Here is a quickie review from Philoking.com. He seems to like the Zune 8....

Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that it really is a great audio player. I have made it the player I use at work for the last week and have had no complaints with battery life, sound quality or usability. I really like the radio feature and at $149 for 4GB and $199 for 8GB it's a wash with the iPod as far as price goes. That leaves me to my final decision..

If you are on a Mac, go iPod, using the Zune in Parallels is a pain in the butt. If you are on a Windows PC and do not already have a substantial investment in iTunes store music or a bias towards iTunes like I do, I think you will love the Zune. It's really a great player and the software isn't bad. I think when you throw in the FM radio and WiFi capabilities, this little device really does shine.

Read more at Philoking

Wait, That's normal retail price.

OfficeMax, BuyDig, and other sellers are offering Microsoft's MP3 player at around a 30 percent discount this week. It's the size of a cigarette lighter, it's easy to use, and it's particularly well-priced at the moment. The bottom line on this item, from CNET Reviews' analysis: "While the full-size Zune is a better value, the solid-state flash memory used in the 4GB and 8GB versions make them better suited for physically active (or clumsy) users."

Filed Under: LOL | Source: Crave : The gadget blog

Well, you could already skin your original Zunes, but now a couple companies are coming out with skins already for the next gen Zunes.

Me personally, I hate these things, but like my daughter, there are many that love the ability to customize. The low cost of these skins make it easy to change up the pace often.

On the left you have a Decal Girl Sample and on the right, one from the WraptorSkinz series from TuneTattooz. Over at Mobilitysite a few months back, I tried out one of the Skin iZi skins for an iPod Nano. They are cute, but not for me. Skin iZi only makes these for the iPods, it's good to know that other companies are getting on board with Zune.

So, right now, if you have a Flash Zune 2 or a Zune 30, both of these companies have skins for you. Unfortunately neither of them have Zune 80 skins yet, but it appears that they are coming soon...

• Decal Girl
• TuneTattooz

Zunerama has published a demo of the Tune Tattoo skins for the Zune 30 and Flash Zunes too.

Everyone needs a case at some point for their phone or player right? Well, most people want to do this in style, so they toss the case that comes with their device aside. (If a device even comes with one) Enter the need for aftermarket cases. In the case of the Microsoft Flash Zunes, DLO has you covered already. They recently announced the HipCase for the Zune 4gb and 8gb flash players.

Constructed of fine-quality leather and featuring a soft, green fabric interior, HipCase is the easiest way to protect your Zune in style. HipCase's design gives you full screen protection, with play-through access to your Zune controls, as well as total access to the connector port – which means you can plug in and sync your Zune without having to remove it from your HipCase.

(more...)

Here are some comparison photos of the Zune 4 and Zune 8 against a couple of the iPod Nano models.

Check out more Zune vs. iPod Photos here.

There are several styles. We'll let you know when they get Zune 80 cases.

Check them all out at MyIncipio

Here is the Zune 8 getting letting it all hang out!

RapidRepair has completed the new Zune 2 8GB disassembly guide.  With the slicing and dicing complete, you need only look down to see the flash-based Zune 8GB in all its glory.

Source: Rapid Repair via Engadget

Stefan from IWAPZ posted If you only read one Zune review… tonight. Well, I checked the review out and I have to concur... Holy freaking review Batman! This review is totally insane how long and detailed it is. Good Job ARS!

Here's the good, bad, and ugly of it all...

Congratulations, Microsoft. Now keep working. 

The good:

• New firmware for the 30GB Zune
• Wireless sync
• 24 hours of battery life
• Attractive and usable desktop software
• FM radio
• Great interface, good screens
• Support for H.264, .MP4, and .WMV video files

The bad:

• No wireless music store
• No Mac support
• No video store
• Custom USB connector

The ugly:

• No HDTV for you, you dirty pirate

Read the entire review...

Well, unless you are a Zune Team Member. Remember the orange and magenta Zunes with the Zune 1 launch? Well, these Citron (or yellow) Zunes are in that unique category.

Any Zune Team Member want to sell theirs? Call me! Tyler has my number.

Anyhow, ZuneGuy has the official word on these...

I've seen a few posts today about the Yellow (or Citron) Zunes. I've also seen a lot of speculation as to whether this is a "hidden" product. I'll shed a little light on this. They do exist. They are the ship-gifts given to the team for launching the product. Just like last year when we gave out Magenta and Orange devices, these are a special run just for us. There you have it, mystery solved.

P.S. I have to say, I really, really like mine. Good job manufacturing team!

Source : Zune Thoughts

In typical Apple loving, Uncle Walt fashion, Walt Mossberg reviews the Zune 2. I can't blame his views, some are right and some are guided by allegiance. We, Zune Supporters, are the same way though.

Anyhow, Walt spends countless paragraphs telling about the Zune followed buy a, "But Apple has done....". I have been waiting on this review, I knew it would make for some good reading. I love reading his non-Apple reviews.

Count this, 4 paragraphs basicly reviewing Apple's Wonderful line of players. I have an iPhone, its a good 8GB Player, but Itunes is horrible.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, Apple hasn't been standing still, either. It now has its own large-screen, wireless model, the iPod Touch, with a radical "multi-touch" interface like the iPhone's. The screen on the Touch is larger than the one on the bigger Zunes and is much sharper. Its Wi-Fi allows you to browse the Web, watch YouTube videos and even buy music without a PC - none of which is possible on a Zune - though the Touch is $50 more and holds much less content than the new full-size Zune.

Microsoft's new Zunes are directly aimed at the iPod Classic, Apple's full-size, high-capacity model, and the iPod nano, its compact version. But, here again, Apple has been on the move. The 80-gigabyte Classic, which costs the same as the 80-gigabyte Zune, is slimmer than the Zune and has a flashy new interface, if a smaller screen. And the eight-gigabyte nano, which costs the same as the eight-gigabyte Zune, now plays videos and is much smaller - yet has a larger screen. Neither of these iPods includes Wi-Fi.

In addition, Apple has spiffed up its iTunes software, adding various features, including the addictive Cover Flow, which allows you to flip through all your albums with just a flick of the mouse. Cover Flow also shows up on the nano, the Classic and the Touch. Even the new Zune PC software has no interface as compelling.

And Apple still trounces Microsoft in the selection of media it sells. The iTunes store offers more than six million songs, about double what the Zune Marketplace offers, and dwarfs Microsoft's selection of Podcasts and music videos, as well. Plus, Zune Marketplace still doesn't sell any TV shows, movies or audiobooks, while iTunes does.

Read the Rest of Walt's Review