Interesting news on the
Zune front: a friendly tipster's buddy works at a Microsoft call center and handles Zune-related issues. Apparently they've received numerous reports of the Zune screen cracking for no apparent reason, after being left charging overnight. Our tipster's friend conjectures that the lithium ion battery -- which resides right behind the top half of the Zune's screen -- is expanding from overheating and putting too much pressure on the screen, causing it to crack. Unfortunately, Microsoft currently regards the issue as outside warranty coverage, leaving the victims with a broken Zune and nowhere to turn. Of course, this could all be off the mark, and it might turn out that a few Zune-droppers conveniently made up the same story to try and get a free repair, but if there is such a battery-expanding problem, we'd sure like to hear about it -- any of y'alls experiencing screen crackage of a similar nature?
posted Jan 31st 2007 11:07AM
I have left my zune charging for well over 8 hours more times than I can count. I can't even recall it getting warm. Others might have something else to say but I have never experianced anything close to that kind of heat it would take to crack a display.
It could not be the heat, but the expanding of the battery without making heat.
I have had no issues with cracks, scratches, or anything like this with mine. I am really enjoying my Zune and a lot of people ask me about it when I am out. The only thing I do not like about the Zune so far is the software and it's inability to convert avi files.
"The only thing I do not like about the Zune so far is the software and it's inability to convert avi files. "
Hey dude.. who said u cant do tht .. all u have to do is rename the file to .wmv, drag and drop in zune software rename the files back to .avi from the folder u got press F5 and sync... walla.. it will sync .avi and .mpeg and .divx
I'm the same as Dasgooch. Everything's been peachy for mine. I've left it for longer than that a number of times (both plugged into USB 1.1, 2.0, a 360 and the wall charger), and stays as gorgeous and cool as ever.
Reason not to buy a zune, number 2051.
Yeah I knew about the renaming of files but that is a bit annoying and there have been complaints about the quality after the conversion. I have been using encode360 to do it now and it's faster than the Zune software and no need for it to convert when you go to sync it.
As for the screen cracking it is possible that it is a small issue that most will not experience. But for the apple boys don't play high and mighty over a
oh my God....unreal what you PeeCee people have to go thru just to convert a file. And it's Voila. The French word. Not Walla. What the hell is walla???
My Zune arrives today!
I'm so excited and I just can't hide it
I'm about to lose control and I think I like it
I'm so excited and I just can't hide it
And I know I know I know I know I know I want my Zune!!!
This is deeply disturbing.
good for you.....
Nope, no such problems with my Zune. Though my headphone cable insulator did detach from the plug, exposing the wire, but I have a habit of wrapped the cable around the zune when putting it in my breast pocket which is likely the cause.
I smell bullshit! I've left my Zune on the charger for over a week while I was out of town and it isn't even warm to the touch. I bet the second part of the article is the real truth, people who dropped their Zune and the screen cracked are more likely than not.
Sounds like ipod fanboys working overtime!!
I have had my zune since release! works perfectly fine.... Just wish I could transfer video files from my xbox to the Zune... anyone figure that out?
thanks for the tip on converting avi, mpegs..ill test that out later.
WTF? Why bother bringing iPods into this discussion at all? Your post would have been fine if you got that chip off your shoulder before typing.
FWIW I agree w/gizmoguy and think it's a few clutzes trying to make up for their lack of hand-eye coordination.
i think this could be false. i mean, the design is straight from Toshiba Gigabeat. surely we would've heard something of this nature since the gigabeat has been out for a while.
i'm waiting for the forum to fill up with guys that are like "haha.. these people are full of shit... my zune works fine."
but really, whats there to be proud of? you bought a zune.
I've had no problems and have not seen any posts about similar problems in the Zune forums I visit regularly. I would be wary of any "news" that begins with "My buddy who works at Microsoft said . . ." I'm disappointed in Engadget for posting such a baseless story.
people actually own zunes?
reply to: people actually own zunes?
Why was that comment lowest ranked? He asked the exact same question I was thinking when I started to read this thread... I don't know anyone with a Zune, nor have I seen one on someone in the wild.
