Engadget Podcast 117 - 11.07.2008: Zune giveaway edition

Yes -- it's happening again. Another installment of the beloved Engadget Podcast has made its way to the virtual airwaves of the ever-loving internet, and now you can listen in for personal enjoyment and edification. Today Josh, Paul, and Nilay get to the heart of our recent "preferred OS" poll, Apple's treatment of iPhone developers, Amazon's abandonment of painful packaging, and more. Included in this podcast is a first-ever (for Engadget at least) on-air unboxing. That's right, hear the sounds of a Gears of War 2 Zune getting ripped open.

As a treat to our faithful listeners, we'll be giving away that very special edition 120GB Zune! Follow the instructions after the break to learn how to make it yours.

Update: We've also included that Best Buy rap discussed in the podcast. Enjoy!

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, and Nilay Patel
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Smells Like Teen Spirit

01:43 - Poll: Which OS do you prefer?
12:38 - Apple adds OTA podcast downloads to iPhone firmware 2.2, continues to burn developers
27:14 - Amazon takes a stand to eliminate wasteful, hard-to-open gadget packaging
34:30 - Circuit City announces store closure plans, full list of locations revealed
45:51 - Dash cuts 50 employees, drastically changing business model
55:05 - Gears of War 2 canvasses special-edition Zune

Subscribe to the podcast

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).
[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace

Download the podcast

LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
LISTEN (OGG)

Contact the podcast

1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.

The contest rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, though a mention of your favorite moment of the podcast, or anticipated activities with your new Zune are welcome.
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) 120GB Gears of War 2 Zune. Approximate value is $249.99.
• Entries can be submitted until Friday, November 14th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 14th 2008 6:47AM]

hi

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 14th 2008 11:37AM]

Cool! I'd have a better mp3 player than my son has.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 14th 2008 12:53PM]

Just finished listening to the podcast (I know, I know...pretty late)...anyway, glad I'm still in time to enter the contest. Glad you dropped the limerick requirement :o)

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 14th 2008 2:41PM]

If only my software would work...

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 14th 2008 4:35PM]

I want the GOW content on the Zune. That would be Awesome.... Then I can listen to the Engadget Podcast on my way to work.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 14th 2008 7:18PM]

I had a 30GB Zune that was stolen :( It was my first MP3 ever and I loved it!!!! I WANT MY ZUNE BACK!!!! Please :)

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 14th 2008 11:27PM]

I'd love to pick up a zune to add to my iPod collection. I think the zune has really stepped up the features in the most recent versions. Thanks for the opportunity and for bringing back the podcast!

[aa589 Posted Nov 14th 2008 11:40PM]

i know i wont win, but hey worth a try... it'll be my first mp3 player... that's if i win... lol

and the os poll thing was pretty interesting..

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 14th 2008 11:41PM]

In the unboxing segment, the host's comment about the small text in the manual caught my attention.
Too small fonts are one of my pet peeves, like when the font size for the system requirements on a PC
game box is barely to un- readable. I realize the manufacturer has so much to put there on the box,
but I'm glad others notice the small print too.


.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 15th 2008 10:19AM]

so, WHO WON?!?

[minijoo Posted Nov 15th 2008 10:42AM]

I'd engrave "engadget" on it and then hack it to make it read korean!!!

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 15th 2008 10:03PM]

The zune is a pretty cool mp3 player (perhaps not as good as the ipod in some respects, but still cool) and a gow edition zune would be most welcome

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 16th 2008 12:14AM]

That would be the question, who won?

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 16th 2008 10:34AM]

srysly? We all want to know who won. The contest is over, so could you tell us the vicotr engadget. I for one really want to know so I can stop technolusting.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 18th 2008 8:19PM]

MUST WIN CONTEST

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 17th 2008 6:40PM]

i need a bigger zune cause i got zune 4 so i need something bigger... please!

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 19th 2008 10:33AM]

You guys may or may not believe me. But I seriously just got the email from Jacob that confirmed me as the winner.
I'm so pumped to get this. :D

[randylm Posted Nov 19th 2008 6:19PM]

Congrats Rick. Although it would have been nice for them to update and let everyone else know. The contest ended 5 days ago.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 19th 2008 7:08PM]

Thanks!
I guess that would have been nice, yeah. Do they normally do that? I don't ever check.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 19th 2008 11:56AM]

i would very much like one of these, please

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 27th 2008 12:37AM]

Man, that's a pretty Zune.
I'd love to use it everywhere I go, due to my extreme lack of an MP3 player.

Hinthint.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 4th 2008 2:29PM]

woo

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 31st 2008 2:38PM]

Engadget has always been legit. So I Really Hope i Win. I Need A Zune...Scratch That...I Need An MP3 Player but I'd Prefer A Zune Because I Have An Xbox 360 So Then I Can Hook It Up Wirellessly. I hope this is a good enough comment.