Anyone own a Zune HD?

[NYCHitman1]

You found it 3 months later? Exactly where was it hiding? lol

I've been looking for a good MP3 player. I now have a 28GB mp3 library (according to iTunes) and really... the 16GB microSD card in my Droid X really isn't cutting it. I don't like having to selectively choose what I want on my mp3 player/phone. I was really torn between the 32GB Zune HD and the 32GB iPod Touch and decided to go with the iPod Touch because of screen resolution and apps (Netflix + Hulu Plus). What I hate about it though is the back. It's like a requirement to get a case for it unless you want the back looking like a cat went to town on it.

I have the 32GB Zune HD and I sure do love it. It would be nice to have apps like Netflix but the screen is so small that it would defeat the purpose. All in all, it's a damn good music player and I'd dare to say 100x better than iPod imo.

 

[Jammy]

You found it 3 months later? Exactly where was it hiding? lol

I bet it was down the side of the couch...

 

[JunBringer]

If they had a high capacity Zune (160 or more GB) that had last.fm scrobbling ability then I'd buy it yesterday. I'm just too obsessed with last.fm to buy the regular Zune 160GB.

 

[Bramsy]

I bet it was down the side of the couch...

umm it was gone for about a year... didnt care THAT much but was cleaning a bit here and there and >WHAM< it just falls out onto the floor, OUT OF NOWHERE. now if i can find my D1 i will be complete! my BB Pearl is such a waste of a data plan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Vihzel]

umm it was gone for about a year... didnt care THAT much but was cleaning a bit here and there and >WHAM< it just falls out onto the floor, OUT OF NOWHERE. now if i can find my D1 i will be complete! my BB Pearl is such a waste of a data plan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you live in messy conditions? lol

 

[Bramsy]

no, just lose stuff... i really done care about material item like others.... even with my OG D1 i'm like "meh, i'll find it, and if not... we'll take it from there"

 

[mikedt]

Is Zune dying, or more important than ever? | MP3 Insider - CNET Reviews

Was the Zune ever important? I've never seen them for sale(UK, Ireland or China), let alone touched or used one.

I guess the tech press thought it was important because it was a Microsoft product, rather than just another Creative, Philips, Archos, iRiver, Haier, Meizu, etc. MP4 player..

 

[Vihzel]

Was the Zune ever important? I've never seen them for sale(UK, Ireland or China), let alone touched or used one.

I guess the tech press thought it was important because it was a Microsoft product, rather than just another Creative, Philips, Archos, iRiver, Haier, Meizu, etc. MP4 player..

The Zune HD was a great mp3 player when it came out and it is still a great mp3 player today. Unfortunately... Apple has a complete stranglehold on the market with the iPods and superb marketing. I remember when I was in high school, everyone wanted an "iPod" and called every mp3 player an "iPod". At least in the US, complete and utter domination. Usually now the only people who buy Zunes are the ones who want to use the subscription service or want an Apple-alternative. If there was no iPod, the current Zune HD would be considered the "king" of mp3 players.

 

[mikedt]

The Zune HD was a great mp3 player when it came out and it is still a great mp3 player today. Unfortunately... Apple has a complete stranglehold on the market with the iPods and superb marketing. I remember when I was in high school, everyone wanted an "iPod" and called every mp3 player an "iPod". At least in the US, complete and utter domination. Usually now the only people who buy Zunes are the ones who want to use the subscription service or want an Apple-alternative. If there was no iPod, the current Zune HD would be considered the "king" of mp3 players.

From what I can gather, the iPod is the dominant MP3/MP4 player in North America. In my native Britain, I'm sure I've seen as many Sonys, Creatives, iRivers and similar, as I've seen iPods. Can't recall ever seeing a Zune in the shops, or been used anywhere. So the Zune is more popular in the US than anywhere else?

Here in China it's quite amazing what they'll try and pass off as an iPod. MP3/MP4 players in all shapes and sizes, many bearing the word 'iPod' and/or an apple logo. I've seen many more people using these knock-offs than the real thing. Again I've never seen a Microsoft Zune here, real or otherwise.

Microsoft might well be concentrating on Windows Phone 7 now, which I believe has Zune functionality and capabilities. And I've seen Windows Phone 7 devices available in the UK, not in China yet though.

