Creative Zen MX 8 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have both the older 8gb Zen (2007) and a new 16gb Zen MX. They are basically the same except that the MX has integrated access to the removable SD card directly from the Creative Centrale software that comes with the it. With the old Zen you had to go into a removable card menu on the Zen and then access the card via the computer operating system to add or delete files. Zen MX also does not have the code for some video formats and the software has to convert them before transfer to the Zen MX; on the old Zen you could just transfer the video files directly to the Zen. Finally, the Creative Centrale software that comes with the new Zen MX does not seem as intuitive and user friendly as the older software that came with the Zen. If I had to do it again I would have bought the older Zen rather than the new Zen MX, but the older ones are becoming hard to find and are a lot more expensive. Strangely enough the 16gb version of the old Zen is more expensive than the 32gb version!
To answer those who said the Zen MX will not play DRM protected files. Not true. It will play DRM9 protected files, but they have to be put on the Zen via the transfer function in the software, not through drag & drop, because the former also carries over the license info and the latter technique does not. Creative notes this on their web site.

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Creative Zen 8 GB Portable Media Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)IMPORTANT NOTES FIRST:
YES, it is iTunes-compatible, and YES it is compatible with Yahoo! Jukebox, BUT ONLY THOSE TRACKS THAT YOU HAVE PURCHASED AS "BURNABLE". In other words, you will not be able to transfer your Subscription or Stream tracks to this device, which is only fair (for that, you have to have Yahoo! Music Unlimited To-Go, which is an invite-based service and thus uncommon). Needless to say, you can import tracks from any CD quickly and painlessly, and/or copy any wmv/mp3/mp4 or whatever that you already have on your hard drive: the device is browsable with Windows and all you need to do is copy/paste to the right folder.
Now for the review.THE GOOD:
++ Compatible with an amazing variety of file formats, without conversion, unlike iPods. Whatever is not compatible the software will convert for you if at all possible. This is a HUGE plus for the computer-illiterate.
++ Great sound quality, a bare minimum requirement for a music player.
++ Sleek looks, IMO superior to the trite iPod-like, spin-wheel design. It certainly got more looks and comments than the iPod I had previously. Also, it's more pleasant to hold in your hand: small but not too tiny, and very sturdy/solid (which, if you'll handle it 8-10 hours a day like I do, is a huge plus).
++ The included software is fantastic. It's fast, reliable (never froze), and lets you manage files and create playlists quickly and painlessly. Basically, anything you can do with the player's built-in software you can do with ZEN Media Explorer from your computer. So, go for it.
++ Many complained about the interface, but I actually like it very much. The built-in software is easy to understand and utilize. The buttons are a tad tricky, but all you need to do is play around with them for ten minutes before you're able to find them blindly by just sticking your hand in your pocket (something you certainly cannot do with iPods, whose interface is more visually-driven).THE SO-SO:
++/-- The SD expansion slot is both a pain and a pleasure. Yes, you can basically make this a 16Gb with an SDHC card for a few bucks--but it's true that only SOME content will run off of it, and that while you are playing content from the SD card you cannot navigate the built-in flash memory. So, caveat emptor... but if you know what you're getting there's no reason to complain. How many times do you really browse your music while you're already listening to something else anyway?THE BAD:
-- Perplexed about battery life info: "25 hours of continuous listening"? I don't think so. More like 10-12, which is on par with similar devices.
-- The shortest USB cable ever bundled. Buy a cheapo extension from Monoprice right away, unless you already own a USB hub. Otherwise, your player will lie on the floor or, worse, hang by the cable while it's being charged and sync'ed, neither of which is good.
-- The joystick buttons make a slightly annoying clicking sound, not when pressed but when released. However, this does not happen on my friend's ZEN, so maybe I got a "bad" unit?
-- AWFUL packaging! What were they thinking? Not only is it one of those impossible-to-open blister packs, but if you use scissors it's relatively easy to harm the contents... not the player, thankfully, which is in full sight, but the manuals and CD and bundled cables. So be careful.OTHER THOUGHTS:
** BUY A SCREEN PROTECTOR! Apply it immediately. The screen will collect dust (and thus scratches) within hours, like any LCD.
** BUY A CASE OR SKIN! Piano-black finish is attracted to fingerprints like flies to s__t.
** 8Gb is perfect for the serious music listener with varied taste. Buffs and pros want to go for 16Gb. Occasional listeners will do well with 4Gb. Media moguls, of course, need not apply: that's what the Vision is for.Overall, one of the best entry-level portable music players on the market. The price tag may well be the deal-breaker here: it is cheaper than any other brand music player, and it does the same things AND, in my opinion, more and better. Support by Creative is also famously good, so I see no reason not to buy a ZEN.

