The $80 Brown Zune
By Thomas Ricker 
posted October 22nd 2007 1:59AM
posted October 22nd 2007 1:59AM
[Thanks Daniel T. and everyone who sent this in]
posted October 22nd 2007 1:59AM
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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.