Portable MP3 Players

E. Yasi says:

Between my husband and me, we can include more MP3 players over the years than me, including Sansas, iRiver, iPod (Classic and Touch) have owned the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc., but in recent years, I established a line of players. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well thought out and fun, the underrated (and widely derided use) are Zunes.

This review I’m going to walk on two types of people: current Zune owners planning to upgrade are, and people who are trying to decide between a Zune and a iPod. (There are other players out there worth consideration, such as the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough information to make an informed decision vs. the Zune players other than iPod line well.)

Zune and iPod: Most people compare the Zune to the touch, but after seeing how thin and surprisingly light and small it is, I think it ‘ is a rather unique hybrid qualities that Touch and nano are combined. It is very colorful and beautiful OLED screen is slightly smaller than the touch screen, but the player feels a little smaller and lighter. It weighs about two thirds as much, and is much smaller in width and height, but only a hair thicker. />

– Brighter OLED display more vivid colors and better contrast
OLED screens can be washed in sunlight more than other, but in almost all other situations, they are clearly preferable, and have a beautiful image that we see eye-catching to estimate. The screen resolution is slightly less than the iPod Touch, but also a little smaller, so that by the end of the video looks a bit less grainy, but when closely and very much alive.

– HD Radio < , br /> If you are within range of a few HD radio stations online can be a surprising feature of Nice. For me, this is not so much the sound quality slightly better than making extra streams of content they like. For example, if you set an FM transmitter, then it is to play what you here, and if you do not like it too bad. With an HD station, you can choose in the air, and it will be displayed with a maximum of three signals labeled HD1, HD2 and HD3. HD1 can have what it takes to play on the FM version, the new HD2 and HD3 can there may be alternative music w / another topic. For example, one of our oldies station in the Boston area shows a selection of love theme song on HD3. One caveat: If you do not have a sufficiently strong signal, they can cut the HD versions, and so frustrating to hear them. But when the signal is strong enough, it is very pleasant.

– 720p video output dock on (an expensive). In the transmission of video content on the Zune, you can specify whether it should be of appropriate size for playback on the Zune or TV, so if you plan to watch only on your Zune, you do not video recording giant amounts of memory.

– Zune Pass subscription service
This is my favorite feature as you would with a Zune, and forced beyond my control my despair be . For $ 15 per month you get 10 I DRM-free MP3 songs, keep, and unlimited access to millions of songs. As long as you have at least 10 songs anyway, you only pay $ 5 for such access is available for sale. It is better than Pandora, Slacker, LastFM, or other services because you can listen to whole CD, enter playlists and tracks in the exact order is desired, and can play music or store it on either your Zune to listen to a later date, even if the WiFi range. Many people these subscription services as something you own instead of music, but at this low price, there is no reason not to use it as a complement to what you are purchasing. It’s not like either, it is a wonderful “AND”, especially when you discover the type to enjoy a wide range of music is.

Apple has now Rhapsody as an application, which to a great start, but is currently hampered by the inability of local, on your iPod and has a dark 64kbps data rate . If this changes, there is something to deny that the advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month is always a big plus for the Zune Pass. “

– Wireless Sync In addition to access to the wireless network, you can sync your Zune to your PC wirelessly, which can sometimes quite easily . The new Zune HD seems better wireless reception in my previous Zunes. ‘I

– popularized Smart DJ Rhapsody
first playlist in building a provider service with its “channels” feature, and Apple followed with their “Genius” feature. The idea is that you enter a song or artist, and the service is to build a playlist of music similar to known and emerging artists for you to enjoy. Zunes The previous was a “channel” function, but I found the elegance and precision is lacking. 4 0 The Zune Market Place Upgrade (the equivalent of iTunes Zune) now maintains a “Smart DJ”, which is a much improved version of the old route. I really did not make much sense to find now and it’s even better if you can specify Zune Pass so take your collection of music exclusive, Zune Pass selected, or a combination of both. It is a flexible and fun.

– /> < br browsing Web browser The new Zune is surprisingly good, but not as good as the iPod. It works well, but not as fast as Safari, and has a clunkier interface. If you plan on occasionally using the web browser that is not a problem, but if you rely on the Internet very much for your PMP then browse the iPod's screen is bigger and better browser may be important.