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Bring your media with you wherever you roam with the Creative Zen 8GB player. Watch 32 hours of videos, enjoy up to 2,000 of your favorite songs or share hundreds of photos with your friends. And do it all on a device that's about the width of a credit card.
Design The Zen sports a 2.5-inch TFT color display with 320 x 240-pixel resolution and support for up to 16.7 million colors. This razor sharp display is packaged in a device that weighs just 2.1 ounces and measures 3.26 x 2.16 x .44 inches (W x H x D). The internal battery powers the Zen for up to 25 hours of continuous audio playback and up to five hours of continuous video playback. Use the Zen's SD slot to expand your portable media library with music, photos and videos stored on your SD card. There's also a handy built-in microphone for capturing notes on the go.
Features Load up up your favorite songs, as well as your album art, and get going with the Zen. The device supports iTunes Plus tracks from the iTunes store and MP3 and WMA tracks. Subscription and pay-per-download music services are supported, as well. Discover, save, and play millions of songs when subscribing to services such as Yahoo Music Unlimited and Napster To Go. You can even tune into your favorite stations with the Zen's FM radio. The radio allows you to save up to 34 presets.
The Zen has you covered when it comes to video, too. The device supports MJPEG, WMV9 and--with transcoding--MPEG1 and 2, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4 and 5, and XviD. Enjoy purchased or rented movies and TV shows from online services such as Amazon Unbox and Walmart.com. Watch home videos. Even load your Tivo To Go movies and TV shows onto your Zen.
Additional features include a clock and alarm function, volume restriction, eight equalizer settings, and a USB hard drive mode, which allows you to drag and drop files directly to and from your Zen. The Zen can also function as a handy organizer, allowing you to synchronize with Microsoft Outlook and display your contacts, calendar, and tasks.
What's in the Box Zen player, earphones, USB 2.0 cable, installation CD, and quick start guide.

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Creative Zen 32 GB Portable Media Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great choice for those people who previously limited their flash players to workout duty, or only holding a small piece of their large music collection and having to change the music on it every so often. With a 16GB capacity most people can fit their entire collection on here without difficulty, and even have room for some videos.
First impressions of this player are very good. It is extremely appealing to the eye, everyone who sees it will ask about it. It is about the size of a credit card, just thicker (less than 1/2inch). The front is a very glossy black plastic that looks great until you touch it, instantly covering it with fingerprints :) The back is a rough, cheaper feeling black plastic. Overall it has a nice solid weight and feel to it, but not very heavy. This will easily fit in a pocket.
The 2.5" screen is absolutely gorgeous. Very bright with vivid colors. The viewing angle is very good, two people can easily look at the screen at the same time while watching a movie for example. The menus are all nicely animated and intuitive to navigate. The icons and text are big clear and easy to read.
One of the big perks to having so much capacity is plenty of room for videos. This was one of the first things I've tested as it was a big reason for my purchase. First of all it DOES play Amazon Unbox videos perfectly. Transferring files was very easy (just a few clicks) and very quick. The quality of the video was great as well. The max size of videos is apparently 320x240, I have not been able to get it to play anything larger than that. If the video is smaller (for example widescreen) you have the option of playing it at the correct aspect ratio, or fill the screen (stretched out). I've gotten it to play videos encoded in Xvid and WMV format. Xvid files were encoded with AutoGK, and the WMV files were encoded with Arcsoft MediaConverter. If you synchronize with Windows Media Player, you can put in *almost any* video file and it will automatically convert the file into WMV format and then transfer to the player. How long it takes to convert depends on the type of video you're encoding, how big the file is and of course the speed of your computer.
Music sounds very good on this player, but please... get rid of the stock headphones they are horrible. Using a decent pair of headphones makes a HUGE difference. The EQ options are OK, there are about a half dozen presets and a customizable EQ. The "Bass Boost" option just made it worse in my opinion, it just distorted the sound. Otherwise it is a very even and balanced sound, very similar to the Vision:M.
The FM radio has a whopping 32 presets and the reception is pretty good. Strong stations are in stereo, weaker ones come in mono. I haven't had a chance to test out the built-in mic.
I easily transferred music and playlists onto this player from Windows Media Player and MediaMonkey, as well as protected music (WMA) from Napster. Everything was very easy, usually just dragging and dropping. The speed of transfer is probably the fastest I've seen. I've used this player on XP Home and on Vista Premium 64-bit.
Regarding the SD cards. I think its only a slight inconvenience that the memory card media isn't directly integrated with the other content. Meaning if you have videos on the SD card you don't go to the "Video" menu where all the other videos are, you have to access them through the "Memory Card" menu. Once there, you browse through the file structure like normal. If you organize the content smartly on your cards you should have no problem. And really its a small price to pay for that feature. Currently SDHC cards are up to 16GB in capacity, meaning you could double the capacity and carry around 32GB worth of content in your pocket. Amazing. I tested a Kingston 512MB SD Card and a Kingston 2GB microSD card (with adapter of course) and they were recognized and played the content without difficulty.
A quick note about the firmware. Mine came with 1.10.05. When my player turns off, it really turns off. With newer firmwares when it turns off it goes into a sleep mode for a while before it finally turns all the way off. What that means is with the older firmware each time you turn it on it has to "boot" all over again, whereas with the newer firmware you get an "instant-on" at the expense of slightly reduced battery life (since it is asleep and not off). Something to consider before you decide to upgrade the firmware.

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This credit card-sized ZEN has a stunning 2.5-inch color screen and is perfect for music, videos, and photos. Enjoy up to 8,000 MP3, WMA, or AAC songs; watch up to 120 hours of videos; and share hundreds of photos with your friends. Even expand your portable music, video, or photo collection by adding additional content through the convenient SD memory slot. The ZEN player also is available in 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, and 16 GB capacities.

