The $80 Brown Zune
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Oct 22nd 2007 1:59AM
posted Oct 22nd 2007 1:59AM
[Thanks Daniel T. and everyone who sent this in]
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Must. Resist. Urge.
If it wasn't for the fact I have 35GB of music on my computer, I would jump all over that. It's soo tempting. Alas, I'll have to use all of my willpower to wait for the 80GB one next month....unless anyone has a tutorial on how to upgrade the drive in the Zune for less than $170.
I bought two of these for my kids for Christmas. They love them. Software install was ridiculous, but once I was past that hurdle they were great.
Smells like doo doo.
Wow Somebodys creative. Havn't heard that one before.
Looks good but Im waiting for that sexy new zune.
HAHAHAHA I LOVE the Mr Hankey ref!!
So fitting.
Mr. Hankey the christmas poo, small and brown, he comes from you!
Thank you Engadget, you guys totally just redeemed yourselves (to me atleast) over this whole apple cream-in-your-pants debacle.
Still no use, its Windows Propiatery.
Um, also
WHERE IS MY INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY! I THOUGHT OCT 22 WAS INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY!
ARE YOU SERIOUS? THAT IS AWESOME!!1 NOW IT'S TIME TO UNLEASH THE FURY!!!!11
im probably going to still buy one of the zune 4's but i couldn't resist this for 80 bucks.... especially with it being upgradable to the new ui/software.
It suddenly has that whole thrift-shop-chic vibe to it!
Ya. This must be the one for prostate cancer awareness.
I wonder if ford is in on this one too.
Microsoft needs to abandon this project, its gone wrong in so many ways.
It has?
The only way it's gone wrong is that they actually made brown in the first place.
Other than that, it's pretty sweet.
$50 bucks and I'll get it in Brown.
Just bought one.
For $80, it's a steal.
I'm sorry they took your money.
But I'm sure he's happy you got a Zune.
I'm sorry you didn't get such a great device for free as well.
;P
Wow!
You cannot go wrong with 30gb for $80! Plus with the new firmware, it's going to be awesome!
Yeah. . .
but its also $80 for brown.
I'd use it as external storage.
Except it can't be used as an external drive.
Still, if you've ever wanted a Zune as a music player, the time doesn't really get much better than now - these prices are insanely low for what you're getting.
@manfesto
Incorrect, there is a mod to use it as external storage.
I bought when the white one was 135! =( I hate white....should've waited and bought the lovely brown zune!! D=
Wow.. are we going to list discounted hardware now on a gadget-blog? I know some places that discount last-gen Apple stuff, you know!
Oh.. wait I get it.. you were trying to be funny!
I dunno, I kinda think Engadget succeeded here. You don't get much funnier than Mr. Hanky.
Funny ages. You mean you don't get much funnier than Mr. Hanky, 10 years ago.
$150 down to $80 !
Are there enough Zune owners to demand a class action suit?
$80 for a product that beats ipod in every single way after u get the new Zune2 firmware. man, how is apple still in business? its not like the sit around to get original or please customers.
in 5 years man... jobs sure will be looking in the want ads.
beats iPod in every single way? really?
Hey look, I just copied some files over onto my ipod and transferred them to the computer in the living room. lemme just try that with my zune... oops. I can't do that. Hell, I can't even use my zune on my linux or OSX machines.
Though my iPod shows up as an external drive on all three operating systems.
Oh... And my iPod doesn't look like i dug it out of the toilet.
plus zunes are for dorks
AboutToBeKilled:
Those reasons (hard-driveablility and mulit-computer syncing) are all fixable by hacks and hardly negate the Zune's other great features (wifi, big screen and radio).
Dan:
Well you didn't even list any reasons. Have fun with no one respecting your opinion.
Factory refurbished? Can someone check on the deal over at Buy.com They are taking pre-orders for brand new 30GB Zune [according to them] for 99 US$ only, shipment date being November 19th. You get it in 89US$ if check out is done through Google Checkout.
Beat that.
November? It's already been beat.
Thanks for the tip. I'd much rather have a new one for $10 more even if I have to wait a few weeks to get it. Now I can pass the old 6gb SanDisk Sansa on to the wife.
Looks like woot is also sold out now anyway.
Love brown, hate Zune.
Quit hating on the brown, you guys.
I would buy one if it worked with my Mac. Where is my brown iPhone.
