My review of the Microsoft Zune mp3 player

[envy me]

I purchased a deal through bestbuy where I got the 16 gig Zune and a free 4 gig. This was to be a Christmas gift for someone with a bonus player for me. Here is my review:

After unboxing the mp3 player and charging it, I really liked the way it looked. I turned it on and the menus seemed to be fairly straight-forward. I decided to go ahead and try to put some music onto it.

First thing I noticed is that when I plugged it into my computer, it was not recognized as a usb storage device. I thought, maybe I needed to install some drivers or software (which were not included). So I started googling. After much research I found out that in order to use this mp3 player, I had to have the zune software on my pc.

I downloaded the zune software and after installation (about 15 minutes on a half decent rig) I was finally able to use the software. The software itself is garbage. There is no other word I can use to describe it. If you want to copy over music/videos then you have to manually find them all through the zune software and then let it sync to your player. Just being able to search folders through this application took me about 10 minutes to figure out. I have never owned an ipod or used Itunes, however I have seen screenshots of it. I cannot imagine it being any worse than the zune software. If Microsoft had allowed syncing via media player then it might have been a little better but as it stands the zune software is, slow, bloated, unresponsive, and a pain to use.

Microsoft had wrote that the reason for this approach was to combat piracy... well, piracy is their problem, not mine. I refuse to buy a product that has it's functionality locked down for one reason or another. I haven't used many mp3 players in my life time, but every one that I've used prior to this one was simple: plug in, copy/drag/drop, unplug, and enjoy. Instead of: googling help, wondering why I had no program cd, downloading bloated software, accepting eulas, signing up to gay service all in order to use a product I paid good money for.

If I wanted to take my mp3 player to a friends house and swap music with them, this would not be possible without first installing software on their pc which is unacceptable.

In the end I ended up returning both players to bestbuy and bought a samsung with video capabilities. It may have been more expensive per gig/storage than the zune, but I will be damned If I let a company tell me how I have to use a product I paid for.

All in all I was very disappointed with the zune, and I know the person getting this as a gift from me would also have been disappointed.


Who should buy the zune:
People who want an inexpensive mp3 player with video capabilities and don't care about using bloated software
People who don't care about plugging the player into their friends' computers to swap music and videos
or people who don't have any friends.

Who should avoid the zune:
People who want the product they buy to work as it should without it being crippled intentionally.
People who share music/videos with their friends
People who do not want to have to resort to installing crap on their pc in order to get a product to work out of the box.


Microsoft should stick to Windows because this has to be the absolute worst mp3/media player on the market today.

 

[Sheep]

Out of curiosity, what was the last media player you used? Sounds like you haven't upgraded in awhile. I still have a circa-2003 iRiver H120 that I break out occasionally for this reason--the thing's a tank and not riddled by DRM.

Your complaints, while valid, describe a large portion of the media players out there now. Unfortunately most of them won't allow simple drag and drop anymore due to piracy concerns, which is a shame.

Of course, how well the DRM is handled depends on the software, and IMO the Zune software beats iTunes hands down; iTunes is my textbook definition of bloatware in need of a serious update and is pretty much the reason I didn't buy an iPod.

 

[destrekor]

I personally love the Zune software. It has had problems in the past but Microsoft has overcome them recently, adding in must-have features.

The hardware itself, I like. And I have the original 30gb, which is kind of an ugly device. I'm looking to upgrade to the new 120gb sometime soon, and the glass screen, much thinner body, and touchpad are really nice (all shared with the 80gb model too, only real differences being the hard drive size and glossy casing for the 120gb).

The only valid complaint is the fact that it cannot be natively used as a mass-storage device, which means its only able to be synced with the Zune software. It can be 'hacked' with a registry change IIRC, and thus allowed to operate as a USB mass storage device, meaning anything and everything can be used to manage the files on it. Microsoft should allow this natively, but oh well.

 

[envy me]

I use windows media player on my pc, and media player classic for things media player cannot play (real/quicktime/certain dvds) Isn't packaging DRM on copyrighted material against the law unless permission is granted by the author? Piracy concerns are their problem and not mine, and should not be yours. Why do they make cars that can do 200mph when the speed limit isn't half of that in most areas. Why not cripple cars out of safety concerns?

These DRM crap-riddled mp3 players would probably be best suited for tech-nubcake who does not know any better. As for the rest of us who want our hardware to function the way it should, they should be avoided.

