MP3 players

Comment:

my hd32 has froze up in the update mode and i cant get any support for this product or info on how to fix it as FAR AS IM CONCERNED THIS ITEM IS A HUGE WASTE OF MONEY I AM GOING TO GET A IPOD TOUCH LESS ISSUES AND HUMAN SUPPORT THANK YOU ZUNE FOR WASTING MY MONEY I WORK SO VERY HARD FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

Comment:

I have owned my Zune HD since it came out in September of 2009. I am writing this in August of 2010, so that makes two years, and my Zune is still in 100% working order. <br /><br />The main reason's why my, at first, hesitant interest in this device has blossomed into full blown fandom are:<br />-It's sleek form factor<br />-It's beautiful design and look<br />-It's elegant, unique UI<br />-The artist pictures, bios, full discography lists, and related artists, that sync to the device automatically.<br />-It's sturdiness<br />-and, oddly enough, it's lack of Apps<br /><br />I'll start with this last one first. For most people a lack of apps is a turn off, and i completely understand that. But for me i don't need them, and i don't want them. Whenever i have a device with apps i never seem to use them, even if there are good ones. So if the Zune had thousands of apps like the ipod touch, it would just be extra stuff that I wouldn't utilize.<br /><br />For some people though, apps are where it's at, and for them i still recommend they get a Zune HD, because it is a fantastic standalone music player to compliment your android phone, or whatever other device you have all your apps on.<br /><br />In regard to it's form factor, it is considerably smaller, sleeker, and lighter than the ipod touch. But it doesn't feel cheap or flimsy at all. It is made out of metal and feels solid and dense. <br /><br />This thing is sturdy. I have dropped it many times, sometimes on concrete, and apart from a few scratches on the corners, it hasn't been affected at all. From the front it still looks brand new.<br /><br />One of the things that drew me to this device at first was it's UI. It has a very unique and i would say beautiful menu system. <br /><br />You start completely zoomed out at the home screen, which is divided into a vertical list of the different menus (music, video, photos, etc.) and a handy little tiled mozaic of your favorite artists and songs and stuff. And you can switch between these two lists with a simple swipe.<br /><br />The main idea that underlies the entire menu system is tapping on something to zoom into it and get more detail. For example, when you tap on Music, you are presented with either a list of Artists, or you can swipe over to the side and have it organized by album, or song, or even by genre. <br />The other menus are very similar, When you tap on Pictures for example, you are presented with folders filled with whatever pictures you've synced. You can however swipe over and have them organized by the date you synced them.<br /><br />One of my favorite things about the UI is when you zoom into a specific artist, you are presented with a list of their albums (album art included), but if you want, you can swipe over to the side to look at pictures of the artist, or read a bio about them, or even see related artists. On the related artist screen, you can tap on an artist, and it takes you to their page, even if you don't have anything of theirs on your zune already (assuming you have internet access)<br /><br />Another neat little feature is the display discography button on the bottom of the artist screen. Once you tap on that it shows all the albums that are available on the marketplace, and if you have a subscription you can listen to all of them right from your zune (assuming you have internet access).<br /><br />Overall, the menu system is very different, so it takes some getting used to, but once your used to it, it feels very well thought out and designed, and it is always fun to see it do the little zooming effects and stuff.<br /><br />To sum it all up, this device is perfect if you're like me, and your music, and the displaying, perusing, exploring, and listening thereof takes top priority.<br />This is strictly a media player, that plays media spectacularly.<br /><br />I didn't even get around to talking about the zune software, which is equally amazing.

(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

Comment:

First, let me say this is my 5th Zune and 2nd Zune HD 32GB. My first was a used 4GB (which I loved, lost and found again), but I quickly outgrew the capacity. The 2nd and 3rd were 80GB hard-drive Zunes, both refurbished, and both defective! The 4th was a new Zune HD 32GB, but had a defective Zune pad. The last is my current Zune HD 32GB, and it's doing fine! <br /><br />The touch screen is sleek and classy and fun to use. The screen makes up about 80% of the front of the unit. There's a handy lock feature that prevents accidentally pushing something on the screen, and the override for the screen lock is quick and easy. The unit handles everything I put in it: over 3200 songs, and everything is well-organized and easily retrievable. The flash drive permits a sleeker design than the 80GB and 120GB hard-drive Zunes.<br /><br />Sound quality is great, but ear buds are ear buds, after all. The real sound comes when I plug it into the aux jack on my car stereo!<br /><br />The controls are simple but confusing. How? The lack of a Stop button is perplexing; songs can be paused or replaced by another song, but the song can't be stopped (i.e., removed from the queue). The most confusing controls are the icons at the bottom of the screen: shuffle, repeat and a heart icon. Shuffle is what got me! I had a heck of a time getting songs to play in the correct order. The problem turned out to be the shuffle icon. I thought I had shuffle turned off, but it was turned on!! In the Zune PC software, the shuffle icon is illuminated when it's OFF, but in the player, it's the opposite: the icon is dimmed when shuffle is OFF and lit when it's ON! I'm not embarrassed to admit that it took HOURS of frustration to finally uncover the mystery.<br /><br />There is no camera, but I wouldn't use it anyway because my Blackberry can provide that service.<br /><br />There is very little instruction included with the Zune. Maybe it's to imply that it's easy. There also is little help on the internet for problems. The Zune Forum has as many hecklers as helpers. It's hard (but not impossible) to find human help through Microsoft; you have to search the fine print at the bottom of the Zune web pages and keep selecting contact us. Eventually, you can get an actual person on a telephone line!! That person might even be able to help.<br /><br />Okay, so why do I like the Zune? I can carry a large portion of my music library in a small, sleek device wherever I go. The contents are easily accessible. The touch screen is very responsive. It's easy to synch with my music collection, so new additions (e.g., ripped CDs) on my PC load right onto the Zune. Create playlists on your PC and load them onto your Zune. (Be careful with the Shuffle icon, though.) Picture quality is great, too. Videos, games, a few apps, etc. round it out.<br /><br />Did I mention the built-in HD RADIO! I didn't have HD radio until I got the Zune. Now I can plug the Zune into my car stereo aux input and have two or three HD stations in many spots on the dial where my standard FM radio has a single station: very cool! (Not all FM stations have HD radio, but a half-dozen or so in my area do.)<br /><br />I haven't signed up for the Zune Marketplace, where you can buy music, and I haven't gotten into the whole social scene, where you can share music over the internet with other Zunies. I also haven't used the Wi-Fi connection yet to synch with my PC, but it's there.<br /><br />I've used all but 7GB of the Zune's capacity. When it's full, I might try an iPod Touch 64GB, unless Zune HD comes out with a 64GB (128GB??) flash memory version.