I to have recently bought 3 zunes and absolutely love them all. I have had no problems with overheating and really enjoy the hardware much more than ipods. The only problem i see with the zune is the sharing of files that are non-DRM, which in all honestly i enjoy, but have a feeling record companies will try to put a stop to this...
I have left mine charging overnight several times and have had no issues. Sounds like someone's trying to scam the system.
From a few years in cellphones, it sounds like the second answer is the right one. I've had a dozen or so people come in with the 'I plugged it in, went to bed and in the morning the screen was cracked.' Of course this is on a flip phone whose screen is nowhere near the battery. People will never stop thinking things that are their fault aren't, and moreso, will never stop lying to cover up that it is.
To be honest, I think if my zune broke then i would lie my way to get a free repair. Don't you?
It's pretty hard to call bullsh!t just because yours is fine. (The same didn't work in your mind for iPods: my 2nd gen iPod's battery still gets 4.5 hours after almost 5 years.) The problem is: we are probably talking about a problem that occurs 1-3% of the time... that would be like 5000-15000 out of about 500,000.
It toughs to imagine that engadget is reaching 100% of the Zune owning population. More so to imagine that they'd fess up to the issues (they are actually more diehard about defending the Zune than iPod owners.)
It's already well known that there is a widespread issue with skipping. The Zune chokes when its full with content. This is known and widespread, but you hardly see any coverage of it. (I don't think it's been covered here yet.)
I agree that the zune is much much more useful than the ipod. It is so big and durable it makes a better paper weight, it makes a better door stop and when i get my "wacky wall walker" stuck too high on the wall, i can knock it down with my zune.
I tried to put my ipod in front of the door, the door just closed like it wasnt even there. I tried to knock down my wacky wall walker and i lost my ipod in the air molecules. It is just too small. Give me something big and beefy like a zune.
you can tell it was made to be tactile.
Evidently you did not read the topic of this thread.
Also, I want to say in regard to the anti-zune ipod fans, I used to own a video iPod, before that I owned an older generation iPod for a year. I had it for 6-7 months and decided to try out the zune, which ended up with me enjoying the zune much more and selling my iPod to a coworker. The zune has worked perfectly, it is a lot tougher and more scratch resistant. Overall, I'm glad I made the change.
I put mine on a dock every night to charge and its never gotten warm. I'm guessing these folks dropped their zunes and broke the screen and had to come up with a way to get a free replacement.
I'm still happy with mine.
I too smell bull....
Yes, LiIon batteries can expand while being charged but generally there are protections put in place that would shut down charging LONG before this happens.
Also, I doubt the amount of expansion that generally occurs would be nearly enough to crack the screen.
I have several portable devices with integrated LiIon batteries and have never seen this happen. I have, however, cracked the screens on devices by leaving them in my pocket and sitting/laying on them. Oops...
The only way to find out for sure would be forensic examination of the device which I'm sure would happen if it were sent in for replacement. Anyone who has had this happen care to take pictures (including the bulged battery?)
sorry mate, the only way the battery could expand is if heated, no heat, no expansion
I've had my Zune since Christmas, and I've had no recharging problems. I've left my Zune plugged in at work all day without any problems.
For those who are having file converting problems, there's plenty of software out there that can do your conversion job; and that are configured for Zune's WMA format. WMA files need to be set at 400 kbps--I believe--for a smooth transfer without any reconversion during a sync. I just wish that the Zune videos had a playlist like the music.
I think for now, all we can do is wait and see. I would think that something like this would not happen do to QA tests that look for these things, but things do happen. Also, considering microsoft's track record with new hardware, more specificaly the 360, I would not call this bull.
On the other hand, I do think alot of people will try to capitolize on this situation just like they did with the wii-mote incidents. Thats the nature of the game. You hear one story about a faulty product from a big company and you already see the green and try to get a piece of it.
The only disturbing thing about this whole situation is that concidering how small this issue is, Microsoft won't even cover it. This will ending up hurting them more than anything else. Its like the whole issue where updates for the 360 bricked the boxes and it took them a while to decide that 1. the warranty should be extended and 2. that it is their responsibility.