 

[destrekor]

What exactly are you referring to when speaking of DRM?
There is nothing DRM-related with anything you have talked about. Downloading songs is when DRM can be applied to the conversation. Speaking of the player itself?
DRM is a song-based thing, not hardware.

Are you referring to the fact the player is locked to only using a single program to work with? This isn't new. Yes it sucks, and no I am not defending it. I've just accepted it as I really don't care. I've grown to use the Zune software for everything music-related. I've dabbled into other programs, Winamp, VLC, WMP, and I've just moved to accept Zune for everything, because it's simple, it works, and is easy to use and work with.
No, not everyone is in the same situation as me, and I would definitely prefer the hardware to be seen as a USB mass storage device so every program can access it, but oh well, unless Microsoft implements that, it's pointless to worry about at this point.
So yes it's a negative feature.

But I still do not understand your whole anti-DRM stance here, especially when considering not a single topic of discussion in this thread as of yet has truly touched upon real DRM.

The one thing Microsoft overlooked in terms of music sharing is the fact that the while iTunes is a very popular program for music management, Zune as of yet is not, so people are going to have to install it on their computers. Again, the Zune as a mass-storage device would be better, but then again, it's not a big deal: in terms of music sharing, Microsoft has no reason to make it a more user-friendly process, because in the truth of the matter, it's against the law to share music. Now everyone's been doing it for ages, either by sharing tapes and copying them, borrowing cd's to copy them onto the computer, or whatever. But as far as the RIAA is concerned, it's never been legal in terms of copyrights. Now, Microsoft shouldn't impose themselves in the matter, and I don't really see them as doing that.
For wirelessly sharing music, sometimes with random strangers, the whole 3-play thing isn't that big of deal and is a fair system imho. Sure, the music lover/downloader in me would love to say it's terrible, but I'm neutral and fair in that regard.
Is the device/software not for everybody? Certainly, especially people who are more centered around the ability to share whatever they have as easily as possible. But, I don't partake in that, mostly because it's more tiresome than the internet.

 

[envy me]

Originally posted by: destrekor
What exactly are you referring to when speaking of DRM?
There is nothing DRM-related with anything you have talked about. Downloading songs is when DRM can be applied to the conversation. Speaking of the player itself?
DRM is a song-based thing, not hardware.

The whole stance on DRM was based on the fact that the software is in place to enforce anti-piracy measures, perhaps DRM was not the right term to use.

Are you referring to the fact the player is locked to only using a single program to work with? This isn't new. Yes it sucks, and no I am not defending it. I've just accepted it as I really don't care. I've grown to use the Zune software for everything music-related. I've dabbled into other programs, Winamp, VLC, WMP, and I've just moved to accept Zune for everything, because it's simple, it works, and is easy to use and work with.

You shouldn't have to accept anything. You bought an mp3 player you should be able to copy mp3s and play them without the need for proprietary crap.

No, not everyone is in the same situation as me, and I would definitely prefer the hardware to be seen as a USB mass storage device so every program can access it, but oh well, unless Microsoft implements that, it's pointless to worry about at this point.
So yes it's a negative feature.

But I still do not understand your whole anti-DRM stance here, especially when considering not a single topic of discussion in this thread as of yet has truly touched upon real DRM.

The one thing Microsoft overlooked in terms of music sharing is the fact that the while iTunes is a very popular program for music management, Zune as of yet is not, so people are going to have to install it on their computers. Again, the Zune as a mass-storage device would be better, but then again, it's not a big deal: in terms of music sharing, Microsoft has no reason to make it a more user-friendly process, because in the truth of the matter, it's against the law to share music.

Wrong. It is illegal to share copyrighted music.

Now everyone's been doing it for ages, either by sharing tapes and copying them, borrowing cd's to copy them onto the computer, or whatever. But as far as the RIAA is concerned, it's never been legal in terms of copyrights. Now, Microsoft shouldn't impose themselves in the matter, and I don't really see them as doing that.

Their website mentioned the lack of mass storage capabilities was in place to combat piracy. You are right, it is not their place to enforce that, and they are doing that by only letting you share music a certain amount of times for a certain length, copyrighted music or not.

