Microsoft Zune 16GB MP3 Player

Microsoft Zune 16GB MP3 Player

The latest Zune firmware lets you identify and download songs heard on the radio, but other than a capacity boost, little else has changed.

I just picked this up yesterday and I am very impressed. Move over Apple! Pros: - Great user interface. It's elegantly designed and very easy to navigate. I like the button touch volume control which allows me to change volume through a cover or through my pockets (something you can't do on the ipod). The player itself is beautiful too.

- Lightweight and easy to use device. The actual device is basically the same as the 4GB and 8GB 2nd generation models. LCD, weight, and hardware functionality is basically identical as far as I can tell. Of course, here you get 16GB of memory.

- Love the FM radio and new Zune 3.0 features. You can easily add songs you like while listening to the radio to your cart (on your device) and then download them either when you connect to your computer later or immediately through a wifi network. You also have the wifi marketplace which allows easy download of songs with Zunepass and I like now that there is a clock on the device.

- The software PC interface is slick and intuitive. You can easily drag and drop songs to reorganize them and I the interface is far more slick than iTunes. There are helpful features to get album art or even missing tag information on music as well. MixView is a very cool feature that enables you to see related artists with a simple click of the mouse. There's also a user rating system for songs though the classification is binary

- either like or don't like. - Great sound fidelity, although there is again no equalizer - Superfast download/sync speeds. Downloaded about 3,000 songs in minutes! Cons:

- You need Zunepass to get the most out of the marketplace, and it's expensive at $15/ month. But for that, you can wirelessly (through wifi) preview songs and download them (and most songs/artists are available on Zunepass). And if you ever stop your subscription, you lose your music. If that's unappealing, you can always download and pay for songs individually.

- Online marketplace interface can be a little vexing and still a work in progress. The music is there, but not the easiest to get to it.

- Earbuds that come with the device are so so. To get full sound fidelity, probably will need to upgrade them.

- 1.8" screen is great for navigation and music, but only adequate for video. If you want primarily a video device, I'd get the 120GB 3rd generation video player. The screen is much bigger (3.2") though the overall device is bigger and heavier (4.5 ounces vs. 1.7 for the 16GB)

- 16GB model only available in black and like previous versions, scratches/smudges show up easily. All in all, I am psyched they came up with a 16GB version without increasing the size. I primarily use this as a music player and couldn't be happier with my purchase!...see more