Come on microsoft, how about alittle support for your zune.
how long have we had electronic devices with Li-Ion batteries and how many of them have warped because of overcharging...That's the beauty of Li-ion batteries they don't have the "memory effect" of Ni-Cad or NMH batteries. That isn't to say that defective Li-ion batteries don't exist and can't be the culprit of the death of zune screens or any other electronic device using a Li-ion battery.
My Zune battery expanded and shattered the screen and sent razor-sharp glass into my eye, my 60" plazma tv, my dog, my new car, and my cereal.
It's too easy to get free shit these days--pay up M$
I've had my zune since day 1, the only time its even EVER gotten even remotely warm is when I transfer a large amount of files to it (I'm talking thousands here).
Regarding the obvious disease of apple-fan-boyism on here. Yes, you can all pretend like you're iPods have no flaws, but you must really come up with better well thought out arguments than the things I've been reading on here (such as "ZUNE SUCKS!@(@*($%^) . If anything, you're just making the average apple user look like an over complacent 13 year old brat. I have nothing but the highest of respects for apple, it's their cult-like userbase that tends to make them look bad.
And just another side note, the amount of people who own zunes who are HAPPY with it FAR outweigh the ones who say "Its garbage". Where as the average iPod post I see here starts off with "I'm on my 3rd iPod and...". Yeah.
I've had not a single problem with my Zune... well, after I exchanged it once.
Oh, and everyone looking to convert videos for it. Google the SUPER video converter. It's just a graphical front end to a lot of codecs, and the newest version has a Zune output setting.
who in their right mind would buy a clunky zune anyhow?
My Zune barely even gets warm when it charges. Maybe the units with expanding batteries have bad electronics?
All in all, I really like my Zune. It's stylish, and browsing via the album art feels very natural. I hope that, if there is in fact a defect, Microsoft takes care of these people. They've been pretty good with their customer support so far.
I leave mine charging overnight all the tie and have yet to have a problem. Then again, I have Circuit City's accidental protection plan (I got my Zune by dropping my Creative Zen Micro "accidentally" then sending it in in exchange for a gift card) so if this ever does happen, I'm covered.
My screen hasn't cracked, and I've charged overnight. I don't even think the unit gets hot.
err i mean
The Zune at the CES booth had a crack in it too.
http://www.thetechzone.com/?m=show&id=667&page=2
People need to drop the negativity on Zune until you actually own one to talk sh*t about it. I was biased towards the Zune from the start, up until I got it for Christmas. Yes there are stupid things about it such as the limited video formats it can take and issues with media rights on video files, fact that it can't by default be used as an external HDD...but to have an alternative to ipod is quite the escape! That lucite casing - i can stroke this baby all day. And come on, it's the first version release so of course they're bound to get things wrong. Anyway, to respond to the original post, I too have left it to charge for hours over night and my Zune works fine. No cracked screen. I
It should be noted that if this is true, it would not necessarily apply to all Zunes. Batteries vary in quality and some bad ones eventually get out. Just because it doesn't happen on your Zune doesn't mean it is impossible. After all not all laptops with Sony batteries caught on fire, but some did. It is certainly possible that some bad batteries got into some Zunes.
My Zune screen got a crack in it when I accidently threw my WiiMote at it playing a game. Does that count?
I have my Zune for over two years. I have never experienced such a problem.
The only thing that pisses me off, is that the nano colour change case, sometimes, gets stuck on red.
The first color Palm computer had a similar problem - the plastic case kept cracking. It was blamed on the lithium battery, which heated and expanded during heavy use.
My Zune sleeps in its dock every night with no problems.
I have not had any problems. Love my Zune, best player I ever owned.
Seems that all the negative comments are from people who don't own a Zune. They should not feel so defensive and inadaeuate, they should get a Zune so they don't have to be so jealous and spend time on blogs writing overcompensating posts.
Like Apple Microsoft have issues with their first versions. Sad that this happens but hopefully Microsoft will replace those cracked units for free and fix the issue with their player to the next version.
Any Linux ports for Zune yet ?
