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Average customer review 
(based on 1600 reviews)
 Nice but Deceptive
Mar 17, 2007
I bought a black 30 gb Microsoft Zune a week before Christmas at a local Costco store. I enjoyed the device for 3 and a half months with no complaints at all. In early March I was charging my device and returned to find a crack in the LCD screen due to a mechanical flaw. Me along with many other dissappointed Zune owners discovered that while charging, the Zune's battery starts to overheat and and the battery expands putting pressure on the LCD screen. The screen then cracks under the pressure. I called the Zune tech support and their reply was, "We cannot fix the crack in the LCD screen because it is not under warranty. We do not know any retailers that can fix your device." In a nutshell they told me that there is nothing they can do about it, it is not under warranty, and that they don't know where you can take it to be fixed. Apparantly I am not the only one to call regarding this problem and I would not recommend the Zune to anyone. You should wait for the second generation Zune so Microsoft can fix their problems or better yet buy a Sandisk Sansa or an Apple iPod. I am extremely disappointed.
(29 of 37 people found this review helpful)
Huge MS fan hates Zune: No Folders! No Drag & Drop!
Written by Edward P. Mcnamara from Chicago
Sep 22, 2007
I'm a soldier preparing to deploy sometime in the (non-specified) future to a non-specified middle-eastern country currently the center of our fight with certain insurgents.
Along with 29 other soldiers, I was given a Zune as part of an intensive Arabic language course running for about 20 weeks. I guess the idea will be that we'll use them with our language CDs to study.
Of course when I installed the Zune on my Vista laptop, it grabbed every file, including some pictures I VERY MUCH did not want on an Army Zune (if you get my meaning). Deleting these files was a way bigger ordeal than it should have been.
OK, now to the real problem: No folders for non-music audio files or videos. I listen to many podcasts on my $70 cheapo MP3 player, which has an SD slot, acts as a data file storage device and also lets me browse via folder as well as ID3 tag.
What was MS thinking when they absolutely, intentionally handicapped this device? They had to go out of their way to prevent a user from sorting and browsing files by folder on the device.
I was annoyed at first there was no support within the Zune software for synching/auto-downloading podcasts, but I bit my tongue and installed a third party app and had the zune software monitor the new "podcast" folder I created.
After my first sync I realized it simply dumps all the audio files into the "music" catagory. So now I have to go digging through thousands of files (many of the podcast files have cryptic filenames related to the date, etc) to try and find a podcast to listen to, way to much trouble.
So the Zune will stay in my backpack while I use the far better cheapo MP3 player which let's me drag and drop files and folders via Windows explorer then find them on the device with ease.
Unbelievable from MS, who I constantly defend and support, this thing really sucks. Glad I didn't spend a dime on one.
(20 of 25 people found this review helpful)
HORRIBLE PRODUCT!!!
Written by Joker84 from Boston, MA USA
Nov 15, 2006
I am a big fan of Microsoft and what it stands for but I dont know what were they thinking with this idea!!!!!!! I was gonna buy a MP3 player about six months ago but when I heard Microsoft is coming out with its own, I decided to wait..so yesterday I got this "Zune" and tried to put it in to my laptop..I have many friends who have ipods and i have closely seen and experimented on ipods of different generations at the stores myself...and also heard how easy is to use iTunes...so when I installed Zune Marketplace...I was surprised how complicated things were...you have to sign up for this...this...and that..I was so mad..I was like all I want is to pay 99cents and download a song!!!!! after 2 hrs of playing with it I've decided to return it and buy an Apple ipod...very disapointed in Microsoft..This product looks like it was hurried to put in to the market..to compete with an Apple...
(43 of 57 people found this review helpful)
Microsoft strikes again
Written by C. Cumming from New York City, New York.
Nov 28, 2006
It took me 2 hours to get the Zune to sync with my computer, and an additional hour to load songs onto it. I'm still dumbfounded that someone who's been making software for so long could produce something this bad. After getting past software issues, the Zune player itself isn't all that great either. It's user interface: Junk. It's immitation click wheel (which is actually just a 4 way directional pad): Junk. It's design: to bulky, to heavy. It feels like I'm carrying a brick in my pocket.
Overall: Microsofts first attempt at breaking into the MP3 player market and taking back some of the market share which is primary owned by Apple, is a complete failure. The only hint of innovation that the Zune shows, it's Wi-Fi connection to other Zune's, isn't enough to detire someone from buying the iPod instead. Save your money, save some agrivation, and buy the iPod, it's a far superior product.
(48 of 64 people found this review helpful)
Just Say NO!
Written by D. Kaplan from United States of America
Nov 23, 2006
Not at all reliable. SW does not install properly and is not compatible with other media software. Store's "points" system is very confusing. Round control thing is really just up/down and left/right. Been waiting for something other than an iPod worth my money, but the zune is not it. Maybe I should try SanDisk or iPod next.
(40 of 53 people found this review helpful)
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