Zune

Does anybody have a Microsoft Zune? I'm thinking of buying one. I have a Rio Karma music player, which I like, but it holds only 20 gigabytes of music and is almost full. The Zune holds 30 gigabytes, which will give me plenty of room for new CDs. The weight is about the same (5.5 ounces for the Karma, 5.6 ounces for the Zune), but the Zune is flatter (.6 inches as compared to 1.1 inches for the Karma) and will therefore fit better in my bicycling jersey's pocket. I'm not one to run out for new gadgets, just for the sake of having something new, but in this case, the Zune fills my needs better than the Karma. Please don't tell me to buy an iPod. I don't own anything by Apple and never will.

Comments

[StephenJK]

If you are looking for an alternative to Apple then look at the Cowon iAUDIO X5. I've heard many people praise them. It is similar to what you want: 20 gigs, .56 inches flat, 5.11 oz. Here is the product detail page. I can't say much about the Zune other than I don't trust Microsoft to hand digital rights management well and this website seems to confirm that.

[Canadian Libertarian]

Have you looked into anything from Creative? I've always been happy with their products.

[Keith Burgess-Jackson]

Thanks for the feedback, Stephen and C. L. I like Creative stuff. I have Creative Soundblaster Extigy on my computer. The Zen looks good, especially the 60-gigabyte model, although it's a little thicker and longer than the Zune. (Size matters, for reasons I gave in my post.) As for digital rights management, I assume you (Stephen) are referring to the Zune's ability to transfer songs from one Zune to another. It grates on me that Microsoft would set it up that way, but I don't plan to use that feature. I have my music collection on my computer, in WMA and MP3 format, so as long as the Zune plays these formats, which it does, I'm happy. I don't buy music from the Internet, in other words. I rip my CDs to the computer and then load them onto my portable device. Again, I appreciate the feedback. I'm at the research and thinking stage.