While this story may sound made up, this early into the Zune's life, this sounds strikingly similar to the problem that killed the Rio Karma. The Rio Karma, if you'll remember, was very popular in its niche because it featured real gapless playback and played Ogg Vorbis files. The batteries would all expand from overcharging, due to poor charging circuitry. This would compress the small, 1.8" hard drive, rendering it unreliable, and in many cases, damaged beyond repair. I've actually seen it happen.
How is it easier to convert a video file on a Mac? The iPod's video support is even less than the Zune's if I'm not mistaken, and unless you pay for Quicktime Pro, converting to H.264 can be a pain (and in my experience with converting video files for iMovie, it can be a pain even with Quicktime Pro).
This almost sounds a lot like a really bad suggestion for a death scene in Final Destination. For the sequel, instead of a poorly animated rollercoaster crash scene, they could have an innocent teen charging their Zune on their nightstand and going to bed. To build tension they could show a battery charge status bar on the Zune screen grow and turn green on charge completion. Then the screen explodes into tiny fragments that happen to ricochet off the ceiling, ricochet off the carpet, ricochet off a cat, go out the window, hit a passing car causing a multi-car pile up, hit an airplane causing it to go down, then fly back through the teen's window and slash his/her jugular.
are you suggesting that converting a file for your ipod on osx is any easier? because it isn't.
You would think that if the guy works works for cust service for Zunes he would know that the battery is not behind the screen.
http://www.iwantapinkzune.com/?p=122
My screen just cracked!
No joke, but MS is replacing mine. They said it's a hardware malfunction inside the device so it's covered.
It's not the battery cracking the screen though, I found out that it cracks when you connect it, the cable gets caught when its almost all the way in and pushes the hardware slightly. The guts then get squished into the screen and then *CRACK*.
I had a similar issue with a Creative Zen Portable Media Center (20 GB). I powered it on one morning and noticed a major screen discoloration. Gas or something had built up within the battery. This resulted in the bags that hold the chemicals to expand and crack the battery's casing. The pressure being placed on the display was causing the display discoloration. Luckily I noticed it and was able to get the battery out before the LCD cracked. Creative was unwilling to replace the battery so I had to pay for a new battery out of pocket.
This has actually happened to me, or so i believe. I purchased a zune on launch day back in november from and EB ( with the 1 year warranty, because i figure ill end up scratching it). Well 2 weeks after i had it, i left it charging and the next morning when i turned it on, the screen had a diagonal crack near the top of the screen. This wasnt on the outside of the plastic but inside. I was like WTF. I took it to EB and they swapped it out for me no problem. I never thought of the battery, but i know for sure it was never dropped, it wasnt in a cold temp or anything, it was sitting in the middle of my desk, while i was home alone. Either there was a defect in my screen or the battery thing could be true.
i have a zune. and i have not had a single problem with it. yeah it "lags" here and there, but the ipod videos do the exact same thing. thats just a normal thing to all mp3 players. AAAnd, whoever disses the Zune is just jealous they dont have one. you should have waited for the zune, but you became an impatient little $#17 and got the over rated ipod.
What's up with the fanboy comment ratings? Anything not raining glory on the Zune is given a negative rank.
I'm not sure how the iPod even got introduced into this discussion -- I thought we were discussing a gadget here, not a metrosexual fashion accthethory shat from an anorexic toaster.
Now that we've got the Apple people in a speechless, frothing rage -- leaving those of us who prefer computers to Macs to continue the discussion -- let's go with this: Show us some tests. I want independent testing, verifiable results. You wanna say there's a defect? Cool, show us proof, or at least evidence. As it is, floating a story and then asking your *audience* to back it up for you is sloppy at best, and downright shady dishonest at worst. Bad Endadget! BAD! Now go sit in the corner and think about what you've done!
Now you can get a ZuneSKIN with 3-D peanuts for your Fecal Brown Zune®.
You mean when the iPod haters were all getting excited about the scratches?
How's that persecution complex workin' for you?
"buy and iPod" ahahahah
No problems here I leave my Zune Plugged into my PC all day everyday, I only use my Zune on occasion but no I always have a fully charged battery,
Does anyone know if I got to Microsoft HQ Bill can sign my Zune?
