i-zune?

[svengandhi]

Does anyone know about this device? Oldest boy wants one for Hanukah, says that his Ipod is too full up and he can't think of anything to take off of it. He has offered me the Ipod in exchange but easy child daughter wants his Ipod and will give me HERS instead.

Aside from the obvious fact that my oldest kids are no longer surprised at Hanukah, does anyone know about the Zune? Is $139 a good price for 30 whatevers of storage? Is it any different from an Ipod? Son says it has video, etc. I do NOT want him with anything that has Internet access - I have blocked it from his cell phone and I don't want it on any handheld device.

Anyone?

Thanks.

PS - If you want one, they are $139 on amazon, down from $199.

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

I believe it is the same thing as an iPod. I don't know if the price is any good for whatever the storage capacity is. I do not think it can surf the web, but you have to hook it up in order to download the music.

As far as reliability, he may be better off getting a different iPod with more storage, JMHO, because they have been around longer and have a rather proven track record. Also they are relatively affordable this year.

Good Luck!

 

[I'm going crazy!!!]

30GB digital media player stores up to 7,500 songs, 25,000 pictures or 100 hours of video
Features wireless networking so you can share tracks and other media
3-inch color screen features a landscape mode for video viewing
Compatible with Zune Marketplace for media downloads and subscriptions
Automatically imports your existing music, pictures and videos from iTunes and Windows Media Player in a variety of formats


this is the details for the product i've never heard of it but i didn't see anything that led me to believe that it would have internet access without hooking it up to a computer

i'd call your local electronics store like circuit city and ask them if it's a good deal and if you can hook up to the internet with it just my opinion

 

[DammitJanet]

Zune is going to be on sale at Radio Shack on friday morning for $99. From what my oldest tells me, it is one heck of a steal.

 

[SRL]

My son had a Zune. If you get one you also need to get a hard protective cover which includes the screen. My son broke his after three weeks ($175 of lawnmowing money down the drain) and it was a real heartache. Extended warranties or the companies usually won't cover broken screens.

Zune is Microsoft's version of the ipod. To use it the device would have to be connected to the computer to download digital songs and digital songs get downloaded from the internet--that's true of any MP3 player. The first generations of Zunes could only download from the Zune website which was a real problem because it limited what you could do with them. At the time my son had his, Zune could handle video but didn't offer them on their site so it wasn't as if a kid could just go pay and download their favorite movie.

Also, the Zune website has a social networking component but I'm not sure how that works. My son didn't use it but I'll ask him when he wakes up what he knows about it.

If he's talking $139/30 whatevers of storage then it's one of last year's models--they've just come out with a new model which is supposedly more flexible. And which is also why the older ones have come down in price so much. The cheapest I've seen them is $89/free shipping at Amazon but when prices go that low they can be a little iffy on delivering. I always try if I want something though--when it does come through it's worth it.

When it comes to these devices, I think the kids ought to get the brand they want (provided it's reasonable or they're paying) or they won't be happy with it. In spite of the negatives my son really liked his Zune. He's going to go with the ipod even though it's less storage for the buck next time around.

 

[svengandhi]

Thanks for the advice, especially about Radio Shack. I don't do Black Friday shopping as a rule, but there's a RS about 7 minutes from me so I guess I could swing by it and check it out.

It sounds the way he describes - he is really into music and his taste is pretty good in my opinion. He's into Springsteen, the Eagles, Phil Ochs and a German band called Rammstein (after the Air Force Base) which is actually quite good. So if I take his old Ipod, I'll have a slew of songs I already like on there.

He's not into this year's whatever so if it's last year's model and it works fine, he'll be good with it. His Ipod is about 3 years old and he has had no issues with it, so I guess he can take care of stuff, even if he can't get his HW done!

 

[meowbunny]

Read a review in the paper about it today and it sounds like it is worth getting this year's model -- the screen is now glass rather than a cheap plastic that doesn't hold up. The newer model also has more storage. Forget what else was said, but it was definitely recommended you get the new one.