Last month, one of the 1st Pink Zunes made its way to ebay. I almost bid on it, but I knew it was going to be more expensive than I think it?s worth to own part of history. Believe it or not, that auction for 2/100 only went for $761.00. (pictured right)

Recently, someone posted a story claiming that Microsoft employees were given these ?Pink Zunes? and that one of them was selling it on ebay now (pictured left). (Ebay Auction) The fact is, these ?Pink Zunes? are seeded into retail chains. The 1st one on ebay stated that the box pictured the white Zune, but clearly said Pink on the bottom of the box (link), near the UPC. I went to Target and Wal Mart last week to check their stock, obviously, no luck. Anyhow, I wanted to clear the air on this situation before someone has people thinking that Microsoft employees are selling their ?swag?.

If you get yourself a Pink Zune and you don?t want to keep it, I am offering a $500 bounty for one!

In another note, I found a link to a comparison of the Zune vs. iPod on Cnet TV when browsing Gizmodo. This is a nice video, hope you enjoy it. ( See video )

Jason Langridge is a Microsoft Employee, but he is not part of the Zune team and he has a right to an opinion as well.

Seems like all in all, he likes it. Yeah!

Good Stuff

• The screen! Wow! It?s great for pictures but also is excellent for the album art too? when I buy CD?s I never really get to see the CD Cover. I just rip it straight to the PC so I?m discovering all the album covers from my music now!
• I love the attention to detail and the whole out of the box experience. From getting (what was a much smaller box than I expected) to installing the software was an absolute dream!
• The little touches make it great? The Hello From Seattle ??? seemed very cool but it did make me laugh that only 2 inches past this it says? Assembled in China
• Sound quality is excellent and the provided headphones are actually very good!
• FM Radio has unbelievably good reception. I?ve always been sceptical on using the radio on devices as previous units I had it was all crackles and poor reception. The Zune is excellent.
• WiFi sharing is cool? of course I was trying it in the home of the Zune but finding people happened pretty regularly and it?s always fun trying to find who?s Zune it is that you are going to share music with!
• A little touch I noticed but really like is if you take off the headphones - the music pauses? nice!

Not so Good Stuff

• Where?s the charger? secondly - why a proprietary connector? why not Mini- USB !
• Only 30GB - I need more space really!
• No widescreen

Matt Miller weighs in on the Zune?.

So after a couple weeks of using the Zune, it may not be perfect and it may not be the product many people were hyping it up to be upon initial release, but it is a solid device with some good features and I am pleased with my purchase. I think most of the issues are software related that can easily be updated by Microsoft. The iPod is also a nice product, but I am looking for something more durable and scratch resistant that supports an unlimited music subscription service and a larger display for video.

Read the entire article here : 3 weeks later and the Zune is better than the iPod

I have used the heck out of my Zune as well and while the Zune isn?t all that it was hyped up to be, its a nice device. Most of the hype was from people that wanted to see the iPod fall anyhow. Like I said, the Zune isn?t perfect, but its a great Gen 1 start. Onward with production Microsoft.

As far as Wal-Mart Zune sales is concerned? My local Wal-Mart has sold about 1/2 of the 30-40 that were there opening day. I stopped by to check for a pink #/100 version. One of our readers sent her experience buying a Zune that resulted in addition Wal-Mart sales that day, its a funny story : Zune Power at Wal-Mart.

In addition to the great read, Matt added a list of some of the Zune Hacks that have made it out there already, I have stolen Matt?s list and present it here to you

• The ability to playback Zune Pass content on up to 3 computers
• The ability to easily integrate podcast feeds into your Zune experience
• The ability to use the Zune as an external hard drive
• A simple method to bypass the WiFi sharing limitations
• Running Zune on Windows XP 64 bit Pro
• Running the Zune on Vista

Can you imagine? That is a heck of a lot of storage and it?s probably not too far away. Oh yeah, it could be on an iPod too! The reason why is because Toshiba has just announced a 100GB Threshold for 1.8-Inch Hard Disk Drives.

WOW!! A 1.8 inch 100GB hard drive ? wait and see who is first to grab this one! Here is part of the Toshiba press release:

Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), the industry pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), continues to lead innovation in the mobile HDD category with the introduction of the world?s highest-capacity 1.8-inch HDD. The 100GB(a) two-platter HDD is based on perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) and propels the functionality and storage capacity of mobile PCs.

Designed in the "short" 1.8-inch form factor, Toshiba?s new MK1011GAH offers a footprint that is 10 percent smaller than first-generation 1.8-inch drives. With an areal density of 155.3 Gbit/in2, the drive is specially designed for thin and light mobile computers with an 8MB cache. In addition, Toshiba?s new 1.8-inch capacity leader features the same tunnel magneto-resistive (TMR) head technology combined with perpendicular recording that delivered the company?s world-leading 200GB capacity in the 2.5-inch HDD class with an areal density of 178.8 Gbit/in2.

"We are enhancing the capabilities of PMR with the incorporation of TMR head technology to deliver another industry-leading mobile HDD," said Scott Maccabe, vice president and general manager, Toshiba Storage Device Division. "Toshiba?s technology innovation is setting the bar for mobile HDDs, and our first-to-market position in PMR is clearly helping us define the possibilities for pushing capacity limits in the mobile sector with more than two million mobile PMR HDDs shipped and over a year in commercialization."

Toshiba?s 100GB 1.8-inch HDD integrates a low insertion force (LIF) connector, providing a format that enables mobile PC manufacturers to easily transition to higher capacities in smaller footprint HDDs.