Credit Card-Sized Player Supports 16.7 Million Colors View your album art, videos, and photos on this 2.5-inch razor-sharp TFT display. Your favorite photos will burst to life in 16.7 million colors on the fresh, new ZEN-patented user interface. The TFT display works under sunlight and allows everyone to watch your home videos and vacation slideshows from any angle.

Truly a Multimedia Player ZEN is the first Creative player to support the unprotected AAC format, so you can enjoy all your favorite CD tracks that you've ripped through iTunes software. ZEN also supports iTunes Plus tracks from the iTunes store, in addition to MP3 and WMA music tracks. It is also compatible with music subscription services such as Napster To Go and Rhapsody.

ZEN also supports audio books from Audible.com. Download your favorite books to keep everyone entertained on long road trips, or download daily news reports every morning and listen to the news during your morning commute.

Watch purchased or rented movies and TV shows from online services like Amazon Unbox. Share home videos, or load your TivoToGo recorded movies and TV shows.

Plus, share your collections of latest photos in 16.7 million colors. Instantly turn your slideshows into attention-grabbing multimedia extravaganzas by adding your favorite song to the slideshow.

Expandable Memory Need more space? Add additional storage capacity with the built-in SD slot and easily play new music, videos, or photos on your player. With SD cards to go, carry virtually unlimited amounts of your digital library, anywhere you go.

FM Radio In between your tunes, use the built-in FM radio to keep yourself up-to-date on world events, sports scores, or traffic reports. Or tune in to the program airing on the gym's TV while running on the treadmill.

Battery Life Enjoy up to 30 hours of your songs or 5 hours of video on a single charge--over a full day of music. Or 10 episodes of Scrubs!

What's in the Box Creative ZEN 32 GB player, earphones, USB 2.0 cable, installation CD, and quick start guide.

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SanDisk Sansa Fuze 2 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)What I really like about it is the size, capacity, and most of all price.
The codec support is about average, not great but it satisfies my needs as 99% of my music is encoded in mp3 format.
One of my dislikes is common among all sandisk mp3 players(and most other players) is that the charging/syncing port is proprietary. Not a big issue, mini-usb would have been nice though.
Video playback was smooth(used a mp4 350MB recorded tv show) no sync problems between the audio/video and no stuttering. Too small to really be considered for video playback though.
Picture viewing is about the same as video and by that I mean it works great and the pictures look ok but the screen is so small it is not practical to show off pics with it.
Voice recording works well, don't have to hold it directly to my face to clearly record sounds...although I'm not sure what this can be used for but it is there and works well.
The radio works great, easy station browsing, easy to add stations to presets, and reception is very clear.
The sound is very accurately produced at all ranges. The included headphones fit well and sound good. The volume goes up much higher than I could ever think I would need it. For those of you who are runners, I use the earphones that come with it and they direct the sound very well into my ears so I do not have to make it too loud and can still hear some of the environmental sounds: wind noise is hardly noticeable.
The screen is easy to see in all light conditions, bright, and easy to read.
The build quality feels great. It has generous weight to it, light enough to take running and not really notice it but heavy enough to give it a solid feel. The front of the device is a bit shiny and does tend to attract fingerprints easily but not scratches so far.
Expansion port works great, currently using a 4GB microsdhc to shuttle podcasts/audiobooks between it my pc.
Navigation is a breeze and the menus are very intuitive, the scroll wheel/buttons are easy to find and press even with the player not in sight.
Syncing I very easy to do without the need for bloated software. You can add media to it via a file explorer(drag & drop) or one of several media players like WMP, winamp, and a variety of others. The datbase is auto-updating and works flawlessly. I have seen a few reviews that say the database refresh takes a while. With a completely full internal memory and half full 4gb card my refreshes only take 15-30 seconds.
A few final notes. The boot-up is about 3-5 seconds from off to playing music after pressing the power button. It will resume the music exactly where you left it when turning it off. Actual usable memory is about 7.8 GB. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars, best on the market right now but not perfect of course.
UPDATE: 2 new "cons" I have come across. Technically the device is performing as intended but I am hoping for a firmware update to "resolve" these.
1. When scrolling, the speed of scrolling does not increase. Basically takes forever if the song you want is in the second half of the alphabet. This will probably be changed in the next firmware update though.
2. The podcasts are sorted by most recent first. This kind of makes since so you dont have to scroll to the bottom to listen to the newest one but it also causes a problem if you are trying to listen to a series in order and it starts playing through them backwards. :( Probably no "fix" for this issue although being able to choose how it is sorted would be great.

