Zune 3.0 hands-on
by Paul Miller 
posted Sep 16th 2008 at 11:04AM
With 3.0 all ready to go, we wasted little time jumping onto Marketplace wirelessly, which felt especially delicious on a teensy little flash DAP. Naturally, we could've squandered all our Microsoft Points on song buys -- which are quite easy to accomplish, with a cart-based purchasing system -- but we're all about subscription music, and Zune Pass speaks our language. The browsing, selecting and downloading processing couldn't be much easier, and you can pick a song to play from right in the store while browsing other wares. There were a couple hiccups in playback when switching tasks, but they were always brief.
Gallery: Zune 3.0 hands-on
Sadly, the "buy from FM" feature quickly reminded us why we can't stand music radio, and while we could easily get the meta data for the station we tuned to, specific (or sufficient) song data was more rare -- on our fourth or fifth try we finally nabbed Rod Stewart's Maggie May, and the actual download process was painless.
We're less enthused by improvements desktop side of things, not that they're bad, just maybe not meant for us. We haven't played enough tracks yet to use the "picks" recommendation feature yet (Microsoft's Genius killer), but we usually prefer the recommendations of friends and critics to cold, heartless pieces of software -- and Zune has had that locked down with the Social for a while now. The flashy MixView feature is a fun way to browse connections between related artists and albums, but the functionality is nothing new. The general design, usability and stability of the Zune desktop software has indeed come a long way, and we'd have no reservations about using it for all day music browsing and listening. The basic player view is a joy to use, where Apple seems to be taking a step back with iTunes 8.
While Microsoft might not best Apple at every point of audio ecosystem -- and the glaring lack of an iPod Touch or iPhone competitor makes much of this irrelevant for many people -- Apple's refusal to build a subscription service makes Zune Pass one of our few choices for a well-integrated player and subscription software combo. Rhapsody's "mature" desktop player is really starting to show its age, and Zune 3.0's addition of wireless downloads has us ready to make the switch.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
drumdbeat @ Sep 16th 2008 1:58PM
United Kingdom Please!
Hellaphunt @ Sep 16th 2008 11:10AM
I'm glad the Zune had virtually no snafus in their upgrade. As much as I'd like to get the 120 gigger I think I may wait a while until the price drops. I have other things I need to budget for.
Rowdehaj @ Sep 16th 2008 11:45AM
Remind me why he's being lowranked? o_O
Hellaphunt @ Sep 16th 2008 11:49AM
Was I?
Hellaphunt @ Sep 16th 2008 12:38PM
Does the Zune play WMA Lossless (still .wma)?
Try - http://www.dbpoweramp.com/ -or- http://www.foobar2000.org/
On WMA Lossless - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Audio_9_Lossless
Forgive me if I'm wrong.
fieldcar @ Sep 16th 2008 12:48PM
Of course the zune still plays WMA lossless.
Hellaphunt @ Sep 16th 2008 12:50PM
Well then that should suffice for those needing their FLAC fix.
goober_nut @ Sep 16th 2008 1:17PM
@Rowdehaj
I gave him a positive and you a negative for your useless and unnecessary comment. Have a good day. :-)
PynkFloydd @ Sep 16th 2008 3:44PM
They even released a commecial that advertises the features of the Zune AND looks really cool. Check out the Zune page. If it airs on TV, I think the Zune is going to gain in popularity...
They actually finally get it!! lol
bliks @ Sep 16th 2008 11:11AM
Now all the zune needs is the marketplace to come to canada!!
Skeepax @ Sep 16th 2008 11:36AM
Just buy Zune points at a BestBuy or something like that online; I'm in Barbados and the Marketplace works fine for me once I put the points on instead of trying to use a credit card.
fanman @ Sep 16th 2008 2:33PM
How about the entire zune system coming out of north America some time soon? Al thought I do see a certain logic in waiting for it to mature before it is fully released.
ark_v2 @ Sep 16th 2008 3:28PM
Ditto. I'm in Mexico and I own a Zune 80, which I love, but the only way I can buy music online is in a few stores that offer DRM-ed tracks. I want amazon music store and Zune marketplace to work here too. I know it might not happen :(
mrpoo @ Sep 16th 2008 11:12AM
Were you not able to get the 14-day free subscription to Zune Pass? They started offering that again this morning with the 3.0 update. That offer last appeared sometime early last year, it's a smart move to bring it back since so much of the new 3.0 functionality (Buy from FM, channels, etc.) is enhanced with a subscription.
primetime4 @ Sep 16th 2008 11:12AM
Looks pretty good... a lot like the iTunes store. Nice that all Zunes have wifi built in from the start. However, it could just be the pics but the screen resolution looks like it could really be improved.
Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Sep 16th 2008 11:17AM
Must be the pictures. Go to a store and play with one. It looks bright, sharp, and really easy on the eyes.
mrpoo @ Sep 16th 2008 11:18AM
These pictures make the screen resolution look awful. It is much better in real life, I've watched full movies on my Zune with no complaints.
PynkFloydd @ Sep 16th 2008 3:46PM
Ironically...
OsX is to Windows what Zune software is to iTunes...
Darth Abe @ Sep 16th 2008 4:10PM
You know, I generally like microsoft products but you're right on the money here. Not with respect to features or anything, but I think the zune software has a better style and a more consistent style than iTunes does, which is also probably my main irritation with windows, visually it lacks a consistent visual theme.
Honestly, I want the zune/xbox team designing the visual style of the next version of windows, because it seems like every time they put something out, it's leaps and bounds more polished and slicker looking.
Adderz @ Sep 16th 2008 11:13AM
Why doesnt anything have a capital letter? That would tick me off no end.
Good to have decent competition to the iPod though. Creative and Sony have just lost it. Releasing mediocre after mediocre player.
mrpoo @ Sep 16th 2008 11:16AM
What they should do is capitalize every second letter. That would be the way to co-opt some of that iPod innovation.
Ravi @ Sep 16th 2008 11:14AM
The Zune is looking good now..If only Microsoft released it in the UK :(
Rowdehaj @ Sep 16th 2008 12:08PM
What the hell is with the lowranking of seemingly neutral and informative comments??
telepheedian @ Sep 17th 2008 12:35PM
Your comment was neither seemingly neutral nor informative.
Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Sep 16th 2008 11:15AM
I just upgraded my Zune 8 to 3.0. One quick question.
Where the fuck is my device's wallpaper!? It's just black now. There is no more default Zune wallpaper, which I liked. Now I have to find some sketchy GIF of it or something and upload it onto this bad boy.
Other than that, awesome. My album art (that was all screwed up for some godless reason) in 2.5's software is now ALL BACK. I am so happy. That's three hours of re-attatching album images saved. Thanks, MS. : )
On a side note, how come you guys have so many "hiccups" installing things? I downloaded it and installed it the second it came out with no problems on VIsta x64, and have had zero stalls whatsoever. I bet your system tray looks like AOL threw up in it.
telepheedian @ Sep 16th 2008 11:18AM
"I bet your system tray looks like AOL threw up in it."
So much irony in that statement...
Mike in Seattle @ Sep 16th 2008 11:26AM
There are now over a hundred backgrounds up at http://www.zune.net/en-us/products/zuneplayers/backgrounds/default.htm that you can download to your device.
Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Sep 16th 2008 11:31AM
@Mike
Hey, that's awesome! I can not believe I haven't seen this page before. Much appreciated. Still liked that super minimalistic default wallpaper, though...
Tony @ Sep 16th 2008 11:41AM
I'm sure they have just as many issues installing iTunes or updating their iPods.
It's just that when they do, they need to make at least 3 posts per issue and put some kind of spin on it.
HMoth84 @ Sep 16th 2008 1:26PM
@Mike
Is it a sin if I use those wallpapers on my iPhone?
FYI, I do think the Zune is a great player and almost (but not quite) bought one this summer.
PynkFloydd @ Sep 16th 2008 3:42PM
I got some awesome urban backgrounds that look freakin' great on the Zune. I keep my eye out for high resolution photography and I've got a massive collection. I don't know what color your Zune is (mine is black) but, if you want...message me through the Zune social and I'll send you some.
http://social.zune.net/member/PynkFloydd
PynkFloydd @ Sep 16th 2008 6:55PM
I got a few people asking about backgrounds... I put some up on Flickr to make it easier. I've got a lot more but, there's some that look great on the Zune.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pynkfloydd/
ugg.tryptophan @ Sep 16th 2008 8:47PM
I also upgraded to 3.0 this morning, it was awesome for an hour, but for some reason my zune froze around 11 o'clock later in the day, thats the second time its happened to me :( (the last being the upgrade from 2.0 to 2.5) now i'll have to wait for my battery to die or consult the zune forums
Cory @ Sep 16th 2008 11:16AM
finally.... zune getting some recognition. Love the last comment in the story too ;)
Jared @ Sep 16th 2008 11:16AM
Next revision needs to better integrate the xbox and zune
Erwos @ Sep 16th 2008 11:26AM
Totally agree - buy once, download and play on any device (that's linked to your account) would be killer. Thankfully, there are some signs that Microsoft is moving in this direction.
