Microsoft Zune 80 Review

When Microsoft came onto the MP3 scene with their original Zune over a year ago, many scoofed at the idea. Microsoft, corporate suits, boring Windows....they can't be cool.

But to some people's surpries, it was a decent mp3 player. Didn't beat out the ipod but it was an additional option in the marketplace.

Fastforward a year later and I guess the original Zune sold well enough to warrant a second incarnation and Microsoft wasted no time making improvements. They completely overhauled the UI (user-interface) that seperates it completely from any mp3 player on the market. The great part is they provided this update for the original Zune as well as to not leave their original userbase out in the cold (something Apple could learn.)

But lets get into the meat of it:

Design:
The Zune 80 is a pretty good size. Its slightly bigger than the iPod classic but still very pocktable. Compared to the original Zune, the Zune 80 is 3.6 millimeters thinner and 31 grams lighter. It also has a slightly larger screen (3.2 inches instead of 3) and higher battery life (up to 30 hours for music, versus up to 14).The majority of the front is taken up by the huge screen with the bottom reserved for the three button setup. The Zune 80 now includes a touch pad that is capacitive and only reacts to human contact similar to the iPod scroll wheel. It works well and is documented in my video review. The Zune comes in 3 flavors, Zune 4, Zune 8 and Zune 80...each representing the amount of memory in the Zune.

UI:
Great as well. Everything is logically put together and you should have no problem adjusting to it. The ability to use your pictures as a background are a plus as well.

File Formats:
The Zune is a great music,video and picture player. It also can read many formats to keep you covered. Here are the file formats it supports:

Windows Media® Audio Standard[3] (WMA) (.wma): Up to 320 Kbps; constant bit rate (CBR) and variable bit rate (VBR) up to 48-kHz sample rate. WMA Pro 2-channel up to 384 Kbps; CBR and VBR up to 48-kHz

WMA Lossless

Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) (.mp4, .m4a, .m4b, .mov) - .m4a and .m4b files without FairPlay DRM up to 320 Kbps; CBR and VBR up to 48-kHz

MP3 (.mp3) – Up to 320 Kbps; CBR and VBR up to 48-kHz

Windows Media Video (WMV) (.wmv) – Main and Simple Profile, CBR or VBR, up to 3.0 Mbps peak video bit rate; 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second). Zune software will transcode HD WMV files at device sync

MPEG-4 (MP4/M4V) (.mp4) Part 2 video[4] – Simple Profile up to 2.5 Mbps peak video bit rate; 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second). Zune software will transcode HD MPEG-4 files at device sync

H.264 video[4] – Baseline Profile up to 2.5 Mbps peak video bit rate; 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second). Zune software will transcode HD H.264 files at device sync

DVR-MS[5] – Zune software will transcode at time of sync

It supports jpeg files for pictures as well.

Features:
Wifi for file sharing and wireless syncing.
FM Radio.
Video Out.

Software:
The software can be downloaded on www.zune.net. The original software for the Zune was a reskinned version of Windows Media Player (in my opinion a very sloppy/clumpy way to organize your music.) However the new software is made from the ground up, and once you place it on your computer you will be able to tell. It looks like something created by a bunch of hipsters as opposed to Microsoft. iTunes, which looks like a musical spread sheet is more Microsoft orienated. With that said, once you become accustomed to the software you will find it very good. You have many of the options you find on iTunes including playlist, auto playlist, Music store etc. But the Zune software also includes an area for your "friends" you can have in the Zune social.

Conclusion:
If you have been searching for a media player other than an iPod Classic, take a good look at the Zune. Its a great player and a wothy competitor to the iPod. Though some may still feel some restrictions as opposed to the more open Media players currently on the market. Below please find a video review of the Zune 80.