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With the SanDisk Sansa Fuze, you can fuse your portable entertainment, featuring 2 GB of storage. Listen, watch, and play all day with 24 hours of battery life and room for up to 500 songs**. Watch your favorite video clips on the Sansa Fuze's 1.9-inch color screen. Measuring just 0.3 inches thin, the Sansa Fuze marks the next wave of music and video players.
Audio Player Smaller than a credit card and as thin as a pencil, the new Sansa Fuze MP3 player looks great--and has the brains to match. With room for up to 500 songs**, you can listen anytime, anywhere. Jam to FM radio with 20 preset stations, play with the built-in voice recorder, and listen to your favorite audiobooks wherever you go. And with 24 hours of battery life, you're free to listen, watch, and play all day--literally.
Watch Your Favorite Videos The Sansa Fuze comes with 2 GB of built-in memory enough to store 6-hour video playback segments. Watch your favorite TV video clips from wherever you are. To ensure speedy file transfers, the unit features a USB 2.0 connection. Simply connect the player to a PC, and start dragging files from your Windows Media Player 10 or 11 applications.
Expanded Capacity With an option to extend the capacity, its MicroSD/SDHC memory card slot means storage possibilities are essentially unlimited. Expand your music collection, show albums of photos with up to 1,000 images**, and watch your favorite videos on those long trips.
Compatible Formats The player supports MPEG4 video files and audio files saved in MP3, secure and unsecured WMA, WAV, Audible, and Overdrive file formats.
FM Radio If you're feeling like a break from your own tunes, or want to dial in the TV frequency at the gym, use the digital FM tuner. Save your favorites on the 20 user presets.
Voice Recorder Use the voice recorder with built-in microphone to take memos, record meetings or lectures, or capture whatever else you might feel inclined to point a microphone at. When you're ready, transfer your files for listening on your PC.
What's in the Box SanDisk Sansa Fuze 2 GB MP3 player (black), earphones, USB 2.0 cable, quick start guide
* 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes; some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions; thus, it is not available for data storage
** Based on continuous audio playback at 128 kpbs MP3; video playback at 512 kbps/ MPEG 4; photos based on 1.7 MB average file size; battery life and performance might vary depending upon usage and settings; battery not replaceable.

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SanDisk Sansa Fuze 8 GB Video MP3 Player (Silver) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)What I really like about it is the size, capacity, and most of all price.
The codec support is about average, not great but it satisfies my needs as 99% of my music is encoded in mp3 format.
One of my dislikes is common among all sandisk mp3 players(and most other players) is that the charging/syncing port is proprietary. Not a big issue, mini-usb would have been nice though.
Video playback was smooth(used a mp4 350MB recorded tv show) no sync problems between the audio/video and no stuttering. Too small to really be considered for video playback though.
Picture viewing is about the same as video and by that I mean it works great and the pictures look ok but the screen is so small it is not practical to show off pics with it.
Voice recording works well, don't have to hold it directly to my face to clearly record sounds...although I'm not sure what this can be used for but it is there and works well.
The radio works great, easy station browsing, easy to add stations to presets, and reception is very clear.
The sound is very accurately produced at all ranges. The included headphones fit well and sound good. The volume goes up much higher than I could ever think I would need it. For those of you who are runners, I use the earphones that come with it and they direct the sound very well into my ears so I do not have to make it too loud and can still hear some of the environmental sounds: wind noise is hardly noticeable.
The screen is easy to see in all light conditions, bright, and easy to read.
The build quality feels great. It has generous weight to it, light enough to take running and not really notice it but heavy enough to give it a solid feel. The front of the device is a bit shiny and does tend to attract fingerprints easily but not scratches so far.
Expansion port works great, currently using a 4GB microsdhc to shuttle podcasts/audiobooks between it my pc.
Navigation is a breeze and the menus are very intuitive, the scroll wheel/buttons are easy to find and press even with the player not in sight.
Syncing I very easy to do without the need for bloated software. You can add media to it via a file explorer(drag & drop) or one of several media players like WMP, winamp, and a variety of others. The datbase is auto-updating and works flawlessly. I have seen a few reviews that say the database refresh takes a while. With a completely full internal memory and half full 4gb card my refreshes only take 15-30 seconds.
A few final notes. The boot-up is about 3-5 seconds from off to playing music after pressing the power button. It will resume the music exactly where you left it when turning it off. Actual usable memory is about 7.8 GB. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars, best on the market right now but not perfect of course.
UPDATE: 2 new "cons" I have come across. Technically the device is performing as intended but I am hoping for a firmware update to "resolve" these.
1. When scrolling, the speed of scrolling does not increase. Basically takes forever if the song you want is in the second half of the alphabet. This will probably be changed in the next firmware update though.
2. The podcasts are sorted by most recent first. This kind of makes since so you dont have to scroll to the bottom to listen to the newest one but it also causes a problem if you are trying to listen to a series in order and it starts playing through them backwards. :( Probably no "fix" for this issue although being able to choose how it is sorted would be great.

Click Here to see more reviews about: SanDisk Sansa Fuze 8 GB Video MP3 Player (Silver)