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– Zune Marketplace and iTunes
This is always a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair and some nice features such as “MixView ‘that you see briefly in connection with albums, songs, or other users in the context of what you hear. clicking one of this Centre is on point, and another group of “neighbors” will come into view, so you can browse through the exploration of similar artists, songs or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “social” is also very fun and you can find other friends with similar interests and always with them. You can then select a playlist created on the basis of a merger, to hear what your friends are listening to the party beat. Who will facilitate the privacy-aware, you can see, preventing the public of your viewing habits if you />
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IU IU HD was a bold move that paid off. It can also be confusing and too busy in the screenshots, but it can be seen in action at conception. It is not always obvious, and the documentation is sparse, but a little Experience will show a user interface with great flexibility, as a Favorites menu, recently added music, and a user-defined shortcuts for your favorite playlists, artists, HD Radio stations, etc. One quibble: It takes too Clicks and prejudices on the screen during playback when the display was “asleep” while you hear. Other than that, the user interface to focus delicious.

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Abstract Zune portable media player. is not a Web browser. Not a gaming machine. Maybe in the future it would be better to do in these areas, but now It is a great way to organize and play your music and videos, and are unmatched in this area. The forces of its iPod and Web browsing applications. If this sounds convincing, it Perhaps the best choice.

If you are still on fence are: Take your favorite headphones, head down to Best Buy and ask them to put an iPod in a Zune see what sounds best to you and what interface you smile more. Then you will know what is good for you.

– The current Zune owners
(See, I’ve not forgotten!) I think owning one of the oldest of Flash Player forward during the upgrade, as long as the money is not a problem. S If you please do not. Those who have increased the capacity of 80 GB or 120 GB weigh more difficult choice. If you can not pay both, then you have the option of having all (or most ) of your music stored on the device weighs vs. HD-Radio, a better display, and thinner than a user interface attached. As I said, the new Zune is surprisingly small and light, and you should have an idea of the can be obtained in person to find, because then you really try to convince these new features are for you. Oh, and remember that it has an equalizer, if these questions! ” br />
, keep in mind: Microsoft has made it clear that the line HD is the future. They were very matter of new features to older models in the past, but we’re seeing clear signal to the fourth most 0 Market Place. the new cool stuff is only for the new kid on the block, and I think that will continue to be the case. They will not cut you out completely, but if they can go to HD, I think that is where most, if not to focus all of their future and to concentrate efforts are under way.

Sorry for writing a lot, but I’m really loving the new Zune, and I hope that, and wrote comments excellent others, you can decide if this is the right choice for you.
Rating: 5.5

T. Nield says:

Zune has been a laughing stock a few years ago, when Microsoft released the “brick” first generation Zune. A joke went around pathetic attempt by Microsoft to provide the market about “iPod”. Sun died a year and Zune was a joke in the world of consumer electronics and had to endure ridicule and torment of the Apple crowd. If the 2nd Gen Zunes came out, the Zune brand slowly started to see redemption. The Zune 80GB is considered the first decent competitor to the iPod, but the mark was still in his recovery against harassment.

But for the first time, Microsoft Zune Player, use the can, finally, the words “sexiest developed to describe.” Branding Zune quickly to build with Release of HD Zune, Xbox Live integration, and marketing as needed.

With the rapid rise of the iPod Touch and iPhone, it is not surprising, Microsoft delivered with a touch screen portable media player of its own. However, this is not a copy of the iPod touch at all. Sure the Zune HD is equipped with a touchscreen, accelerometer, support of PPP, a browser strong web and other features that made the iPod Touch so popular.

However, the Zune HD, which lacks the iPod Touch, such as… < br />
ZunePass (download all the music, the hold of $ 15 per month, 10 songs per month without DRM)
720p HDMI Software aesthetically beautiful (Zune 4 0 interface is very pretty, not a dull spreadsheet like iTunes)
A device aesthetically beautiful OS (artist pictures and information floating around, while a song played, it cool)
OLED display (brighter, more alive than LCD)
Free Radio HD Radio
“marking” (If you song you hear on the radio, ” tag, add it to your cart to download it)
a feature called “Smart DJ” that functions as the online service Pandora radio, but restrictions and jumps you can vote / download songs you like. Requires ZunePass so.

Xbox Live integration advanced NVIDIA Tegra chip (some 3D graphics intensive games coming this fall, like burnout Ferrari Edition)
– on-demand music (playing the music online with your Zune HD, do not need to download it to your hard drive)

Zune HD over here just incredible. The NVIDIA Tegra chip and powerful processor, the potential of this device are endless. The Zune will compete with a platform gaming laptop HD to go head-to-head with the Nintendo DS and PSP brands. I am delighted to Burnout: Ferrari Edition in the coup this fall. I am also curious about other applications like to see.