Li-ion batteries actually are endothermic (get colder) as they charge (overcharging is another story). They give off heat during discharge. Notice your cellphone battery heats up during phone use? This is counter-intuitive because there are often other power supply electronics nearby that do heat up during battery charging (conversion efficency). If there is a battery swelling issue due to heat, it's probably during use, not charging.
Does anyone here even realize that the Zune has the exact same battery as the 80gb Ipod? Something tells me that if this were true one of the millions of Ipod users may have noticed it a little while back. What a lame story, very disappointed in Engadget on this one. Oh yeah and I heard that Steve Jobs was going to take a sh*t in a box and sell it for $249 later this year. Early sales projections are through the roof!!
these guys crying about the size of the zune are simply to weak to carry a device that weighs a whole ounce more. lam. I've left my Zune on the charger for 24 and up to 72 hours a dozen times with no problem. I have even dropped my Zune from standing position to the floor and it didn't crack. Must be all that extra material makes it so darn tough.
this is total bull. I've had my Zune charging for 48 hours straight and had no problem at all. And i've not droped by zune 10 times. 7 outside on sidewalks, 2 on tile and now once on a tree root while camping last weekend.
And ontop of that the Zune's battery is at the bottom behind the buttons, not at the top.
Damn some people actually bought this shit brickhouse! Keep telling yourselves that it is a decent DAP, will be funny to see you guys when they cancel that POS! I hope all your screens crack!
Enough reason to avoid Zune at all cost.
Looks like the Zune also is skipping..
http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2007/02/01/on-skipping-and-listening-to-the-community.aspx
I've had no such problems.. I love my Zune. Much better than the iPod i had for all of.. 2 days before I decided not to deal with the click wheel anymore. I've left it charging for days while I had testing at school and had no need to bring it... It's possible that this is happening.. but as far as mine, it's been Great. Works well with my 360 and (soon to be) vista laptop. It's not like you even have to charge the thing everyday... I only need to charge it every 2 days.
weird... my zune has gotten warm a few times but i happen to know for a fact that after the unit is fully charged, the battery indicator turns green and stops suppling power to the full battery. so then how would it heat up?
who buys a zune??????
Whats a Zune?
iPod iPod iPod iPod iPod iPod iPod iPod iPod iPod
LEt's think about this for a minute. Let's say that the people were stretching the trueth and they dropped it which caused it to crack. Now tell me, isn't the Zune supposed to be more rugged than the iPod? Has anyone compared the two side by side against major blunt force trauma? I have seen test on iPods thrown high into the air and out of moving cars and although they suffer damage, it appears to be minimal and they continue to play.
Are the Zunes just more prone to catastrophic damage and less prone to scratches than an iPod. Which would you rather experience?
I don't understand the anger here.
All new devices have problems.
When the Nano's first came out, a very small number from one production run had screens that would crack because of a production error.
These small devices are packed solid inside. If even the slightest thing is off, those machines could get damaged.
Apple replaced all of those machines with the proper range of serial numbers, even before they became cracked. If this problem is real, one would hope that MS does the same.
Good article, but I think this isn't quite the big problem you make it out to be. First, nobody in the comments (75 to date) has had that problem, including myself (I post because I have a Zune, not because I have an iPod and nothing else to do).
Second, I myself have left mine charging overnight, on my PC, on my 360, using the wall adapter, etc. and no problems. All day, every work day, I have my zune plugged in at the office. No heat at all. On the weekends I routinely leave it plugged in over night and all day. Basically, I think this is a case of Zune envy. Hey, you iPod guys have nice gear. Why are you so insecure you gotta rag our gear? Why not just be happy with what you got and know that I'm happy with what I got? Ohh wait, that would be civil!