Tim @ Sep 16th 2008 11:43AM
I would love to see the new "now playing" mode on the 360 while playing music.
jrb @ Sep 16th 2008 12:10PM
my thoughts exactly. After getting re-addicted to hexic all over again i was left longing with integration with xbox live integration, high score synching, achievements. No doubt this will fit in with zune 4.0, lets just hope we don't have to wait another year for that.
as for the upgrade process, it worked a charm.. software installed hitch free here at work, device upgraded without a hitch (and i'd faffed around with community game stuff prior which i thought might complicate things), and it's all tickety boo (good!).
shame the account sign in page has been broken for a large part of the day preventing us from re-accepting the EULA (why is that stored online??), and there STILL being no sign of a EU marketplace.
cubed2D @ Sep 16th 2008 11:17AM
Ive got it all set up on vista 64 and my zune 80 painlessly, no problems like you mentioned. ive not been able to try out pix or mix view, cant find them in the zune software. possibly because im from the uk and cant access the social?
Ali @ Sep 16th 2008 11:24AM
Set your region to "USA" in Windows' Control Pannel (under location) - and you'll get Mix View, etc.
cubed2D @ Sep 16th 2008 11:40AM
ive done that, i can see the market place and stuff, but i cant sign up for social, as the webpage for accepting the terms and conditions seem to use IP blocking or somthing. as far as i can tell mix view only shows up if you have a social account. i may still be missing somthing though!
goober_nut @ Sep 16th 2008 1:25PM
You might want to try a proxy that goes through the US. They're probably doing a block on any IP that registers outside.
Jeff @ Sep 16th 2008 10:24PM
i downloaded the update this afternoon to all 3 (80g, 8g, and 30g) of my devices, the only problem i have is the 8g keeps searching for my wireless network. other than that i'm VERY pleased!!!
Eric @ Sep 16th 2008 11:16AM
I have to say, that review would have turned me off to the Zune.
Wait, I'm already turned off. Picked one up at Best Buy and held it for 10 seconds. It was such cheap junk I had to laugh at the Best Buy salesman who came up and said it was so much better than those lame iPods.
Subscription? Yeah, as if I need to be sending out $16 a month to play someone else's music. I get my CDs for $3 - $7 used and I own the music for life.
mrpoo @ Sep 16th 2008 11:25AM
Wow, you really put the Zune through its paces in those 10 seconds, you nailed it.
I literally have dozens of CDs I've purchased over the years that I absolutely never listen to anymore. That's a few years of Zune Pass I could have purchased instead, had it been available, and when the old stuff bores me I can dump it and replace with something else.
The most surprising thing about your post is that you met a Best Buy rep who would actually promote the Zune. Every time I've seen a Zune at Best Buy, besides the fact that the reps actively ignore it, the device was not even activated so none of the features could actually be demonstrated.
bull3964 @ Sep 16th 2008 11:26AM
It's all subjective. Personally, I find the iPods to be cheaper feeling and much more dated looking (minus the Touch of course) than anything but the 1st gen Zunes.
johnmmiller @ Sep 16th 2008 11:54AM
Eric,
You have no idea what you're missing out on. Having the complete freedom to hear any band at any time is the most liberating thing in the world for a music fan. I can't imagine going back to CD stores to buy albums based on how much I liked the band's last effort or what the artist's reputation is or how cool the album cover looks. There is no point to "owning" music anymore. None.
mrpoo @ Sep 16th 2008 11:39AM
I find that almost everything tethered to the anti-theft devices at Best Buy, Circuit City, etc., feels toylike. I picked up a Canon 50D w weeks back, and thought it felt like plastic crap, which was surprising for a $1,600 SLR camera. My friend bought one last week, and it is solid as a rock. You can't really judge the feel of the devices, especially small ones like flash PMPs, when they are crazy glued to a spring loaded cable with a big chunk of plastic slapped on their back.
Michael @ Sep 16th 2008 11:40AM
mrpoo
You should probably start listening to some good music and not that disposable crap you end up getting sick of.
mrpoo @ Sep 16th 2008 11:46AM
Wit! You must not have purchased any music during the '80's to be laying out a harsh retort like that.