So I have had some sort of MP3 player since 2000 when I got my 6 GB hard drive creative mp3 player which looked like a cd player and hacked it to use a 20 GB hard drive. So you could call me a veteran of MP3 players. I used to download from Napster back in 2000 and started with subscription music with Napster in 2005, funny how we come full circle. Anyway i have not even ventured out to find music for more than 3 years because i have had a subscription. This is where the music industry needs to go and it is shocking that Apple would not offer it. Anyway, back to my review.
I have to admit that while I have played with IPods, I have never actually owned one. I have used a treo 600, then a treo 700w to play all of my music for the last 3 years. I always like the approach of using an SD card to expand my space and now have a 4 GB card that only cost $30. I have always been able to upgrade my space on my phone and can also download broadcasts since i use Verizon broadband from my phone. My point is that all the features you see now with the IPhone and other phones have been around for years.
So after the 300th podcast and 2 years on my phone from dotnetrocks and hanselminutes, I got sick of answering the phone and have it interrupt my listening. That and having to remember to download it to my SD card which connected to the phone. That is when i knew i needed a separate player for my podcasts. I did not want an IPod because I prefer subscription music and I wanted wireless syncing.
Well now that I have been using my Zune 2 (80 GB version) for two weeks now, I am so thankful that I have one. I get home and put it on my A/V Dock, which is just so cool that I can have it hooked up to my stereo and TV so i can see my videos and images along with listen to great music from my nice stereo. Also with wireless syncing, as soon as I put the Zune in the A/V Dock, It starts syncing up with my computer that has already downloaded the latest podcasts for the day. I was amazed when I accidentally found the power of this feature when I was working on my laptop upstairs while my Zune was charging in the wall and all of a sudden the Zune software pops up and starts syncing with my Zune which is downstairs. So cool. I am telling you Microsoft really handed Apple something to worry about with this device and software. I already look at the IPod Classics as old school and although the ITouch is cool, it really is not that cool with only 16 GB max, more money and no wireless syncing.
So i must say I am somewhat biased being a Microsoft MVP, but I have been waiting for a player like this for a long time and there is nothing quite like it on the market, so let the products speak for themselves. If you like to listen to podcasts and do not want to have to pay for each track this the obvious choice.