Any reason NOT to get a zune hd?

[slackerinabox]

Long time and happy owner of a zune 30 and thinking about getting a zune hd 32gb tomorrow. I put off the purchase for a while so that the zune hd can get it's early firmware hiccups resolved, if there were any. I like the zune ecosystem and think getting a zune hd's a no brainer, but are there any issues still around that haven't been resolved? Is battery life as good as predicted? Should I just get an iPod touch?


Thanks!

 

[Deeko]

Battery life is fantastic, I ran it non-stop for over 24 hours (just playing music) before it died. The interface is wonderful, HD Radio is a GREAT (and very underrated) feature. If you use Zune Pass, and you liked the Zune 30 & want an upgrade, go for it.

Now, remember - the Zune HD might be the best PMP on the market, but its not necessarily the best portable device. The iPod Touch, with its app store, can do a lot more than the Zune HD. However, as far as just being a PMP, in my opinion the Zune is unrivaled, and seeing as I already have an all-in-one smartphone, I'm not concerned with losing the apps.

 

[slackerinabox]

Battery life is fantastic, I ran it non-stop for over 24 hours (just playing music) before it died. The interface is wonderful, HD Radio is a GREAT (and very underrated) feature. If you use Zune Pass, and you liked the Zune 30 & want an upgrade, go for it.

Now, remember - the Zune HD might be the best PMP on the market, but its not necessarily the best portable device. The iPod Touch, with its app store, can do a lot more than the Zune HD. However, as far as just being a PMP, in my opinion the Zune is unrivaled, and seeing as I already have an all-in-one smartphone, I'm not concerned with losing the apps.

Awesome, thank you very much for your feedback.

I'll post my concerns in a list, it would be great if you can chime in when you can:

1. Touch screen. Responsive or frustrating?
2. One had operation (i.e. changing songs while driving) - possible?
3. Sound quality?
4. Durability - will it take a fall, or should a klutz like myself look elsewhere?
5. Screen legibility in daylight. I've heard it's terrible, but most reviewers tend to exaggerate.

 

[Deeko]

1) Very responsive
2) About as good as a touch screen device can be. This was one of my concerns too. On any screen, tap a physical button on the side to bring up play controls, swipe up/down for volume, tap left/right for tracks
3) No complaints
4) Seems pretty durable to me. Sturdy casing + its very light so it doesn't have a lot of weight slamming into the ground on drops
5) Like all screens of its type, daylight visibility isn't great, but its still readable.

 

[idiotekniQues]

coming from a zune 120 and using zunepass, i have had the zuneHD 32 since day 1. i was very concerned about not having enough space, and to be honest i still wish i had a 64gb just for peace of mind, but really, a slight tweaking and just paying more attentino to music has made 32gb just fine.

it's actually made me explore music more since i now have to worry more about space, so i try to find new things every time i tweak my portable collection out.

screen is very responsive. feels well-built. fantastic UI. very small and portable and light. i only use this thing with one-hand unless i want to zoom in on a picture. which is rare. this lil guy is so small and easy to use that one handed operation is by default.

the way i look at it is that i do not believe battery technology is advanced enough for a do it all in one device like an iphone, for music, video and internet and phone. so having a super slip portable device like the zuneHD to go with my smartphone is huge to me.

only flaws with this device so far are:

screen is a bit too small for internet but useful in a pinch. but like i said, i have a smartphone for that.

once in awhile the device will not wakeup and wil take 3 presses of the button to do so. this happened with 2 in a row so i await a firmware fix. it happens not that often so no bigge.

microsoft is still stupid for not having apps on this opened up for development, but since i have a smartphone, i could care less. but others will.

screen is not great in bright daylight, but usable for quick changes if in medium or high brightness. for extended use outdoors, like watching longer vids, i would not use this player.


i carry a nexus one and this on my daily travels. im pretty covered for all electronic entertainment.