With the SanDisk Sansa Fuze, you can fuse your portable entertainment, featuring 8 GB of storage. Listen, watch, and play all day with 24 hours of battery life and room for up to 2,000 songs**. Watch your favorite video clips on the Sansa Fuze's 1.9-inch color screen. Measuring just 0.3 inches thin, the Sansa Fuze marks the next wave of music and video players.
Audio Player Smaller than a credit card and as thin as a pencil, the new Sansa Fuze MP3 player looks great--and has the brains to match. With room for up to 2,000 songs**, you can listen all day long. Jam to FM radio with 40 preset stations, play with the built-in voice recorder, and listen to your favorite audiobooks wherever you go. And with 24 hours of battery life, you're free to listen, watch, and play all day--literally.
Watch Your Favorite Videos The Sansa Fuze comes with 8 GB of built-in memory enough to store 5 hours of video playback. Watch your favorite TV video clips from wherever you are. To ensure speedy file transfers, the unit features a USB 2.0 connection. Simply connect the player to a PC, and start dragging files from your Windows Media Player 10 or 11 applications.
Expanded Capacity With an option to extend the capacity, its MicroSD/SDHC memory card slot means storage possibilities are essentially unlimited. Expand your music collection, show albums of photos up to 4000 images*, and watch your favorite videos on those long trips.
Compatible Formats The player supports MPEG4 video files and audio files saved in MP3, secure and unsecured WMA, WAV, Audible, and Overdrive file formats.
FM Radio If you're feeling like a break from your own tunes, or want to dial in the TV frequency at the gym, use the digital FM tuner. Save your favorites on the 40 user presets.
Voice Recorder Use the voice recorder with built-in microphone to take memos, record meetings or lectures, or capture whatever else you might feel inclined to point a microphone at. When you're ready, transfer your files for listening on your PC.
What's in the Box SanDisk Sansa Fuze 8 GB MP3 player (silver), earphones, USB 2.0 cable, quick start guide
* 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes; some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions; thus, it is not available for data storage
** Based on continuous audio playback at 128 kpbs MP3; video playback at 512 kbps/ MPEG 4; photos based on 1.7 MB average file size; battery life and performance might vary depending upon usage and settings; battery not replaceable.

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Zune 120 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)No matter your opinion on Microsoft, the amazing fact remains that every time they update a Zune they include a free software update for all past Zunes making them nearly identical as the new Zunes. I am sure one day this may stop due to the fact that the new hardware will require a different type of OS that won't work on the old Zunes (i.e. a Zune Touch or something). Until then, I am have been a very happy past/present Zune owner for this reason.
I owned a Zune 30 for 2 1/2 years prior to buying the Zune 120. My old Zune worked perfectly and was not a factor in my decision to upgrade. Did I need the extra space? Not really... but I wanted to try out the touch/click "squircle" before the new Zune games were launched. I read that some games may not work (or work as intended) with the Zune 30 since it does not have the touch sensitive pad. We'll see how true that is when games are put on to the Marketplace.
My opinion after owning the Zune 120 for a couple weeks:
The Good:
-I am a rabid/avid fan of the Zune Pass. I don't mind renting music, in fact I LOVE it. It really opens me up to new bands without wasting $10-20 on an album I may hate. For $14.99 a month [for unlimited downloads on up to 3 Zunes and 3 Computers] I can download from more songs than I can fathom and not be upset if I pick a few tone-deaf artists along the way. If I love an album enough to keep it I can buy it from Zune or Amazon or whomever. If you think about it, the Zune Pass could save you money by allowing you to test out bands before committing to a purchase. Also, if throwing a house party or having guests over, you can download music for your guests that you might never consider buying for yourself.
-Audible support now available. Not sure how much I will use this feature yet but for now I like it and am happy I am not closed off from this option.
-WiFi: the options are now amazingly more advanced and now having WiFi on the Zune makes sense. Being able to download songs over a WiFi connection is huge. McDonald's is teaming up with Zune and will be offering their WiFi connection to Zune owners in the near future. While iPod does this with Starbucks, there are many more McDonalds than Starbucks in the U.S. Though not sure if this is a good thing ;)
-Channels!!!: I love the new channels built into the software. As a Zune Pass subscriber I love taking advantage of this. The software makes a "channel" once a week of songs it thinks I will like based on a genre (I have a "My Classic Rock" channel, "My Rock" channel, and since I share my Zune Pass with family members a "My R&B" channel). I choose which, if any, channels I want to subscribe to (so I can skip the R&B one if I desire) and it downloads a playlist of sorts that changes every week. Also, I can subscribe to other generic channels (i.e. "Rock" Channel, "Punk/Ska" Channel etc.) not tailored directly to me if I so desire. This has been a great way to sample new bands/music that have relevance to my music style. Of course if you love a song/artist you can always permanently download the songs. If you are an avid gym buff or runner there are some very cool channels titled "Walk" "Jog" and "Run" that have songs which consist of the same range of beats per minute to keep you moving at a constant speed. Very cool.
-Mixview: Much better looking than "Genius" on iTunes since Mixview uses album art and artists pictures rather than plain old text and Mixview's suggestions seem more relevant to me than Apple's "Genius." This can always change in the future as each product develops and I am excited that there is competition in this arena since it can only make this better and better. If you don't know what Mixview is, it is Zune's way of gathering data based on your music preferences (and the preferences of others) to recommend new music to you. Pandora (the Internet Radio website) does a BEAUTIFUL job at this. It's free and I would check it out if you have never used it before. Amazing.
-Battery Life: Much better than the Zune 30 which is a nice surprise. Leave WiFi off for a longer battery life.
-Accessory Compatibility: the charger, dock, remote, car charger, etc. from the Zune 30/80/120 all work together wonderfully. If you have the version 1 dock you will need to remove the plastic insert in order to have the 80/120 fit. It only takes a few seconds and is very painless. I would add a link to websites that show video/pictures on how to do this but Amazon removed two posts in the Zune forum where I did this. Do a search, it's out there. The cases for the Zune 30 do not work with the 120 but the 80 is the same size and both use the same cases. Heard there are problems with older FM transmitters working with the newer Zunes. Not sure how prevalent this problem is as I use an AUX jack in the car.
-The Squircle: This is the only "big" difference between the Zune 30 and the 80/120. It did not take long for me to get used to using this but my learning curve may be shorter than others as I am used to swiping on my iPhone and now clicking seems more difficult for me. (You can turn this feature off if you just want to use the squircle as a click pad.) When I went to buy a case I found that most cases covered the squircle and was concerned it would mess with functionality. I want to report that it did not take away the ability of the Zune to notice my movements. However, the case makes it not as smooth of an action as the bare squircle (I have a silicone cover that makes my finger "stickier" against the case so the glide isn't as smooth). Something to think about when purchasing a case (which I would recommend.. see "The Bad")The Bad:
-I LOVED the Zune 30 casing. That was one beautiful thing that the Zune had over the iPod. The iPods scratched and showed wear very quickly and the Zune 30's casing was virtually indestructible. With the new casing (party in the front/business in the back... the reverse mullet) it seems that the possibility for scratching is now higher. The shiny front is a fingerprint magnet and the matte black back has a silver/gold metal underneath (as evidenced by Microsoft's Zune Originals website where you can have your Zune engraved professionally.. they "scratch" [engrave] a design and the gold/silver color appears). Not sure how deep you would have to scratch to get to that color and I won't volunteer to be a guinea pig. Sorry!
I highly recommend getting a case and I am a sucker for buying a screen protector as the Zune is nearly all screen on the front and should remain beautiful and scratch-free.The "I don't care"/ "No opinion":
-The Clock: There is a clock now.. and I don't care. Many did so they will be happy. No alarm built-in, so beware clock lovers. (Microsoft updates the firmware and software quite a bit so you never know if this could be added soon.)
-Buy from FM: I hate the radio in my smallish town. There are only a couple decent stations but they aren't good enough for me to stop listening to MP3s and tune in. For those who have better stations and are in to Top 40 or what is new on the charts this may be an amazing option for you. Getting artist and album info over Zune's FM radio could be helpful if your DJ never states the name of an artist (like so many don't) and, if you really like the song, you can download it immediately or tag it for download later (depending if you are in a WiFi hotspot or at home with plug in hand).
-Headphones: the Zune 30 came with "run of the mill" headphones, the Zune 80 came with "premium" headphones and the Zune 120 went back to the "run of the mill" headphones. I use third-party headphones ($100+) so I don't care what comes in the package. Others might so here it is.
-Games: as of today's date, there are no games available for download on the Zune Marketplace. This is supposed to change soon and I sure hope it does. However, there are two games that come loaded on the Zune when you plug it in to the computer and update (Hexic and Texas Hold 'Em). Apple has the upper hand here and has done wonders with the App store. I hope Microsoft takes note and does something like it with the Zune. Heck, I hope the do something even better so then Apple steps up their game even more... and around and around we go. Competition is great for consumers.
I think here is a good place to mention that I love my iPhone 3G AND my Zune and I need to have both in my life to be happy (in the materialistic sense). I don't listen to music on my iPhone due to limited space (after adding apps, photos, podcasts, etc. there isn't much room for music) and also because Apple does not have a subscription music "rental" service. Ideally I would like to see Zune make a phone similar to the iPhone or the iPhone to have a subscription based music service (both phones would need a large capacity drive) so I could carry around just one device (either iPhone or ZunePhone depending on the offerings). Until that day I live in harmony with my Zune 120 and my iPhone 3G.