Can this unit take a significant share of the iPod Touch? definitely the right marketing to public awareness of this product, yes it is possible. Any large company like Kmart monopolize, GM, and even a market dominated by Apple for some time. But times are changing and there is always something better. Zune HD the best alternative to the iPod? With a little more shoots in the App Store and updates, be clear. The question is, will Apple change and copy features Zune, including Zune Pass? I do not know, we’ll see. The Zune Pass is clearly the new standard for digital music services and the market model: a song-by are not competitive for much longer.

*** UPDATE ***

I get many comments to say in my post, the Zune HD Radio which did was not the lack of balance of services online radio on the iPod Touch (like Pandora). I think I mentioned in my post that app with a little more development of HD Zune is a serious competitor to the iPod Touch. But who in the world needs a Pandora if you have a Zune Pass? Your Zune learn your musical preferences and make recommendations. You can download / listen to any music you want without limits. But if you like Pandora, I propose that the Zune “Smart DJ” plays. This is a playlist of songs streaming based on your musical taste or overall play, especially on the basis of a particular artist.

Forgot to add, not the Zune HD has a external speaker. If the device’s super-important to you, you can customize the iPod Touch now. However, you can always couplers headset or battery mini speaker to address the latter.

*** UPDATE ***
The new applications on the Zune comes out this fall some amazing 3D games . They look just as good (if not better) than what you find on a PSP or Nintendo DS. These games are Sk8 Van Burnout: Ferrari Edition, Audiosurf Tilt and many others. Twitter has been good and was quickly followed Facebook published. I have no complaints about the Zune after a few months. I am convinced that the brand is the best Zune music service experience ever created.
Rating: 5.5

Andrew Perkins says:

This little MP3 player is simply awesome. I have an iTouch G2 16GB for the last six months have been, and while I loved the touch itself, I was very frustrated by iTunes. I was not really intend to change the players, but when I saw the HD version was well received, I decided, once the Zune. I do not want a list of pros and cons of the Zune, a lot of that already, but I hope I can help someone on the fence between the Touch HD.

While the HD and touch are truly compete, they offer very different user experience. Touch is very simple, and everything that is excellent for ease of use, I’m bored with the user interface. HD, on the other hand, has a small learning curve, but if the slope of the operating system, it is very well thought out. The menus are well established, with subtle animations while browsing. One of my favorite things that may seem strange, may in a menu, then return to the home menu, without pressing the hardware button on the front deeply.

Personally, I use a music player for probably 80% of the time. What I like about the Zune, it really feels like Focus MS with the player has played in the media. The sound quality is great and I would say, better than the Touch. Get a nice pair of headphones with any player you get! The display while music is very well maintained by the whole experience. In addition, charges of “bio” of the band or artist is really, really cool. One of the best features (for me) is the HD radio and the ability, the song that you hear day. All my favorite channels in HD are perfect here and after an MP3 player, I could not do without. I did not play all the videos, but anyone can see the quality of the canvas. Amazing is an understatement. I see no difference in the ability to see in direct sunlight between the HD OLED and LCD screen on the touch panel do not know what everyone is talking about. In fact, if I am in full sun, I’m usually polarized sunglasses and can not read all the screens anyway lol

Then there’s the Internet and applications. I’d say the Internet is quite comparable between the two players, but the touch is more refined. Both do the job when I am outside, but when I’m home, I’ll take my laptop or desktop. I suspect that the applications on the Touch is still second to none. However, I found myself never using them. I know that many people love them, but I found the most useless. The games are about the only things I used to burn some time to time. Microsoft currently has a handful of games for the Zune, which is already good enough for me lol

Back to me what to spend the touch. . . iTunes. I took a chance on the switch to the Zune software, but could not be happier. Although I have not used the software for more than a few days, it is undoubtedly a better experience than iTunes.

I am very happy with my Zune Buy HD. For those of you trying to decide between the touch and Zune, you need to think about. . . If you see yourself with the player above all Internet applications and games that you want to find touch. If you’re like me and you use the drive mainly for the media. . . especially music. . . Zune HD is for you.

Thank MS for this wonderful product =)
Rating: 5.5