 

[Sheep]

I own a Zune 120. My only reason for not purchasing a Zune HD is that I want 64GB of memory minimum which should hopefully arrive this year.

 

[slackerinabox]

Awesome - thanks guys. I have a palm pre for most of my app/web needs anyways, so a zune hd it is... Just hope that the 64gb one doesn't come out next week!

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

One more question about the ZuneHD, I use my old iPod for audiobooks, and it has a built in feature that more or less isolates the audiobook from the music, that is, I can listen to a book on my commute, take it to the gym, listen to music in shuffle mode (built playlist), and then when I go back to my audiobook, it holds the spot where I stopped it. Does the Zune have this capability?

 

[inspiron]

I am an iPod lover personally so I would be biased in answering this question. (I said it)
But quite frankly I am very interested in Zune 80!

It is slightly larger than the 8gb or 16gb, and looks pretty damn good! And 80gb its enough for all my music and some tv episodes on those long bus or car rides! The thing that got me so interested is one of my friends has one.

He whipped out his Zune 80 red one day, and it was an eye magnet. He had to go do something and let me use and boy I loved it! I am currently using a iPod nano 8gb.

One thing that has me most concerned is, what happens to all the music I got from itunes, or can i continue using itunes?

 

[hanoverphist]

One thing that has me most concerned is, what happens to all the music I got from itunes, or can i continue using itunes?

free converters for the m4a files are available online, just rip them to drm free mp3 files.

or, set them in play lists, burn to a cd then rip them to mp3

 

[TheNoblePlatypus]

Just got a Zune HD 16GB today. Coming from a no frills 4GB Samsung MP3 player, this is pretty solid. The lack of drag and drop kind of sucks, but I knew about it going in. The software isn't the greatest, never used iTunes so it's hard to compare.

The screen is pretty amazing on it. My only real issue is the reception of HD radio on it, but I am sure that has more to do with location.

 

[KLin]

I'd consider getting one if it supported bluetooth A2DP.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

I love my ZuneHD . I only have the 16gb but its fantastic, I wish VW made a cable so I could connect it to my navi

 

[EarthwormJim]

I won my Zune HD in the switched.com Black Friday contests (which btw I'm extremely grateful to switched.com!!).

I'm quite happy with it (mainly since it was free, plus it's dead sexy looking; easily the sexiest portable player on the market), however I would not buy one. There honestly isn't a media player on the market I would actually buy. They're all too expensive or do too much.

I just want a hard drive player (60gb or so), with dedicated play, advance, volume buttons that's under $150, that will also last a week or so in standby. I don't care about movies or videos or the screen really, but alas every new player seems to focus on everything but being a great music player.

My zune hd just plays music, I don't watch movies on it. The audio quality is nice, but I wish it had a full equalizer. The lack of dedicated hardware controls is a REAL SERIOUS ANNOYANCE. Especially since I mainly use it in my car. I've gotten pretty good with blind swiping across the screen to advance a song. It's definitely not a player you can stick in your pocket though, if you come upon a loud song you'll spend a good couple seconds just trying to turn the damn thing down.

Sometimes the unit will become unresponsive when the screen has been locked (even though it's still playing music). I'll press the side button, the display will still be blank. I press the main face button, nothing. Top power button, nothing. Then about 15 seconds later the screen unlock option comes up.

Luckily despite nothing being on the screen, the controls do work from the side button; volume and advance can be done by swiping.

This is also my second unit. The first developed flickering blue lines on the top of the display. Both did the unresponsive display thing though.

All in all it's a neat gadget, but not the best player on the market. They could have easily fit a couple of extra buttons on the side of the unit, but for whatever reason chose not to.

 

[EarthwormJim]

I am an iPod lover personally so I would be biased in answering this question. (I said it)
But quite frankly I am very interested in Zune 80!

It is slightly larger than the 8gb or 16gb, and looks pretty damn good! And 80gb its enough for all my music and some tv episodes on those long bus or car rides! The thing that got me so interested is one of my friends has one.