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Latte Café 32 GB Video MP3 Player with 4.3-Inch Touchscreen -- Amazon.com Exclusive (Silver) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have used latte's products and very satisfied with this little-knwon company's product.
First thing I would like to mention is that they have a very good customer service. I had my Ice 8GB mp3 player that I accidentally broke the screen and the latte replaced the whole unit to the new one.
Now I needed more memory space to upload my home videos and found this latte on Amazon. Ice 8GB is now passed to my son and I got this 32GB mp3 plus the 16GB extra memory. I uploaded most of my home videos(about 40GB) and still have plenty of memory space left for the music. My husband is using the Archos 60GB harddrive mp3 player, but now he wants this latte 32GB cafe mp3 because the response time is a lot faster than the Archos. My husband is telling me that it is becuase of the memory: flash memory should run faster than the harddrive memory.
*Screen: Very sensetive touch screen. Unlike ipod touch, cafe mp3 requires the double click to activate any buttons or lists. But for the price that is around half of the ipod touch 32GB(nowadays, it is around $399), I am very impressed about the quality of this cafe.
*There are not many choice for the high capacity mp3 and the prices are too expensive. I had my research on the high capacity mp3's and found ipod touch($399), Archos 60GB($269) , Sansa($175 but not touch screen and small screen), Zen($235 but not a touch screen), cowon($269.99), and latte cafe($189).
*Sound: reasonable sound quality. pretty much same sound as my previous latte Ice mp3 player(of course, they are from the same company ^_^)
*Video: I am very happy that I can now carry all of my home videos with me. cafe has TV connection feature but I haven't tested.
*Accessories: Nice leather case and the touch pen. Also, the good earphone.
I think the other 32GB mp3s are very overpriced compare to this latte. I hope my review helps.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Latte Café 32 GB Video MP3 Player with 4.3-Inch Touchscreen -- Amazon.com Exclusive (Silver)

Latte's Café portable media player boasts a 32 GB capacity (expandable with Micro SD cards), a 4.3-inch touchscreen with WQVGA resolution, wide audio and video format support, a voice recorder, and bonus features like a calendar and stopwatch. Add sleek design and an attractive metallic/gray finish, and you've got a perfect PMP package.


