The Rabapab Blog

After waiting a month I finally picked up a new Zune HD 32GB.  I had been waiting for the new Zune device since it was announced, and so far I am pleased with what I have seen.  It definitely delivers in the media player category, the equalizer is a great addition, and the touch screen interface is full of win.   The device itself is very sexy, much smaller and thinner than I was expecting, vastly improved over the previous brick style devices.  Size wise it is comparable to the Gen 2 flash based devices, but with 2 to 3 times the storage space.  The OLED screen is gorgeous, videos and pictures look crisp and bright, vast improvement over the previous screens.  It will certainly feel much better in the pocket than the 80GB it replaced, although I will still be using the old Zune around the house and in the vehicle.  The HD will be my mobile media device that will be used at work and when I am away from home or my car.  I have not had a chance to check out the HD Radio tuner, but am certainly looking forward to using it when I get back up to Canton this weekend.  I was surprised that Microsoft did not ship the HD with the higher quality ear buds like they did with the Zune 80GB brick, instead they opted for the standard ear buds.

Even though for the most part I am pleased with the purchase there are a few things that the Zune team needs to address in a firmware update.  Before I get into those things I do want to mention that most of the negative points I am not quite sure how they were missed during product testing.  It truly baffles my mind that when a company as large as Microsoft does device testing they allow so many glaring defects or bugs to make it into the final product.  It would seem to me that perhaps they need to better select their product testers, and give them specific testing scenarios.  Some of the issues that I have found so far are blatant and at least in my mind should have been easy to identify and address before the device even went to market.

The Zune HD appears to have some issues with accurately tracking play counts and reporting them to the Social.  After visiting the Zune forums it appears that this is in fact an issue related solely to the HD models, and the Zune team is aware of the issue.  For more information on the play count issue please visit the Zune forums http://forums.zune.net/526671/ShowPost.aspx.  This can be a big deal for some Zune users as they utilize the Zune’s ability to track play count to build playlists of their most listened to songs.  The play count feature is one of the main things I like about the Zune devices and software, so I certainly do hope that they address that in their next firmware update.  Another huge issue for some users is the Internet Browser, which seems to be a very weak implementation.  After getting the device home and charged I was unable to connect to sites like MSNBC, Digg, Google, etc.  Upon further attempts I have been able to get connections with MSNBC and Digg mobile sites, so it seems to be hit or miss.  For me the Internet Browser is a nice to have, but I am certainly not overly concerned about it working.  I am a Blackberry user, have a laptop and a netbook that I can browse the web from.  However, the forums again are full of people ranting on the fact that the web browser is weak and that they are even having difficulty connecting to wireless networks, http://forums.zune.net/514655/ShowPost.aspx.  I have not noticed any issues with connecting with the home wireless network, but I am not as clueless as some of the folks on the forums seem to be about networking. 

Other than those two issues I have not as of yet found anything else.  As I said overall I am pleased with the Zune HD, it is so much better than the previous generations of the Zune device.  I really just hope that Microsoft gets on the ball with the firmware updates and fixes some of the bugs that exist with the device so far.  If they can fix the issues I have listed above I think the device will stand a chance of being a competitor in the media player market. 

There is however, one other point I would like to make.  This is not really an issue or bug so I did not mention it above, it is mostly just a poor decision on Microsoft’s part.  The applications available for the device so far are very limited, and for no real reason, at least none that I can see.  I was really hoping that they would take a queue from Apple in this category and offer a larger library of applications.  Now that may come along later, but from what I have seen and read so far, it is not looking good.  The apps are one of the biggest draws for the Apple iPhone and iTouch device lines, why Microsoft would not attempt to tap into that market as well is beyond me.  Here is to hoping that they will open the Application Marketplace up and allow 3rd party developers to build apps for the Zune HD.

About 8 months or so ago I picked up a replacement for my old 20GB iPod.  The iPod had served me well over the years, more recently turning into a glorified portable hard drive.  In fact it is actually hooked up to one of my home network servers right now acting as a spare 20GB hard drive. 