He whipped out his Zune 80 red one day, and it was an eye magnet. He had to go do something and let me use and boy I loved it! I am currently using a iPod nano 8gb.

One thing that has me most concerned is, what happens to all the music I got from itunes, or can i continue using itunes?

If you can get the AAC (.m4a) files out of itunes, the zune can play them.

 

[jpeyton]

If you're buying one strictly for PMP duties, it's the best one on the market.

Excellent battery life.

OLED screen is bright, but still has good black levels.

The screen covering is extremely durable. Watch some Youtube videos about Corning Gorilla Glass. I have no cover on my screen and it's still spotless.

It's smaller, sleeker and lighter than an iPod Touch.

The brushed aluminum finish on the body is both durable and easy to keep clean; it's not a fingerprint/scratch magnet like the iPod Touch.

The interface is slick, responsive, and easy to navigate.

The browser is above average but definitely not as good as mobile Safari.

Microsoft is adding XviD support this spring, making it the ultimate PMP. No conversion necessary for your favorite torrents.

Zune software is light years ahead of iTunes. I was shocked at how fast it loaded and navigated through my music collection. I actually don't miss drag-and-drop support with my Zune HD because the software is great.

 

[destrekor]

If you're buying one strictly for PMP duties, it's the best one on the market.

Excellent battery life.

OLED screen is bright, but still has good black levels.

The screen covering is extremely durable. Watch some Youtube videos about Corning Gorilla Glass. I have no cover on my screen and it's still spotless.

It's smaller, sleeker and lighter than an iPod Touch.

The brushed aluminum finish on the body is both durable and easy to keep clean; it's not a fingerprint/scratch magnet like the iPod Touch.

The interface is slick, responsive, and easy to navigate.

The browser is above average but definitely not as good as mobile Safari.

Microsoft is adding XviD support this spring, making it the ultimate PMP. No conversion necessary for your favorite torrents.

Zune software is light years ahead of iTunes. I was shocked at how fast it loaded and navigated through my music collection. I actually don't miss drag-and-drop support with my Zune HD because the software is great.

Wow. I am so confused.

I love my ZuneHD... but, the glass is definitely not Gorilla Glass, at least, I have seen nowhere state it as such, nor is mine scratch free. My Droid, on the other hand, does feature the Gorilla Glass and is in pristine condition.

Also, it collects dust and fingerprints like no other. But I don't think it's any worse than any other glass screen on a portable device. I know the iPhone/iPod Touch have an oleophobic coating but it degrades over time.

Or... was the fingerprint/scratch magnet directed at the body, and not the glass? If so, I take my comment back - the case is super durable. Oh, and I cannot say how many times I've dropped it. The thing is so light that it's almost too light... I think the heavier something is, the easier it is to maintain a firm grip.

Other than the comments about the glass, I completely agree with your post.

 

[destrekor]

I won my Zune HD in the switched.com Black Friday contests (which btw I'm extremely grateful to switched.com!!).

I'm quite happy with it (mainly since it was free, plus it's dead sexy looking; easily the sexiest portable player on the market), however I would not buy one. There honestly isn't a media player on the market I would actually buy. They're all too expensive or do too much.

I just want a hard drive player (60gb or so), with dedicated play, advance, volume buttons that's under $150, that will also last a week or so in standby. I don't care about movies or videos or the screen really, but alas every new player seems to focus on everything but being a great music player.

My zune hd just plays music, I don't watch movies on it. The audio quality is nice, but I wish it had a full equalizer. The lack of dedicated hardware controls is a REAL SERIOUS ANNOYANCE. Especially since I mainly use it in my car. I've gotten pretty good with blind swiping across the screen to advance a song. It's definitely not a player you can stick in your pocket though, if you come upon a loud song you'll spend a good couple seconds just trying to turn the damn thing down.

Sometimes the unit will become unresponsive when the screen has been locked (even though it's still playing music). I'll press the side button, the display will still be blank. I press the main face button, nothing. Top power button, nothing. Then about 15 seconds later the screen unlock option comes up.