4.3-inch LCD Touchscreen Enjoy your favorite videos or pictures and navigate with ease on the Café's 4.3-inch touchscreen display with 480 x 272 (WQVGA) pixel resolution.

Built-In Speaker The Café features amplified dual speakers so you can share music or videos with friends. Throw on headphones for private listening.

Audio Player While some devices limit you with their skimpy format support, the Café will play MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC, and APE music formats for about 8-10 hours on a single charge. Standard play modes like repeat and shuffle are included, and of course the Café supports ID3 tages (versions 1 and 2) for displaying song info while you listen.

Dial in your sound with the seven-setting on-baord EQ and enjoy the tunes.

Video Player Take your favorite videos with you and enjoy them anywhere with the Café's brilliant screen. You'll get about four hours of video playback on a single charge.

The Café supports AVI, RM/RMVB, and FLV formats, so you can enjoy more video with less conversion.

Picture and Text Viewer Browse and view your favorite images in JPEG, BMP and GIF formats. Zoom in and out or play a slideshow for friends.

The Café also lets you view text (TXT) files.

Naturally, you can keep the tunes rolling while you enjoy these features.

Voice Recorder Record voice memos, meetings, lectures, or anything else you decide to point the built-in microphone at directly to your Café in WAV format.

Easy File Transfer and Portable Storage Enjoy transfer speeds of up to 4MB/S thanks to the Café's USB 2 interface. You can also use the Café as a USB storage drive for taking a few choice files with you.

Micro SD Card Slot Expand your available memory using Micro SD cards. Keep a few cards at the ready with whatever contents you like, and swap 'em out on the fly.

What's in the Box Latte Café 32 GB video MP3 player with 4.3-inch touchscreen (black), wall charger, stereo earphones, leather case, stylus, USB cable, manual

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Pyle PHPW2 Hi-Fi Wireless FM Headphones (Super Bass, Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)These wireless headsets from Pyle are mainly used in our home for watching and hearing sound from movies. These are not the best in sound quality but fairly priced. Other features with these headsets like listening to the FM radio isn't as convenient since there's no way to see the station that's tuned in, or a quick way to tune to a favorite station. Instead, I manually push the scan button until the right station I want is being received. When the headset is turned off, then turned back on, the headset forgets the presets so I would need to do it again. So, I don't use it to listen to FM; it's only for emergencies.
Newer wireless FM transmitting base stations and FM receiving headsets have more standard features like built in microphone and ability to use DC power instead of AAA batteries. In my opinion, the built in microphone is a nice to have but it probably isn't a reliable way to monitor for baby cries or for the elderly. The FM transmitting tower is weak, unable to go through walls reliably (900 MHz or higher like the frequencies wireless phones use would penetrate walls reliably). Also, the transmitting stations do not encrypt the wireless FM output signals so the entire neighborhood or the apartment complex could hear your conversations if you left the device on by accident. I prefer to leave this feature/option out of my transmitting station.
If you must have a wireless microphone (to transmit speech via wireless FM frequency), then buy a quality microphone separately (small microphones for computers would work). You could connect the microphone to the Audio Input in the back of the transmitting tower to broadcast the speech/sound.
The DC adapter/capability feature for the newer models are a good feature to have to avoid consuming batteries, but audio quality is poor due to the DC signal noise (occasional crackle sounds and pops will be transmitted from the transmitter to the headsets when a large appliance in the house comes on to draw power). Personally, a battery powered transmitting station is the optimal method and results in higher quality/cleaner signals (the only power source for this Pyle model is two AAA batteries). Transmitting station and signal reception for the wireless headsets are reliable when there's no physical obstructions or barriers.
Power consumption is minimal, but I must remind myself to turn off both the transmitting station and headsets when not in use. I use rechargeable batteries and I never worry about running out of batteries or power for the transmitting station.
These are mono headsets when they operate in wireless FM frequency mode, but if plugged directly into the source with an adapter (purchase separately), they become stereo headsets. If you're looking for higher quality wireless headsets, you may want to get binaural wireless headsets which provide sound that's better than surround sound stereo, but could cost significantly more due to the newer technology behind it.

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The Pyle PHPW2 Wireless Headphones provide Clear, Bright, and Full sound without the hassle and tangle of wires to get in your way. They feature a Powerful wireless transmitter, which can be connected to anything with Audio output, such as your Television, Stereo, Computer, MP3 player, etc. With over 100 Feet of range, feel free to roam with these Pyle wireless headphones.