For wirelessly sharing music, sometimes with random strangers, the whole 3-play thing isn't that big of deal and is a fair system imho. Sure, the music lover/downloader in me would love to say it's terrible, but I'm neutral and fair in that regard.
Is the device/software not for everybody? Certainly, especially people who are more centered around the ability to share whatever they have as easily as possible. But, I don't partake in that, mostly because it's more tiresome than the internet.

If I were to create my own music, why should I not be able to send it more than 3 times to friends? Because they say so? Technology should be moving forwards not backwards and mp3 players with proprietary crap are a huge step backwards imo.

Imagine for a second if you were a new struggling artist performing at a bar or small venue and had the ability to share your music with the patrons. You could share one of your songs with everyone, they could listen to it, share it with their friends and generate some publicity for you, but instead Microsoft has told you no, you can only share YOUR music for 3 days or 3 plays.

I paid for an mp3 player to play mp3's. I did not pay for nor want microsofts help in preventing piracy or preventing me from sharing with friends. Huge step backwards.

If Microsoft had spent as much time tweaking their zune software as they did implementing their piracy protection garbage then maybe this player would have been somewhat bearable.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: envy me

Originally posted by: destrekor
What exactly are you referring to when speaking of DRM?
There is nothing DRM-related with anything you have talked about. Downloading songs is when DRM can be applied to the conversation. Speaking of the player itself?
DRM is a song-based thing, not hardware.

The whole stance on DRM was based on the fact that the software is in place to enforce anti-piracy measures, perhaps DRM was not the right term to use.

Are you referring to the fact the player is locked to only using a single program to work with? This isn't new. Yes it sucks, and no I am not defending it. I've just accepted it as I really don't care. I've grown to use the Zune software for everything music-related. I've dabbled into other programs, Winamp, VLC, WMP, and I've just moved to accept Zune for everything, because it's simple, it works, and is easy to use and work with.

You shouldn't have to accept anything. You bought an mp3 player you should be able to copy mp3s and play them without the need for proprietary crap.

No, not everyone is in the same situation as me, and I would definitely prefer the hardware to be seen as a USB mass storage device so every program can access it, but oh well, unless Microsoft implements that, it's pointless to worry about at this point.
So yes it's a negative feature.

But I still do not understand your whole anti-DRM stance here, especially when considering not a single topic of discussion in this thread as of yet has truly touched upon real DRM.

The one thing Microsoft overlooked in terms of music sharing is the fact that the while iTunes is a very popular program for music management, Zune as of yet is not, so people are going to have to install it on their computers. Again, the Zune as a mass-storage device would be better, but then again, it's not a big deal: in terms of music sharing, Microsoft has no reason to make it a more user-friendly process, because in the truth of the matter, it's against the law to share music.

Wrong. It is illegal to share copyrighted music.

Now everyone's been doing it for ages, either by sharing tapes and copying them, borrowing cd's to copy them onto the computer, or whatever. But as far as the RIAA is concerned, it's never been legal in terms of copyrights. Now, Microsoft shouldn't impose themselves in the matter, and I don't really see them as doing that.

Their website mentioned the lack of mass storage capabilities was in place to combat piracy. You are right, it is not their place to enforce that, and they are doing that by only letting you share music a certain amount of times for a certain length, copyrighted music or not.

For wirelessly sharing music, sometimes with random strangers, the whole 3-play thing isn't that big of deal and is a fair system imho. Sure, the music lover/downloader in me would love to say it's terrible, but I'm neutral and fair in that regard.
Is the device/software not for everybody? Certainly, especially people who are more centered around the ability to share whatever they have as easily as possible. But, I don't partake in that, mostly because it's more tiresome than the internet.

If I were to create my own music, why should I not be able to send it more than 3 times to friends? Because they say so? Technology should be moving forwards not backwards and mp3 players with proprietary crap are a huge step backwards imo.

Imagine for a second if you were a new struggling artist performing at a bar or small venue and had the ability to share your music with the patrons. You could share one of your songs with everyone, they could listen to it, share it with their friends and generate some publicity for you, but instead Microsoft has told you no, you can only share YOUR music for 3 days or 3 plays.

I paid for an mp3 player to play mp3's. I did not pay for nor want microsofts help in preventing piracy or preventing me from sharing with friends. Huge step backwards.

If Microsoft had spent as much time tweaking their zune software as they did implementing their piracy protection garbage then maybe this player would have been somewhat bearable.

