Microsoft Zune HD Black (16 GB) MP3 Player
- Number of Songs: 4000
- Usage: Music Video Photo Viewing
- Interface: Wi-Fi
- Screen Size: 3.3 inch
- Main Storage Type: Built-in Memory
- Storage Capacity: 16 GB
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20
Best music experience you can have today.
Pros
Lightweight,
Great Design,
Compact,
Good Value
Cons
Poor App Support
Recommended it?
Yes
Good For:
Gifts, Travel, Everyday Use, Music, Home
Normally a review on a digital media player would only be on the hardware itself, but in this case it is absolutely essential that the Zune HD and it's accompanying desktop software/services are reviewed together.
Listening to music legally has become a very expensive hobby. Filling a 32 GB iPod will cost you around $7,000, an iPod classic? $40,000. Ofcourse you can go the illegal route of downloading but if you get caught (and it happens) first time offenders face 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. No thank you.
This leaves most of us (my self included) with iPods that by themselves are amazing pieces of hardware, but can't really be used legally while still having money for food.
Microsoft has answered this issue with their subscription Zune music service. At $15/month, you get to listen to their entire library of music (less the minute number of DRM free songs that MUST be purchased). The $15 includes 10 songs you can keep per month, while that seems meager, at iTunes' $.99/song you're only paying a $5 premium for unlimited subscription music. The library itself is very extensive and most users will find all of their music, I've even found some foreign music not on iTunes. The Zune subscription service really makes finding new music a joy. The "smart DJ" playlist will not only pull music from your collection, but also the Zune marketplace. Like a song you hear? download it, download the album, heck download the entire artist collection. At work? Logon to Zune.net and you can stream their whole library there as well! The desktop software is easily the most advanced, slick, fun to use media player out there. It's free to download so if you want to know what you're getting in to, go try it out first!
The Zune HD player itself is a very good piece of hardware. On first impression you'll be surprised at how small and light it is. If you're used to an iPhone/iPod it will feel pretty diminutive. The screen is an OLED that produces some of the brightest colors and deepest blacks I have seen. While it does seem substantially smaller than the iPod's screen it's really only .2" smaller width wise.
The interface does take some time to get used to if you're a native iPod user. Navigating is actually much faster once you play around with it for a few minutes. Menu items flow with some graphical flare and are very quick and responsive. When playing music the player pulls up album art and creates a really nice slide show along with song/album info.
Sound quality is very good. While there are a ton of variables that go in to sound quality (I wont go in to here) my general impression is very high. I would like to have seen a custom equalizer, but instead you'll find your standard presets in the options.
There is an HD radio that allows for song tagging. Simply listen to your favorite HD radio station and when a song comes up that you like, tag it and you'll have the option to get it later when you connect to the internet. While its a good idea, I still find it a little clumsy in practice as it doesn't automatically download when I sync with my desktop. It's ok though atleast I don't have to go crazy trying to figure out what that song on the radio was.
Where the Zune HD falls behind the iPod is in Apps. Plain and simple, there really aren't any right now. The ones that do exist are pretty rudimentary, but we'll see how it plays out as the device matures. The internet browser is good but slow compared to the iPod. I'm also not a big fan of their new keyboard scheme, it's a standard QWERTY layout but you select a letter and flick your finger up to select...weird and slow.
Bottom line is this, if you're looking for the absolute best music experience around the Zune HD and Zune subscription service win hands down. Serious music fans really need to try this out. If you're looking for a digital media player that has a lot of 3rd party apps go with an iPod.
Listening to music legally has become a very expensive hobby. Filling a 32 GB iPod will cost you around $7,000, an iPod classic? $40,000. Ofcourse you can go the illegal route of downloading but if you get caught (and it happens) first time offenders face 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. No thank you.
This leaves most of us (my self included) with iPods that by themselves are amazing pieces of hardware, but can't really be used legally while still having money for food.
Microsoft has answered this issue with their subscription Zune music service. At $15/month, you get to listen to their entire library of music (less the minute number of DRM free songs that MUST be purchased). The $15 includes 10 songs you can keep per month, while that seems meager, at iTunes' $.99/song you're only paying a $5 premium for unlimited subscription music. The library itself is very extensive and most users will find all of their music, I've even found some foreign music not on iTunes. The Zune subscription service really makes finding new music a joy. The "smart DJ" playlist will not only pull music from your collection, but also the Zune marketplace. Like a song you hear? download it, download the album, heck download the entire artist collection. At work? Logon to Zune.net and you can stream their whole library there as well! The desktop software is easily the most advanced, slick, fun to use media player out there. It's free to download so if you want to know what you're getting in to, go try it out first!
The Zune HD player itself is a very good piece of hardware. On first impression you'll be surprised at how small and light it is. If you're used to an iPhone/iPod it will feel pretty diminutive. The screen is an OLED that produces some of the brightest colors and deepest blacks I have seen. While it does seem substantially smaller than the iPod's screen it's really only .2" smaller width wise.
The interface does take some time to get used to if you're a native iPod user. Navigating is actually much faster once you play around with it for a few minutes. Menu items flow with some graphical flare and are very quick and responsive. When playing music the player pulls up album art and creates a really nice slide show along with song/album info.
Sound quality is very good. While there are a ton of variables that go in to sound quality (I wont go in to here) my general impression is very high. I would like to have seen a custom equalizer, but instead you'll find your standard presets in the options.
There is an HD radio that allows for song tagging. Simply listen to your favorite HD radio station and when a song comes up that you like, tag it and you'll have the option to get it later when you connect to the internet. While its a good idea, I still find it a little clumsy in practice as it doesn't automatically download when I sync with my desktop. It's ok though atleast I don't have to go crazy trying to figure out what that song on the radio was.
Where the Zune HD falls behind the iPod is in Apps. Plain and simple, there really aren't any right now. The ones that do exist are pretty rudimentary, but we'll see how it plays out as the device matures. The internet browser is good but slow compared to the iPod. I'm also not a big fan of their new keyboard scheme, it's a standard QWERTY layout but you select a letter and flick your finger up to select...weird and slow.
Bottom line is this, if you're looking for the absolute best music experience around the Zune HD and Zune subscription service win hands down. Serious music fans really need to try this out. If you're looking for a digital media player that has a lot of 3rd party apps go with an iPod.