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Universal Pair of Brand New Tview T110pl-grey Headrests with 11.2" Car Monitors Built in + Built in Ir Transmitters + 2 Remotes + 1 Year Warranty + Top of the Line Tft Display and All the Latest Features **Wholesale Price** Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am extremely happy with my purchase. The picture is more than exceptable for my purpose. The connectioms are easy, and the controls do exactly as they should. The only thing I want to point out is that these things are huge. I mean massive. People ride behide me and let me know they enjoyed the show. I have installed them in my mini van so its not so bad, but I would never suggest these for a Regular car. A show cr would be complete with a set, bu they would be way over the top for nyone else.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Universal Pair of Brand New Tview T110pl-grey Headrests with 11.2" Car Monitors Built in + Built in Ir Transmitters + 2 Remotes + 1 Year Warranty + Top of the Line Tft Display and All the Latest Features **Wholesale Price**

UNIVERSAL PAIR OF BRAND NEW TVIEW T110PL-GREY HEADRESTS WITH 11.2" CAR MONITORS BUILT IN + BUILT IN IR TRANSMITTERS + 2 REMOTES + 1 YEAR WARRANTY + TOP OF THE LINE TFT DISPLAY AND ALL THE LATEST FEATURES **WHOLESALE PRICE**Features: Tview T110PL 11.2-INCH TFT LCD HEADREST MONITORPrice includes pair of headrests with 11.2" monitors mounted into each headrestDisplay Mode: 16:9 Wide Screen selectableSystem: PAL/NTSC2 Video InputsBuilt-in IR TransmitterResolution: 800(W)X480(H)Contrast: 300:1Brightness: 350cd/m2Operate Temperature: 0°C ~+65°C Storage Temperature: 0°C ~+70°C Power Consumption: 6.8WPower Supply: DC 12VThe Distance Between the two poles can be adjusted within 4" - 7 " inchesUniversal - Suitable for any type of carDimension(mm): 410X310X130Weight: 0.72KGOSD On Screen Display Remote Controls included x 2 Blue screen when there is no signal Advanced technology allows amazing brightness CCFL (cold cathode filament tube) (This along with the TFT display gives you a bright clear display better than most other brands) Adjustable brightness, contrast, color

Click here for more information about Universal Pair of Brand New Tview T110pl-grey Headrests with 11.2" Car Monitors Built in + Built in Ir Transmitters + 2 Remotes + 1 Year Warranty + Top of the Line Tft Display and All the Latest Features **Wholesale Price**

Brand New Tview T206ir 20 Inch Thin Tft Flip Down Ceiling-mount Car/truck Monitor with Twin Dome Lights, and Built in Ir Transmitter and Amazing Resolution and the Best Features **Big and Beautiful Display** Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I LOVE THIS SCREEN. I HAVE IT IN AN 04 CHEVY SUBURBAN. IT WAS SUPER EASY TO CONNECT. WITH IN AN HOUR I HAD IT UP AND RUNNING. I WILL SAY, EVEN WITH IT BEING SLIM/SLENDER ITS A LITTLE HEFTY, BUT NOT TO BAD. AS LONG AS YOU BRACE IT RIGHT YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS.EVEN WITH HOW LARGE MY TRUCK IS,IF YOU HAVE THE SCREEN DOWN YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE OUT OF YOUR REAR VIEW AT ALL SO BEWARE.. THE PICTURE IS CRYSTAL CLEAR WITH HIGH DEFINITION. SO IT GETS FIVE STARS FROM ME. I HAVE NOTHING BAD TO SAY ABOUT THIS PRODUCT AND YOU CANT BEAT THE PRICE.

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BRAND NEW TVIEW T206IR 20 INCH THIN TFT FLIP DOWN CEILING-MOUNT CAR/TRUCK MONITOR WITH TWIN DOME LIGHTS, AND BUILT IN IR TRANSMITTER AND AMAZING RESOLUTION AND THE BEST FEATURES**BIG AND BEAUTIFUL DISPLAY**Features:Super Slim!!20" Roofmount TFT LCD Monitor Resolution: 1240 x 800 pixelsWide Screen16:9 aspect ratioPAL & NTSC Multi System Display: TFT Active Matrix System With IR Transmitter Adjustable color settings (brightness, saturation, contrast, color, etc)In-Line Noise FilterHigh Resolution Dual Interior Lamps (Dome Lights)Two Video Inputs Free Remote Control OSD Menu Power Input: DC12V Only 1.5" Depth - Thinnest 20" monitor on the market!!Free full function remoteDimensions: 19" W x 15" L x 1.5" DWeight: 4800GBrightness: 300 CD/m21000: 1 Contrast

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PYLE PLVWR2200 22'' Flip Down TFT LCD Monitor Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The picture quality is one of the best I've seen on a flip down monitor but the base plate to hold up the monitor is weak... Theres no metal behind it to support its weight. Theres only plastic, soo after awhile I'm worried that it'll start to crack and break... Wish they made it more sturdy soo it would last ... But over all happy with the purchase...

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This 22" Pyle super-slim TFT roof mount monitor has a crystal-clear display to keep the back seat busy and entertained! This screen has a 16:9 display ratio at a resolution of 1820 x 1080 for a beautiful image. The monitor has dual-dome lighting for illumination, and is equipped with 2 AV inputs, so you can hook up multiple devices without having to worry about messy wires. Tweak your monitor\'s display using the built-in controls, or use the included wireless remote control. The built-in IR transmitter can be used with wireless IR headphones to keep the noise low and the fun high! Requires 12 V.

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