The replacement that I picked up was not another iPod, instead I chose to embrace the Microsoft solution, the Zune.  Now when the Zune 1st came out it was hampered by design flaws and software limitations.  The original Zune only had a 30GB drive in it, which was still larger than my old iPod.  When they 1st came out I was all about getting one, but as I began to read up on them I found out that while they were vastly different from the iPod they were experiencing numerous software and hardware issues.That being the case I decided to hold off on picking one up right away, and decided it would be better to wait and see if they came out with a 2nd generation Zune.  The Zune I saw in the store the day I decided to make my purchase was leaps and bounds better than the original Zune.  Instead of a 30GB drive, my Zune had a whopping 80GB drive, vastly more storage space than the old iPod.  The Zune had a nice glass covered widescreen format, perfect for watching movies on the go, it also had more than enough room to store all of my favorite music.  Now I won’t lie when I was using my iPod I had a severly out of date music collection.  I was not into the whole iTunes scene, so I didn’t have a lot of the more popular music that was out at that time.  Well little did I know that was all about to change because I had purchased a Zune.  The greatest feature of the Zune ended up not being part of its hardware or software, but instead it ended up being part of its philosophy.  The idea of the Zune is to create a “Social Network” of like minded people based around musical preference.  Using the Live Network, Microsoft was able to link your Live ID friends through the Zune software to the different kinds of music that people listen to.  You are able to see what your friends are listening to and see what music is popular with them.

The Zune concept also gave way to the “Zune Pass”, an unlimited music collection able to be built in a matter or minutes all for the price of one CD per month.  That was the kicker for me.  For $14.99 a month I can download as much music as I want and keep it for as long as I want.  I instantly built a wide ranging selection of music into my library.  And with upgrades that Microsoft pushed out they are now adding even nicer features to their Zune Pass subscription service.  Now each month you are allowed to pick 10 songs that you wish to convert to purchased music.  Once a song is converted you now own it and have full rights to it.  That means you are able to burn it disc or even share it with your friends who also have a Zune.  That brings me to the next great feature of the Zune.

When Microsoft announced that it was making an MP3 player, they took the concept a step further.  They added the ability to sync wirelessly.  The 1st generation of the Zune was marred with numerous wireless issues, which made the whole thing seem like a bad idea.  However, in the 2nd generation players they seem to have worked out all the kinks found in Gen 1 Zunes.  Not only can you sync the content of your Zune wirelessly across a wireless enabled network, but you can also “sling” songs, as it is called, to your friends on their Zunes.  Microsoft has built in DRM protection on the devices that restrict those songs to 3 plays or 3 days, whichever comes first.  So you can basically send songs to your friends to check out on their Zune and then if they decide that they like it they are able to download it right thru their Zune Pass subscription. 

The main part of the wireless functionality is the “Social” experience.  The idea is that while you are out and about, for example at a concert for your favorite band, the band could be pushing out sample or unreleased music over the air to those people who brought their Zune with them.  You could also be an aspiring musician yourself and while you are at the concert your would be able to “sling” some of your own tunes to those Zune users around you with their wireless connectivity turned on. 

As one would expect from Microsoft the Zune device and the software that you run on your PC track the music you listen to and upload statistics to your personalized Zune online profile.  From there other Zune Social users are able to see what kind of music you are listening to and perhaps discover music they have never heard before.  The online profiles track statistics such as number of plays, achievments (which are unlocked once you reach a certain number of plays.  It will show breakdowns on your most listened to artists, songs and albums.  With the information currently on the Social you are able to see who the top listeners are of your favorite bands, and then find new similar music that you may not have heard of before.  The Social makes it fun and easy to find new music, which for me is what it is all about. 

So if you are one of my friends and you have not picked up or checked out a Zune, definately look into them.  They are worth the expense and with all the extras that you get with the device you really can’t go wrong.  I hope to see you all on the Zune Social.