I think I know what's happening here. It's called "market penetration" and "installed base." If anyone can endure "red" books for the sake of market share, it's MS.
If you think about Bill Gates, he probably has nothing else to reach for in life. Just piss off his ol' buddy Jobs.
uh dude, Gates has done more with Microsoft than Jobs ever has with Apple.
I know I'm an Apple fanboy, but step out of the RDF (reality distortion field) that Jobs creates
and look at the big picture.
I don't think the Zune's a failure, its a 1st gen product. Look at the original iPod. Those things didn't exactly sell like hotcakes when they came out either. Their next Zune seems to be pretty nic-oh wait, I'm getting a call on my iPhone, hold on.
Did you really type "I know I'm a fanboy?"
You don't need to spell out what RDF stands for.
I mean, after that I might as well have just shot myself than spend time reading the rest of your comment.
1.2 Million units sold in one year, I wouldnt call that a flop. That is the best anybody has ever done against Apple.
Palooz- I wasn't exactly serious in that comment. And sometimes people don't know what RDF means.
Yeah, I thought RDF stood for Radio Direction Finder.
I'm nerdy in a different way.
Great deal, I'd have one of these (in a case to hide the ugliness) over an iPod any day.
Zen > Zune > iPod
Funny how evryone bashes the original Zune, but as soon as its cheap they magically change their minds and think actually, the original Zune is amazing!
Well... when you shave $170 off something it tends to become a better deal.
Also the fact that all the firmware updates will work retroactively on all currently purchased Zunes means you are getting one heck of a bang for your buck here.
Lets see apple release their firmware updates for previous iPods and you would probably see some excitement over them too. But apple will never do that because the iPod is their gravy train and they rely on planned obsolescence to make their money.
I agree, but the Zune 1 was obsolete from the day it was released
At least Microsoft is supporting their hardware. Apple is happy to let everyone twist in the wind a year after purchase and pay for an OS that's barely a service pack.
How dare anyone call this a "Service Pack"
Last lime i checked, MS released Windows service packs that fixed stuff that was rotton in the original release, along with small changes ie: a firewall, wifi and bluetooth support, a pop-up blocker for IE.
Wow, mind blowing stuff...
Each OSX upgrade has seen significant new feaures, better stability, upgrades to free new apps and speed increases, not to mention the seamless integration from PowerPC chips to Intel!
As ironic as it sounds, these apples ain't rotton!
I never really hated on the Zunes.
But then again I'm adamantly against iPod and Apple in general.
And to anybody on the fence about this, check out today's woot on sellout.woot.com....
Anyone know if this company ship to the UK, and if so how much??? Cheers
Sweet, I bought two. Impossible to get Zune's in Australia (unless you want to pay $340) so I picked these two up. Was a bit hesitant about the brown colour, but I realised it's ultimately a digital audio player which I will not look at most of the times. When I watch videos the brown case wont bother me either.
Oh, and the price is unbelievable.
I picked up the Black 30gb Woot! had the other day for $100 and I can honestly say that I like it more than my iPod. Sure the lack of a scroll wheel takes a little getting used to, but I think mankind was using many devices sans touch wheel for most of documented history. The only downside really is the lack of integration with other electronics. I have a ipod adapter for my Pioneer headunit and I could just toss the ipod in the glove box and forget about it. Now I'll have to string a wire from my cig lighter down to the console and use FM. :( Whoa is me.
Would make a good dedicated Car Unit.
"Look at the original iPod. Those things didn't exactly sell like hotcakes when they came out either."
Actually, they did.
They did? The ugly Mac-only versions? I'm not sure if that's accurate, but neither one of us is providing proof, so there we are.
I bought a black Zune for $99 on Woot a week or so ago, when the brown one is what I really wanted. Too bad about the $20 savings I could have had, but $100 is still a steal. The Zune is a very well-built product and I'm a big fan so far. The Zune software, however, is horrible. I'll be glad when the firmware updates and new software come through.