Luckily despite nothing being on the screen, the controls do work from the side button; volume and advance can be done by swiping.

This is also my second unit. The first developed flickering blue lines on the top of the display. Both did the unresponsive display thing though.

All in all it's a neat gadget, but not the best player on the market. They could have easily fit a couple of extra buttons on the side of the unit, but for whatever reason chose not to.

The Zune80 or 120 might be a better match for you, and can probably be had pretty cheap.
Hell, I could sell you my Zune120.

I was the same way about space but I've since realized, 32gb is plenty for me.

 

[jpeyton]

Wow. I am so confused.

I love my ZuneHD... but, the glass is definitely not Gorilla Glass, at least, I have seen nowhere state it as such, nor is mine scratch free.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSinEmsOGKo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2X1FhJJTjk

 

[destrekor]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSinEmsOGKo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2X1FhJJTjk

hmmm. Maybe my extra caution with my Droid is justified, because apparently the glass is capable of being scratched... somehow. Change in my pockets or something, don't really know WHAT but I do have a few faint and small scratches on my ZuneHD.

But otherwise I absolutely love the device.

 

[EarthwormJim]

The Zune80 or 120 might be a better match for you, and can probably be had pretty cheap.
Hell, I could sell you my Zune120.

I was the same way about space but I've since realized, 32gb is plenty for me.

What's the actual battery life like on your Zune 120?

My Zune 30 seemed to have a problem with it's battery life. It would last maybe a day on standby (seems to be a common Zune 30 problem). I even replaced the battery and it still did that.

My Zune HD will last a week on standby which I do like a lot. Can a Zune 120 do that?

 

[destrekor]

What's the actual battery life like on your Zune 120?

My Zune 30 seemed to have a problem with it's battery life. It would last maybe a day on standby (seems to be a common Zune 30 problem). I even replaced the battery and it still did that.

My Zune HD will last a week on standby which I do like a lot. Can a Zune 120 do that?

The Zune 80/120 is somewhere between the Zune30 and ZuneHD in terms of battery life. They really upped it, specifically for standby. I remember my Zune30 had horrid standby battery life, was always running into "hey, I want to listen to... shit, it's dead".

My Zune120 definitely lasted more than a day... I never had to worry really.

The big trick: hold pause/play and Down at the same time (I think...), it turns it off versus putting it in standby. Holding Pause/Play alone just puts it in standby which allows for instant-on where you left off if used within 24 hours.
If you turn it completely off (or ignore it for a day), it should last 3 or 4 days relatively easily iirc.

 

[EarthwormJim]

The Zune 80/120 is somewhere between the Zune30 and ZuneHD in terms of battery life. They really upped it, specifically for standby. I remember my Zune30 had horrid standby battery life, was always running into "hey, I want to listen to... shit, it's dead".

My Zune120 definitely lasted more than a day... I never had to worry really.

The big trick: hold pause/play and Down at the same time (I think...), it turns it off versus putting it in standby. Holding Pause/Play alone just puts it in standby which allows for instant-on where you left off if used within 24 hours.
If you turn it completely off (or ignore it for a day), it should last 3 or 4 days relatively easily iirc.

Completely turning it off didn't work on the Zune 30. I tried everything, even resorting to the original launch firmware. It surprisingly helped but only slightly.

 

[Zenmervolt]

The big trick: hold pause/play and Down at the same time (I think...), it turns it off versus putting it in standby. Holding Pause/Play alone just puts it in standby which allows for instant-on where you left off if used within 24 hours.
If you turn it completely off (or ignore it for a day), it should last 3 or 4 days relatively easily iirc.

Can't say for the 30, but my 80 can go a couple months being turned off and still have ~40% of the battery life remaining, which is good enough for a cross-country flight. The biggest thing I've found with the 80 is to make sure to hit the "lock" switch after turning it off, that will prevent it from inadvertently getting activated.

ZV