Well to each his own. What I look for in MP3 players is... how well can it play MP3s? How does it sound? How easy is it to navigate? If using proprietary software, is it worthwhile or useless junk?
The Zune has made me happy in all regards. I use my Zune to listen to music. That is all I care about. You're complaints are valid, and will be reasons why certain people won't go with the brand. That is your choice and option. I also think you are kind of expecting a bit much, because honestly, you are looking only at the negative aspects. The ability to wirelessly share your music period was revolutionary when the Zune was released. But it's never been an important feature in my eyes, and I've used it once, and always have my wireless off to conserve battery life.

 

[erwos]

Don't buy a Zune if you're not using the Zune Pass. I'm thinking that's where the OP went wrong. That said, I didn't find the Zune's procedure to add music to be very difficult - you add a folder to monitor, and, well, that's it. (Unless you didn't tag your music, I suppose.)

I personally love mine, but the Zune Pass and Zune Marketplace are both big reasons why/

 

[mc866]

I recently won an 80 gig at work and honestly I've been impressed. I personally don't like the zune software a ton but haven't had many issues with it either. I have a fairly large collection and prefer to keep it organized myself. My previous device was a 2GB nano 1st gen. I've never used itunes and for the most part hate it. I never sync my entire collection so I appreciate the fact that the zune software now allows you to sync the music and videos you want without requiring a sync to your entire collection. I know this is a fairly new function but I remember installing the zune software when it first came out to assist in media sharing with my 360, it was just broken back then, I have to say version 3.x is a hell of a lot better than the old version. I have been able to get the music I specified to the device easily, this is all music that I have ripped and is free of protection, the zune plays and recognizes the music perfectly. I've also been able to load multiple movies that I've encoded and that also do not include any protection. The playback for these movies is actually much better than I had expected.

If you are looking to physically share your music, get a large usb drive or external hard drive, I think the zune functions well for what it's supposed to be used for, portable music and movies.

 

[tw1164]

I'm pretty sure you can edit your registry to allow you view the zune as a mass storage device, I don't know if you can add music this way or not.

 

[abaez]

Originally posted by: erwos
Don't buy a Zune if you're not using the Zune Pass. I'm thinking that's where the OP went wrong. That said, I didn't find the Zune's procedure to add music to be very difficult - you add a folder to monitor, and, well, that's it. (Unless you didn't tag your music, I suppose.)

I personally love mine, but the Zune Pass and Zune Marketplace are both big reasons why/

I was about to say, not sure how he had so much difficulty finding his music when you choose the folder to monitor? Maybe he was dragging and dropping.

I have a zune and it does what it needs to do (play music). Don't really care for anything else. I don't use the pass or marketplace, but one thing I like about the software is automatic folder monitoring, which itunes does not do.

The thing I hate most about it is the way it does playcounts is horribly innaccurate.

 

[sivart]

Awesome, I have no friends, time to go buy a Zune...thanks!

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: envy me
First thing I noticed is that when I plugged it into my computer, it was not recognized as a usb storage device. I thought, maybe I needed to install some drivers or software (which were not included). So I started googling. After much research I found out that in order to use this mp3 player, I had to have the zune software on my pc.

Welcome to something called common knowledge.

Or, you know...read the manual. It's, what...a few pages?

Though I do agree that it's silly they don't include the software for those without internet connections...then again, the software doesn't work without an internet connection.

I downloaded the zune software and after installation (about 15 minutes on a half decent rig) I was finally able to use the software. The software itself is garbage. There is no other word I can use to describe it. If you want to copy over music/videos then you have to manually find them all through the zune software and then let it sync to your player. Just being able to search folders through this application took me about 10 minutes to figure out. I have never owned an ipod or used Itunes, however I have seen screenshots of it. I cannot imagine it being any worse than the zune software. If Microsoft had allowed syncing via media player then it might have been a little better but as it stands the zune software is, slow, bloated, unresponsive, and a pain to use.

Are you kidding me? The Zune software is extremely easy to use. Yeah, you have to sync music and it takes a while at first. Set it and forget it.

And, actually, iTunes is definitely worse. It's harder to figure things out, AND it's slower. The Zune software has always been super responsive and the opposite of bloated for me (unlike iTunes, IMO). My only complaint is that it takes a few seconds to open up.

