Windows Media Player and is better looking than any other offering out there- Apple included.

5 out of 5 stars

This is a great device November 21, 2007
77 out of 89 found this review helpful

This is my first mp3 player. I'd always thought I might like a small device that could be used while exercising, but I've hesitated to buy one because I wasn't sure how much I'd actually use it. The Zune feature that pushed me over the edge is the FM radio, which made the device too attractive not to try out. I'm extremely happy that I made the plunge and bought the Zune. I now take it everywhere and listen to music or the radio at work, on the bus, at the gym, everywhere. It has easily surpassed my bar of usefulness and utility. I'm not a big gadget person and I don't like the time and energy it takes to figure out how to use a new program or game, but the Zune user experience has been everything that I could have hoped for. The controls are simple and a pleasure to use. Right out of the box I was able to get it figured out and working. This is a great device.

3 out of 5 stars

Music To My Ears April 11, 2008
54 out of 59 found this review helpful

I opened my new 8GB Zune to the pleasant surprise of what amounted to 3 pretty simple steps to getting started:

1) Download the Zune software (required from the Zune web site). However, while a pretty simple step, it takes about 20 minutes or so to get through if you include signing up for a Zune account.

2) Load the songs you want.

3) Let the unit fully charge.

And that's it. You're ready to rock and roll. Or at least that's it for me. For now I don't see myself using the Zune for anything but music. But it should be noted that the Zune also plays videos, pictures, podcasts, FM radio and can also network with other Zune owners in your direct vicinity.

The Zune charges on any USB connection, but you won't be able to get it to do anything else until you download the cruddy software package. Did I say "cruddy" software? Let me share a few gripes:

All of the music stored in my PC library from CDs that I've ripped is Windows Audio Lossless...apx 30mb per song. With other media devices like the iPod, Zen or Walkman they automatically convert to much smaller mp3 files (like 3mb per song) when syncing. But the 8GB Zune syncs my collection at the full file size allowing me to put on only about 250 songs instead of thousands. I spoke with Zune customer support and they confirmed that the Zune won't convert my WMA Lossless library to MP3s on the Zune. I'm really disappointed that the Microsoft Zune won't do this with my Microsoft WMA lossless files but my Creative Zen, Apple iPod and Sony Walkman all WILL!!!! The customer support person did hint that an update that includes the capability could be on the near horizon, but she wasn't making any promises.

{5-7-2008 UPDATE! A PATCH HAS BEEN RELEASED THAT ALLOWS CONVERSION OF ALL MUSIC TO "DEVICE QUALITY"; hence, WMA Lossless audio on your PC can now be converted to apx 10 MB or less...whew!} (However, after all my complaining, I find it strange that the Zune now will not allow transfer of music at any higher than "device quality"; in other words, I could now not transfer songs at the full WMA Lossless file size even if I wanted to.)

If you're used to the Windows Media Player's 5-star rating system, that's out the "Window" with the Zune. With the Zune all you get to do is rate a song "I like it" or "I don't like it". Who has songs that they "don't like" in their library? All I wanted on my Zune was my 4 & 5 star rated songs from Windows Media Player. Since the Zune didn't identify with that system, I had to go through hundreds of songs and either rate them or tell the device not to sync with a certain song, BECAUSE....

The device will automatically sync with every song in the folder(s) that you tell it to monitor on your PC whenever you connect the device. You can tell the Zune not to sync with a song by right clicking on the song in your Zune Library and selecting "never sync with my Zune", or with the 5/7/2008 you can now tell the Zune not to sync with songs that you "don't like". You can also choose the option that stops the Zune from auto-syncing and make it sync to songs only when you do it manually.

Finally, the unit comes pretty bare bones: it includes some fair-at-best headphones and a USB connection...no AC Adapter.

So all in all, is it a decent music player?...sure. Is it as good as it could be?...It could still use some patches, but hearing that the patch that fixes the sync conversion is available was music to my ears.

5/12/08 update - Since the Zune Version 2.5 update was released, I bought a second Zune for my son. The second Zune had an issue recognizing the new update prior to being fully charged, because Zune's that are being shipped at the time of this writing are still version 2.3. Therefore, the fix for this is (at least for me) was changing the order of my 3-step instruction above to:

1) Let the unit fully charge.

2) Download the Zune software. However, while a pretty simple step, it takes about 20 minutes or so to get through if you include signing up for a Zune account.

3) Connect the Zune; it may then tell you that you need to upgrade the device to version 2.5 which takes only a few more minutes.

4) Load the songs you want.

4 out of 5 stars

Zune vs. Nano? November 17, 2007
39 out of 52 found this review helpful

I've owned the 4 & 8 GB Nanos...and today I picked up the 8 GB 2nd Gen Zune. The Zune hardware is much better where it counts for me (sound quality, screen). The new touch area takes a little getting used to. My main HUGE dissapointment is the simple and VERY limited Zune software. Secondary dissapointments include the lack of an EQ (although with better earphones than the iPod, it's not as important), lack of customizable menus, and lack of a...CLOCK and calendar. With XP and an older 2.0 GHz computer, the Zune software install took nearly an hour (without adding music). Uploading music to the Zune seems slower than with the Nano. Time will tell is the positives outweight the negatives over the Nano. Sure wish it had come in 16 GB!

Update 05/21/08: Forgot to mention the stellar FM tuner. The sound quality actually seems to trump that of a $1500 Den_n receiver! Last, and largest complaint: ~30% of imported album art doesn't match the artist / album.....

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent media player November 14, 2007
27 out of 36 found this review helpful

Although the Zune software isn't as user friendly as itunes, the media player itself is awesome and much more useful to me because of the radio. The last 2 gyms I've gone to broadcast tv sound through fm radio. Ipods radio headphones really suck. The new 8gb zune is like an oversized nano or a mini. The form factor is cool & most importantly I don't need 2 programs to get podcasts on the media player. I can't wait to get a cablecard media center pc to get episodes of hbo shows and colbert report to watch on the metro.

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