Marking its technology leadership in mobile HDDs, Toshiba was again the world market-share leader in HDD shipments into consumer electronics applications and tied for the lead in overall mobile HDD shipments, for the third quarter of 2006 according to leading research firm IDC(b). Toshiba commands a resounding 80 percent share in the 1.8-inch category, according to IDC, and has shipped more than 40 million 1.8-inch drives since introduction in 2000.

Toshiba?s MK1011GAH 1.8-inch HDD is RoHS compliant and will ship to OEMs for integration into mobile PCs in January 2007. For more information about Toshiba?s full line of small form factor HDDs, visit http://www.sdd.toshiba.com.

Zune reaches No. 2 in its debut week

Todd Bishop wrote an article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer reporting that Microsoft Corp.?s Zune music player claimed a No. 2 spot among portable media devices in its first week on the U.S. retail market.

I?m impressed and my guess is that Apple has some concern. A new item, loaded with features that has people talking, looking, analyzing and ultimately buying.

There is no question that the distance between #1 and #2 is BIG but to jump in at that spot is pretty impressive. Yes, the media hype clearly helped that initial grasp of this spot so Microsoft still has a long way to go to firm it up ? only time will tell how it all ends up.

Market research firm NPD Group said sales of the Microsoft player edged out devices from previous second-place holder SanDisk Corp. in the week ended Nov. 18. But Zune was a distant second to Apple Computer Inc.?s iPod, and its second-place showing came amid widespread media attention and launch hype.

Zune reaches No. 2 in its debut week

The holiday season has started and a Zune is a terrific gift to give but how about protecting that great gift? Vaja has just released their Zune collection and it is the perfect gift to complement the Zune as well as pritect it.

Protect your Zune in style. Customize your own Vaja case by choosing among a vast array of leather colors and embossing your name or logo on the backside. Fully personalizable and made of exquisite high quality Argentine leather.

The Vaja Collection for Zune includes the following models: Classic, Balance, Classic Top & Classic Top Retro

For more information, please visit http://www.vajacases.com

Last night I upgraded Windows Media Center with the most current patches and installed the Zune Software. Like most of the software packages, it scanned all my drives and built a library of all my media supported by the Zune. The software the started a transfer of all this media to the Zune. I then used the 14 day pass to check out some new music. I ended up downloading quite a few albums to the Zune. If you are wondering? Weird Al?s newest, Buckcherry, Hinder, Korn, and some others you probaly haven?t heard of. 1700 songs with 17gb free now.

Day 2 starts with one of the most important tests of all, ?Does the battery work for me??.

I started the day at 7:30am and used a Belkin FM Modulator to pipe the Zune?s audio to my car stereo. I then got into work and messed around with all the media I transfered last night. (boy, I sure need to purge) I have been playing the Zune through some powered speakers in my office almost all day. It is now 3:00pm and it?s still playing. I was bored of the new albums, so I am now listening to the radio. The battery indicator shows about 25% life right now. (give or take 5% I guess)

If this charge, the 1st full charge i?ve given it, lasts until quitting time, we have a winner in my books. The Dell DJ Gen 1 did this test for 20+ hours, too bad it is no more.

This video was available on November 1st but for those of you that never saw it and are thinking of the Zune, I thought it would be nice to pass it along.

What makes this one different? I think editor James Kim has just a different excitement in his manner as he presents the Zune in this short 2 minutes 24 seconds video. The is a very brief ad in the beginning?C/NET has to pay their bills I guess.

Check it out ?. it?s pretty good! You can see James? video on Microsoft?s Zune zooms into CNET Networks here.

After a short time with the Zune, I wanted to post my initial impression before they get out of my head. (I have alot of things I am looking at this week)

UPDATE : I want to know who selected the videos and audio for the preloading of these. Never heard of any of them and not into much of it.

• Packaging - Superb, one of the coolest boxes around. Looking good so far huh?
• Included in the box
  • The Headphones are decent. They are as decent as those that came with the iPod and the Dell DJ.
  • Documentation is good.
  • CD - Haven?t installed application yet.
  • 14 Day trial - seems cool, but will check it out when I install software.
  • Little Carrying pouch - who cares? It?s ok though.
• The Zune
  • The looks. Well, this doesn?t impress me much. The pictures made it look better, but the translucent outer shell doesn?t make it ?sexy?. To me, and many others I am sure, it doesn?t matter as long as it works and the screen is nice.
  • Construction - Time will tell, but it feels somewhat cheap feeling.
  • Design - The look of the iPod Scroll Wheel is not needed. Since they are buttons anyhow, there was no need to make it look like a Scroll Wheel. The layout works. The buttons are all easily reached one-handing the Zune. The buttons on the left and right of the Scroll Wheel look-a-like have a raised circle around it to help find your place in the dark I guess. The Black version is the nicest looking so far. I do not like the white versions contrasting black buttons. The lines where the upper and lower housings come together on the sides has a seam you can feel. One thing I do like about the iPod is its solid feel.
  • The Screen - This is where my money is. The screen is fantastic. Bright, Large, and I just like it!!!
  • Performance - whatever they got in there is running this big screen quite nicely. As Gizmodo says, ?It scrolls like Butter?.
  • Sound - Perfect with the Xtrememac FS1 Ear Monitors, the Sony $89.00 headphones I have, and the Ultimate Ears I got at Mobius.

What is left?
What is left to say? Time will tell on its use. So far, I am ready to jump on board, but it still depends on some variables. I need to see how this works with the Zune Marketplace and other services, as well as how it does with my Original MP3 library (most of which came from actual CDs) Battery life needs tested. Does it slow down considerably when packed full of media?

Either way, I give the Zune an initial C+ on efforts of its own merit. I will bump that to B- since it?s not an iPod

I posted my initial impressions already, now for the video of the unboxing earlier today.