Microsoft had wrote that the reason for this approach was to combat piracy... well, piracy is their problem, not mine. I refuse to buy a product that has it's functionality locked down for one reason or another. I haven't used many mp3 players in my life time, but every one that I've used prior to this one was simple: plug in, copy/drag/drop, unplug, and enjoy. Instead of: googling help, wondering why I had no program cd, downloading bloated software, accepting eulas, signing up to gay service all in order to use a product I paid good money for.

You don't have to sign up for anything to use your Zune software. I used the software for months without having an account for it.

Not only that, but it takes 30 seconds to go into the settings (have you heard of settings? they're common in 99% of every application on the planet) and tell it "Hey Zune software, this is where I keep my music. Everything I open you, automatically add new music to my collection". And then you tell it, "Hey, everytime I plug in my Zune, automatically sync what I tell you to (Music, videos, etc)".

So, guess what. As long as you keep music in your designated folder, it's EASIER than using other software. Open Zune software, plug in Zune, let it copy stuff for you, and enjoy. The Zune software recognizes all sorts of music and will add it to your collection...no need to have DRM music or buy it from the Zune store or anything (unless you want).

I can't believe you had to use Google to figure this out...:Q

If I wanted to take my mp3 player to a friends house and swap music with them, this would not be possible without first installing software on their pc which is unacceptable.

What, like the iPod and iTunes (which is actually more restrictive)? Oh noes! :roll:

You could also burn the music onto DVDs or put it on a flash drive...that works too.

All in all I was very disappointed with the zune, and I know the person getting this as a gift from me would also have been disappointed.

You really don't know that. Maybe they know how to use software.

Microsoft should stick to Windows because this has to be the absolute worst mp3/media player on the market today.

As much as I respect personal opinions, you're pretty much flat out wrong with all of this.

 

[evident]

same stuff can be said about the ipod. the ipod imo is worse with the crap they install on your pc.

want a mp3 player w/ crap sw?? iaudio7 is your answer. it has like 40 hours of battery life, 8 gigs of storage, and no video capabilities

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: evident
same stuff can be said about the ipod. the ipod imo is worse with the crap they install on your pc.

want a mp3 player w/ crap sw?? iaudio7 is your answer. it has like 40 hours of battery life, 8 gigs of storage, and no video capabilities

well I have a Zune 30gb, though looking to upgrade to the 120gb sometime in the near future, Zune Pass is going to see me eat up a lot of my remaining storage and the 120gb, with the registry hack, will give me extra storage space since whenever I'm at my computer the zune is connected.
But I also have a 4gb Sandisk Sansa e260.
I love both.

The Sansa is awesome because one, it's flash, and two, easy to use. But the biggest thing is it requires no software, it's straight up a usb device.
So I have experience with both worlds, and honestly, I don't care one way or the other. I'll keep the Sansa for when I go running or working out, and I'll use my Zune for whenever I'm in my car (home dock ghetto rigged on dash ) or walking on campus.

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: evident
same stuff can be said about the ipod. the ipod imo is worse with the crap they install on your pc.

want a mp3 player w/ crap sw?? iaudio7 is your answer. it has like 40 hours of battery life, 8 gigs of storage, and no video capabilities

well I have a Zune 30gb, though looking to upgrade to the 120gb sometime in the near future, Zune Pass is going to see me eat up a lot of my remaining storage and the 120gb, with the registry hack, will give me extra storage space since whenever I'm at my computer the zune is connected.
But I also have a 4gb Sandisk Sansa e260.
I love both.

The Sansa is awesome because one, it's flash, and two, easy to use. But the biggest thing is it requires no software, it's straight up a usb device.
So I have experience with both worlds, and honestly, I don't care one way or the other. I'll keep the Sansa for when I go running or working out, and I'll use my Zune for whenever I'm in my car (home dock ghetto rigged on dash ) or walking on campus.

word. the sansa is super cheap too. it's always on woot for <$40 that im tempted to pick one up. but my iaudio 7 was about $100 so if i lose it i won't be crapping my pants like i would if i lost the more expensive zune or ipod. I would like to hook it up to my car though.

 

[TheVrolok]

I love my 120 GB Zune, but I do keep an iRiver H320 if I want to swap music/carry it elsewhere/don't want to deal with software. I think when it comes to the software and music interface what matters is how well you've tagged your music. If you never organized it, it's going to be fugly.