 

[Vihzel]

^ When were you last in Britain for an extended period of time? If it's been a while, I think it might have changed since then. I can't say for sure though. Zune is definitely more popular in the US than elsewhere because of the marketing and support for the device here. There used to be a lot of marketing before for Zune and back when there was a good bit of competition against the iPods, Zune was fairly well known.

Microsoft is definitely just focusing on WP7 phones that has all of the Zune capabilities. It's like how the iPhone has all of the capabilities of the iPod Touch. The Zune HD hasn't been updated since sometime late 2009.

 

[Jammy]

I'm fairly certain the the Zune was never released here...

 

[Member138406]

Can zunes play flac?

 

[mikedt]

^ When were you last in Britain for an extended period of time? If it's been a while,

I was last in Britain for a 6 week visit late last year, and I did look to see what MP3/MP4 players where available and what people where using. I officially left Britain to work and live in China about 2 years ago.

I'm fairly certain the the Zune was never released here...

Ah OK, might explain why I didn't see any Zunes.

 

[Jammy]

Can zunes play flac?

Supported filetypes:

.wma
.wmv
.mp3
.jpg
.mp4
.m4v
.m4a
.m4b
.mov

sauce: Audio file formats supported by the Zune software

 

[NYCHitman1]

Can zunes play flac?

Nope, Zune doesn't support FLAC format.

 

[Member138406]

Why can phones play flac but media players dont support and open source file type!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

If someone released a 100GB+, flac supported media player I would buy it right this second.

 

[mikedt]

Why can phones play flac but media players dont support and open source file type!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

If someone released a 100GB+, flac supported media player I would buy it right this second.

I've got an 80GB player which plays free non-patented codecs, like FLAC and Vorbis. A 5th gen. iPod with Rockbox.

 

[Member138406]

I've got an 80GB player which plays free non-patented codecs, like FLAC and Vorbis. A 5th gen. iPod with Rockbox.

Can i buy a new 160gb ipod and do that?

 

[mikedt]

Can i buy a new 160gb ipod and do that?

AFAIK no, not yet. Rockbox only usable on iPods upto 5.5gen. Which is not the current HDD iPod, which Apple call the 'Classic'.

Rockbox - Open Source Jukebox Firmware

 

[NYCHitman1]

AFAIK no, not yet. Rockbox only usable on iPods upto 5.5gen. Which is not the current HDD iPod, which Apple call the 'Classic'.

Rockbox - Open Source Jukebox Firmware

I had an 80GB classic that I got as a gift years ago but once I bought my Zune HD, I took a sledgehammer to it

 

[mikedt]

I had an 80GB classic that I got as a gift years ago but once I bought my Zune HD, I took a sledgehammer to it

From what I've seen and read the Zune HD looks like quite a nice device, except for a few reasons which make it unsuitable for my uses.

1) It's locked into proprietary Windows software, no drag and drop.
2) No FLAC or Vorbis.
3) Perhaps most important. Where could I actually buy one?

 

[NYCHitman1]

From what I've seen and read the Zune HD looks like quite a nice device, except for a few reasons which make it unsuitable for my uses.

1) It's locked into proprietary Windows software, no drag and drop.
2) No FLAC or Vorbis.
3) Perhaps most important. Where could I actually buy one?

Well, yeah it is locked into the Zune software for Windows but the software itself is awesome. I love it 100x more than I ever did care for iTunes (which everyone knows that iTunes sucks ass).

Being that you are outside of the US, I'm not very sure how you would go about purchasing it. You could always try eBay or Amazon.

 

[williamclark]

I have the 64gb got it for xmas last year. awesome music and divx player movies look awesome. music sounds awesome and the very very very few apps they have look and feel great on the player. my number one concern is the fact that microsoft killed zune apps pretty much . they opted to put alot more of their support to the windows phones.

but other than a lack of choise with apps well worth the money to get one if you can find one.......down with crapple.........lol

 

[gallandof]

Just found m,y zune HD the other day. sadly I have no more need for a PMP but i still find my self making excuses to use it

 

[NYCHitman1]

Just found m,y zune HD the other day. sadly I have no more need for a PMP but i still find my self making excuses to use it

I still use my ZHD almost daily. On the days that I don't use it, it is mostly because I'm getting a bit tired of my Bose OTE headphones. I could really use a nice pair of buds.