Zune vs. iPod: Why do you have to be so anti-ms?
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Even worse, to buy even a single 99-cent song from the Zune store, you have to purchase blocks of "points" from Microsoft, in increments of at least $5. You can't just click and have the 99 cents deducted from a credit card, as you can with iTunes. You must first add points to your account, then buy songs with these points. So, even if you are buying only one song, you have to allow Microsoft, one of the world's richest companies, to hold on to at least $4.01 of your money until you buy another. And the point system is deceptive. Songs are priced at 79 points, which some people might think means 79 cents. But 79 points actually cost 99 cents.
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Amazon's MP3 Downloads will play on any audio player. Zune offers music through its software (in a manner similar to Apple) which is in a mix of MP3 file types that will play on any player, and music formatted to play only on the Zune. This is, again, identical to how Apple operates iTunes - the difference is in what formats each company sells its specially formatted music. For what it's worth, I find the Zune plays music with a richer and fuller sound than iPod. You should also know that both the Zune and the iPod require that you use their software to sync music from your hard drive to the player.I hope this is helpful (and I hope you choose/chose the Zune)! Amazon's MP3 Downloads will play on any audio player. Zune offers music through its software (in a manner similar to Apple) which is in a mix of MP3 file types that will play on any player, and music formatted to play only on the Zune. This is, again, identical to how Apple operates iTunes - the difference is in what formats each company sells its specially formatted music. For what it's worth, I find the Zune plays music with a richer and fuller sound than iPod. You should also know that both the Zune and the iPod require that you use their software to sync music from your hard... » Read More Amazon's MP3 Downloads will play on any audio player. Zune offers music through its software (in a manner similar to Apple) which is in a mix of MP3 file types that will play on any player, and music formatted to play only on the Zune. This is, again, identical to how Apple operates iTunes - the difference is in what formats each company sells its specially formatted music. For what it's worth, I find the Zune plays music with a richer and fuller sound than iPod. You should also know that both the Zune and the iPod require that you use their software to sync music from your hard drive to the player.I hope this is helpful (and I hope you choose/chose the Zune)! « Show Less
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Is it possible to transfer music from the IPOD onto the ZUNE, and vice versa?
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My HD works with it as well. All it needed was an update, and that was done by simply plugging up the zune to it. I suspect that's why it's jumped up incredibly in price... guess I should've bought 3 instead of one while it was cheap!And just a general note... fm transmitters all seem to put out the same quality, no matter if it cost 5$ or 85$ dollars -- at least in all the places I've used it in. I only bought this one because it was crazy cheap at the time. At the current price, my 10$ one from ebay may not look as nice, but does the exact same job.
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Hey Pat, as a nano + zune user, I guess I can definitely answer to your question here..I have used both players so far and both of them have averagely similar battery life..I feel like my Zune uses a little more battery though but that must be due to wireless syncing..Thing about Zune, I charged it one day, and then left it on my desk for a week with the hold button locked, and after a week, the battery didnt get used up even a little..If you will have access to your laptop/PC in the next 24 hours, then you can be assured your player will run fine with you :)
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Most any MP3 player will work for books. A couple of things you may want to consider --- Where do you plan on downloading your books from? Many libraries have services where you can "check out" downloadable media and listen to books for free. Unfortunately, most of these services DON'T work with Ipods or Zunes. If you plan on using one of these services, check their website for compatibility. I also primarily listen to books on my MP3 player. I had an Ipod Nano (my daughter accidentally lost it!) and it was my favorite. I really miss it and keep trying to convince myself to splurge and buy another. My son has a Creative Zen and it also works well for audiobooks. Some of the lower end, cheaper units are designed primarily for music. With these, it's hard to access a specific track. So, for instance if you're on chapter 20 of a book and accidentally lose your place, then you have to "click" through 20 chapters to get back to where you were. On the better units like the Ipods and the Zen, you can go right to it. (for instance, sometimes I forget to turn the player off when I turn the car off and it's hours ahed of me) If you ever listen to more than one book at a time, make sure it has a bookmark feature. Otherwise you'll lose your place in book 1 when you switch to book 2 and back.
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Have you been able to find any more suggestions on a frozen zune? I have tried your ideas, but it's still frozen. I would appreciate any more info you might have to offer.Thanks!
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David,I've tried Handbrake and did get it to work but the Zune software had to reformat the Handbrake file. Do you have Handbrake working where you don't have to reformat the file with Zune? If yes, how did you set up Handbrake?Thanks
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No, the Zune is only compatible with Zune Software, which they are phasing out and now call X-Box Music. If I were you I wouldn't buy a Zune. If you have a smart phone, I would suggest using a music app and your phone as the MP3 player.
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Don't write off the Zune yet. I've had Zen Micro Photos and one terrible characteristic is that the screen is unreadable outdoors. I'm not sure if this is true of the ZVM but some sites I've seen suggest it is. Here are the areas where the Zune beats the Zen: - more scratch resistent and resilient (Zune has a rubberized coating which helps protect it from scratches and drops) - bigger screen - if you do use it for videos the Zune display is the biggest and best - RDS support - if you use the radio you may get station and track ID info - seemingly slightly better battery life, thinner, and lighter (although a bit longer). The Zune is a bit rough around the edges, but it will only get better with new firmware. Microsoft started the project in January, so its still early days. There may be some innovative applications yet of the wifi, and there are rumors of games to come - the Zune has a pretty powerful CPU and does come from the XBox division. Pre-Zune I would say the ZVM was definitely the device to get but the Zune is definitely a contender.
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I agree with what you say. The zune does seem to have been hurried to the market. It's difficult to take the zune as a competitor at the moment, but microsoft has already announced its plans for a "family of devices". So i'd wager that the scene will be very different once the newer zunes start arriving. Hopefully they'll release a larger capacity version as well; that's the only thing holding me from buying the device.
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Holly, as far as I can tell there are no personal media players except the upcoming Zune from Microsoft that claim Vista support of compatibility out of the box. Hardware design cycles from other companies were probably too late to pick up on any Vista idiosyncratic device support. It will take another generation of devices (in other words a year more or so to shake the major Vista bugs out of peripherals...
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I just got new firmware 2.2 on my zune30! it was free!i was amazed.....if you don't have it yet, you should get it as soon as possible.
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I like WMP 11. The Zune software is basically the same, but with Zune Marketplace integrated. Nevertheless, I agree, the Microsoft Points system is quite silly. I mean, I know they have their reasons, but I think it would be easier for the average user to use plain dollars. I went ahead and subscribed to the Zune Pass option ($14.99 plus taxes I think) which lets you download all you want and synchronize to up to two Zune's. I've been downloading like crazy for the last two days and loving it!
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I've never used Handbrake, but use "iPod Low-Rez" (or "iPod High-Rez" if you plan to watch videos on TVs).These two presets are H.264 baseline profile, so you shouldn't have any problems if your Zune is one of new ones (Zune 4/8/80).
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I'm at school and i have run into problems. My schools wireless internet requires a vpn, as well as a user name and password, so the zune hd could not get the vpn for some reason. Some people with ipods that normally use my schools internet have had similar problems, so it might just be my school, and not the zune hd. Luckily i set up a wireless router for my apartment, which the zune connects to without a problem.
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I am planning to buy an iPod, not for a fashion statement, but because everything out for docking, etc., comes for iPod. I already own a very modest, 4-year-old .mp3 player by Creative Labs, but I wanted something bigger with video, etc., so I am planning on iPod. I do have the itunes concern, though. Is Zune by Creative Labs?