LIES!
i've had my zune for a while and it doesn't even get hot when you charge it. In fact, yesterday i joking around with one of my friends and i kicked him and my foot hit his zune in his pocket and it was fine. i doubt the battery could expand that much.
and ZuneScene has a proof of a hack that allows you to open up a zune and replace its 30GB drive with an 80GB and the case still fits perfectly. this means that there is room inside the case of a zune and the battery couldn't expand that much to crack the screen. And even if it could, it wouldn't break the screen it would my just pop and leak acid all over the place... was this reported?... no.
they're just a bunch of liars or retarded apple fanboys. apple is starting to getting scared because in two months zunes have 10 percent of the market and it took apple 6 or 7 years to get 70 percent of the market. Which means the zune is growing at 5 percent a month and apple is growing at uh 1 percent a month.... yeah thats a five to one ratio there guys.... things will heat up later when microsoft releases a flash zune, zune filling stations, and unveils their plans for a zune phone. ya hear that steve? and you know microsoft will do it right and put 3G and 3rd party programs.
YEAH ZUNE!
Yeah, I got a Zune at Christmas and loved the thing intill about a week ago it cracked, i set it down and did some homework and went to go pick it up and the screen was cracked, i have no idea why, it's cracked from the inside, i was like wtf, because if i have dropped it or stepped on it would be on the outside too, i called their support and they told me i was shit out of luck, that it wasent covered by the warrenty even though people have had simlar problems, i have been looking at why it might have happened, and we even took a guess that it was something overheating, i think its true, i love microsoft i got a 360 too, but this zune stuff really pissed me off
The problem here is really we dont know if this is a real problem here are too few zunes in the public hands to really now is this is a manufacturing problem.
Anycase theres no problem for the MSfans, at the end of year there gonna be a new ZunePhone, confirmed!
So you can be free to buy it and suffer MS a little longer ;)
Hey, the screen on my Shuffle cracked! Damn you, Apple!!!
I bought my son a Zune for Christmas and it was his baby. He was infinitely careful, screen protector,case, cradled it always with great care. Less than 2 weeks from getting it the screen cracked completely through, vertically down the center. There is not a single mark on it anywhere (I made sure he did not drop it). The outer screen glass is immaculate, not even a mark on the protector. Called Zune service and was told to return to the store (bad advice). When they dug in their heels I called service again and explained the failure and circumstances. Zune sent a pre-paid box and off it went to Texas. Tracking progress online showed that returned it in less than a day. The box returned home, son exstatically opened it to find the broken Zune with a crappy note that it was not covered but for only 199.95 (or so) they could put in a new screen. Hmmm, interesting that they would have a service cost on such a thing considering the Zune was only $250 max new. I'm waiting for a little grass-roots backing to hit them with a faulty design/manufacturing process action. If you find one building steam, I'm in.
We bought my son one for X-mas, too. He swears that he did nothing to it so we called CS and they sent us out a box. We sent it in and got it back the same
way, with the same crappy note stating that it was dropped or misused and not covered by the warranty. I too, examined it carefully and it shows no signs of
misuse. Not a scratch, mark, or smudge. If it had been dropped hard enough to break it, then it would have had some type of external physical damage. I too an very upset with Microsoft. Have you tried anything else to get it replaced. Let me know if there is anything that can be done. MMM
My Zune has charged more than 1/2 of the 2-3 months I've owned it and not seen this.
wow now i know how that happened i owned a zune a little while ago and couldnt figure out what that was across my screen but yeah it was a CRACK i wish it didnt happen i loved the big screen but it was to slow and jammed up when scrolling threw my list of songs
I think all cases are likely. There are probably some people who live in warm weather who do charge it and it cracks. And there are people who probably dropped it and it cracks. And there are probably some people who hope that if the item breaks enough, Microsoft will not just fix it, but give them a brand new one so they can sell it on eBay. They will take this money and then buy an iPod.
But it's still a problem for Microsoft because I've owned a 1G iPod, a 2G ipod, a 1G iPod mini, a 1G nano, and a 5G iPod video. I've dropped all of them. So far, not a single cracked screen. The 1G iPod i got my first year in college, I would put it in my back pocket and sit on it. Not a problem. It was built like a brick and was heavy like a brick.
In fact, my statistics professor was teaching like a moron and I got mad and I threw my iPod at her. There was a 22%±4.3% chance of hitting her. It missed and hit the chalkboard. UC Berkeley kicked me out that year. I came back with a mini and they said I could be reinstated.
huh? I left mine on charge for two days once (was stranded at a friends) and it was fine. Where is the credibility to this piece?
my zune got hot the other day when i was transfering music from my zune to my laptop i was gettin scared something might have happen to it but my screean didnt crack but it did get ofly hot. does any body zune get hot while puttin music in or out thee zune???? ny out i mean putting music in another computer by useing the zune???