If anyone is on the fence about this, please, buy without reservation. You'll be very happy you did.
yeah, Chris, it took the iPod two years to hit 1 million. It took the Zune 7 months. And thats just a first-gen product in a market dominated by the iPod. So yeah, they didn't exactly sell like hotcakes. So actually, stop talking.
yeah, Chris, it took the iPod two years to hit 1 million. It took the Zune 7 months. And thats just a first-gen product in a market dominated by the iPod. So yeah, they didn't exactly sell like hotcakes. So actually, stop talking.
depends on your perspective. Because they were Mac only, the market was very limited, so they sold a lot for the size of the market. The sales only really exploded when they supported Windows with iTunes. Apple is also mostly responsible for maturing the MP3 player market. Yes, other players existed (I still have my old Rio, somewhere) but the iPod made it mainstream. Without 6 years of iPod Microsoft would probably not have sold that many Zunes in 7 months.
Hey guys, they are also having the white and black Zunes for $99 as well.
http://sellout.woot.com/Default.aspx?WootSaleId=3995&ts=1193061326&sig=c135eaf9af1d6f67
@Sam: I guess you're forgetting (understandable, really) about Rio et al's market profile when Mac released the iPod? Not exactly a position from which Apple was "dominating" out of the gate.
It IS fun to crack on Apple, though. I get it.
BTW: If you reply, please double-post again.
I was typing that on my iPhone, I have no idea why it did that. I apologize for wasting your precious space.
...notice you didn't reply to the actual CONTENT of the message...
"if 'brown' plus 'Zune' evokes the urge to cough up your wad..."
wtf? who writes like that?
So, I was one of the schmucks who bought one of these for $100, though it was a black one. Anyway, I'd no idea that the Zune was so... shitty! I mean, I knew they were going for an iPod rip-off, but I had no idea that they were taking that idea to the 7th level of hell. From what I can see, there's no way, at all, to use this thing as a generic USB mass storage device, or to just copy all of my mp3s to it, via Windows, OS X or Linux. I feel like I've been buggered!
I know I should've done this research before I paid for it, but I was of the mind that even if it didn't work out for me, I could still take out the HDD and put it into a 4G iPod w/ a dead HDD I had given to me for free. I was willing to settle for a $100 Zune, but it looks like I'll be going for the $100 iPod route instead, which is better but far from perfect- I totally tarded out and assumed that, like the other Windowsy PMPs I've owned, I could just copy a bunch of mp3s onto this sucker.
It's funny that MS can't figure this shit out. Step in with an Apple-like iron fist, trying to look like the hip and rogueish underdog, but without the marketshare to pull it off. If that worked, you certainly wouldn't see robbers bringing more than a watergun to hold up a liquor store...
I'VE BEEN ZUNE'D!
Try This.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7sPvV6WbPw
Zune has been better than iPod since day one. Period.
Why, cuz it has useless wifi, and a .5" bigger screen (that makes the whole player bigger)?
Why is the wifi useless? You don't like syncing wirelessly? Does it make you feel safer to plug in your device?
Yeah, I'd say wireless sync is quite a bit easier than plugging the thing into your computer. Also, if you are looking for a true Portable Media Player (Media including videos) then the Zune is a good balance between the huge screen of the Creative players and the tiny (useless) screen of the iPod.
Howwwwwwwwwwwwdy Ho boys and girls!
Hey Kyle, your Zune smells like flowers!
I love my black Zune; but I must admit, the brown version is shitty! hah...pun intended
Can't wait for version 2 firmware though.
lmfao! i would not mind owning a zune tho..not bad price too! And brown is sort of a cool color. in a steve ballmer kind of cool.
***cough***
Only marginally better than the brown Zune was the gold iPod Mini
http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/compareipods.jpg
so how do i buy one for that much because at stores i still see it for 200$.
Looks sweet. I wonder if they'l tabletize it thought?
Looks sweet. I wonder if they'l tabletize it thought?
thats a great deal...makes me wish I got this instead of an ipod a couple months ago. I also wouldnt have to deal with itunes or any of its wma to mp3 conversion duplicates anymore.
as for the brownness, i can understand people wanting a certain design or look for their mp3 player to some degree, but for this value, with 30gb storage and good functionality, criticizing a product or company because of its colour is rediculous. are you worried that you'll take it out of your pocket to change song or something and your friend will think you're pulling poo out of your pocket? that seems kind of unrealistic. and if you really are worried about that happening, you may want to consider getting some friends that arent 8.
I see there are alot of Zune haters.... do visit us at http://www.WhichWebsite.com for all the latest website related news and reviews, that will cheer you all up :-)
i just bought a brand new brown zune at buy.com after tax and $10 google checkout for $97.
did i screw up?
Capple equal people with little or no imagination...trendy sheep. Kind of funny.