Shop For Zune HD 32 GB Video MP3 Player (Platinum)

Considering how critical I am of technology 3 stars is quite an accomplishment.

I've owned some of the older Samsung MP3 players, the iPod Touch, the BlackBerry Storm (which can act like a media player at times), a PSP (which was initially marketed as a replacement for a media player), and now the Zune HD. I admit, what got me excited about owning one of these is better management of my music - while a lot can manage music, not many can really organize it in a fashion that makes it fun to find what you're looking for. I will say that the Zune HD is an impressive media player...but it has a LOT of issues that I feel should have been addressed before it got released. To keep it simple, I'll just break down positives and negatives, from my perspective.

= What the Zune HD does RIGHT =
* Built in HD Radio. It uses your earphones as an antenna. The quality is excellent, better than I expected actually.
* The Zune software pulls album data fairly well. It pulled some stuff that even Windows Media Player failed to pull.
* Wireless sync capability out of the box. All you need is a wireless network with the computer and devices connected.
* OLED screen is bright and vibrant, easy to read and view, no strain on the eyes.
* Ability to run videos in either slightly-sub PSP quality on the screen, or output via 720p using an extra accessory.
* The interface is lightning quick; no delays in navigation whatsoever.
* the keyboard is small but it's actually easy to type on compared to other touch screens.
* screen is a straight fingerprint magnet. They could have at least given you a screen protector with it.

= What the Zune HD does WRONG =
* Doesn't come with any software. Yes, the box is small, but would it have hurt them to include a 1GB mini flash drive or something with the software? Because...

* The software is VERY picky. In order to install it effectively, you have to download 500MB of data. Not a big deal if you have a decent connection, but if you don't...also, you have to disable firewalls (as it won't connect properly), XP has issues with the software interface (Windows 7 and Vista were fine, of course), and...

* Device requires you to update it before you can even use it. iPod Touch does this same nonsense and I hate it. Why can't they just ship the device ready to use, out of the box, and make software sync optional?? Why's that a big deal? Because...

* You can't access the Zune HD via mass storage. In other words, you can't just open up My Computer and browse out, drop files into folders, and go on your merry way. You're forced to synchronize via the software, and it takes FOREVER compared to a straight copy operation. This wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that...

* The Zune HD uses a proprietary connector like its brothers. Would have been nice to just have a standard HDMI port, standard mini or micro USB port, and the audio port so that I didn't have to pay over $50 just to use the video out feature. Or even better, wireless video streaming to Windows Media Center.

* Some of the apps have ads in the beginning. I'm not talking about super expensive apps either. I believe it was Sudoku? That had a car ad. Big turnoff.

* There is a known issue where you cannot add a wireless hotspot SSID that is not being broadcast (hidden). This is absolutely inexcusable. Often, places will hide their hotspot and just give the credentials to people, and 99% of devices allow you to manually configure these. The Zune HD does not. If it is not visible, it WILL NOT allow you to connect. A glaring oversight on the part of the Zune team; they should be ashamed of themselves.

* The included earbuds suck (but isn't that status quo by now?)

* Dock is severely overpriced; it's like $90-$100. Yet the older version is half that price. The only difference is the HDMI, and I find that to be a ripoff, seeing as they are only using a $6 passthrough HDMI connector.


So...do I recommend it? I would say wait until they resolve a lot of these issues. Everything I mentioned above can be resolved with time. I wouldn't run out and get it unless you only care about basic music playing abilities. If you want an all-around toy, this isn't going to do it for you; buy the iPod Touch. This is a media player, make no mistake. Games and browsers and whatnot were afterthoughts.Get more detail about Zune HD 32 GB Video MP3 Player (Platinum).