Well.. b4 I returned my Zune, it would get pretty hot during charges, even with that thick case ontop of it..
This is not true. I was just recently looking at pictures of the Zune without the covers and such, and the battery is located behind the controls.
engaget you keep reporting this and maybe Microsoft will do something I am fighting them on this at the moment...my 13 yr old bought a ZUNE the day after christmas, (with all her Christmas and babysitting money mind you), on 1/10 she came home from school to a cracked screen. SO this isn't BS...called microsoft they sent a box to send it back..just got it back today with a letter that states..."inspection reveals damage not caused by any malfunction of the ZUNE itself, this type of damage is excluded from the limited warranty on your Zune. In addition the extent of the damage to repair causes it not be economically feasible to repair"....
Needless to say I am pursing every avenue possible to get my daughter a new ZUNE.....
I am an engineer, so I am betting that there is a batch of Zunes that hit the street with this problem but has since been corrected.
now that I have read all the comments..to all you rocket scientists...errors are made in production to certain batches and Microsoft should be tracking the serial numbers of the ones that have had the problem. Those of you who have had the problem, PLEASE DOCUMENT..SEND EMAILS...BOMBARD MICROSOFT...they need to be held accountable...
to those who say its BS...where did you get your degree??
I've had my Zune since it came out and I've yet to see my screen crack, let alone get as hot as my iPod when I charge that bitch. I think those folks might just be lying because I doubt the battery's expanding, I've charged it over 8 hours and I haven't had it crack. the only thing I can say is that it does turn off when in contact with static electricity. I dont' know, I'm in the Northeast(maybe it's because I'm not in Seattle) where it's required to wear a coat and nowadays and nice thick sweater and I'll have my Zune in my coat pocket. once I take off my coat, it turns off as if to reboot or something. I wonder if anybody else has had this happen to them. anyways, I'm tired of the damn Zune's software, I though I could hack it since I'm computer savvy, but damn, all that changing shit around on my songs only to see two whole albums of the same damn thing only because one of the songs isn't in the same album, although I could've sworn I edited the whole thing, has just got on my damn nerves, I'll buy me a battery on ebay for my iPod and say Fuck Zune, they(Microsoft) are probably going to abandon it like Mr. Lee from Microsoft. I unless they upgrade the software, I doubt Zune will last long, might as well end up in the MP3 graveyard like the rest of the losers
all I know is I DO OWN a ZUNE and I'm going back to my fucking IPOD, fuck ZUNE. I hope that VISTA won't give me any Goddamned headaches. all those that are giving in praise for their own Zune are really just trying to convince themselves that it's the iPod killer. Microsoft can't even broker a deal with record companies, that's why there's all that nonsense with the songs not being compatible in most cases. I download all my shit and keep them on DVD-Rs so that IF my damn Zune or My iPod crashes, I'll have my records intact, so puh. I'm going back to my iPod, scratchy screen and all. I've had it for three years and I've changed the Hard drive already, getting ready to change the battery because there's no way in hell that I'm going to accept Zune's faults at that goddamn $250, that shit should like $50 by the time Apple's done with it .
Keep on bashing the Zune. The iPod is worthless, as is iTunes. Why pay for music by the song when I can pay $15 a month to get whatever I want? Microsoft is making it easy for people to download music legally. iTunes is a ripoff. $.99 cents a song? It almost seems like Apple is supporting pirated music, because that's the only way that an iPod is useful. Oh, and those people who said charging their Zune caused the screen to crack are full of it. They dropped it, end of story.
I haven't had any problem of the kind, though my zune has a bad habit of crashing any time I start or turn off my car.
I actually bought a zune five days ago. And today my screen broke. I do not think it involved over-charging. I had it in my hand everything was working fine. I turned the zune off, and back on within 3-5 minutes and the (inner) screen had cracked and I'm positive that I did nothing to damage it myself. Help? Advice? Please!
I called everywhere and no one has said anything.