This weeks Cnet's Most Wanted Weekly has the 80gb 2nd Generation Microsoft Zune in the top spot!

Well, the time has come... The day a lot of you are waiting on. Who gets the 2nd Zune I bought?

The contest's rules were simple. A random commenter that made any comments from the 11th until today will win their very own 80gb Zune 2.

I wish I could have bought more than 1 for this contest because there are quite of few of you guys that are quite deserving. I just hope those of you that don't win take off into the wind when they realize they were not the winner. We have been working hard to make this blog one hell of a resource for you all. If the site does well, we'll be giving away more and more as the days go on. Heck, I don't need any more Zunes personally, might as well spread the love, right?

Anyhow, in order for the winner to accept delivery of their winnings, they must post a PROMISE in this thread that they will take photos and shoot them to me!

And the winner is...

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This is a right on time post. I had a journalist for a major national newspaper contact me today for my thoughts on the Zune 80 availability issues. I talked with my contact at Microsoft about this inquiry. I was given a suitable reply to this and it's basicly that they didn't anticipate such strong Zune 80 sales. This response was mirrored with slightly different wording just minutes ago by Cesar over at Zune Insider. Thanks Cesar!

You may have seen some buzz in the news and online over the last few days about the availability of Zune 80 - so I talked to the product management and retail teams to get the story. Here’s what I found out:  Based on our own forecasts as well as early retail orders, we chose to prioritize production of the Zune 4 and Zune 8.  Zune 80 was at retail on launch day albeit in lower numbers.  That combined with the positive press cycle and higher-than-expected demand has led to the current situation - but here’s the good news – we’ve stepped up production and significant inventory will begin hitting stores within the next 7-10 days. Right now, the stores which currently have availability: Circuit City, Target, and Walmart, and online, check out Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal Mart, GameStop, Amazon, and Dell.

I can tell you that they are out there, I have purchased 3 Zune 80s, 2 4gb Flash Zunes, and 2 of the 8gb Flash Zunes. I got all the Flash Zunes from Wal Mart, 1 of the Zune 80s at Wal Mart and 2 of them from Circuit City.

PS. Use our contact form if you have been looking long and hard for a Zune 80 with no luck.

No, this isn't a green light to spam the contest thread some... just a teaser for tommorow night. Notice the seal, I have resisted opening this one for your benefit!

Update: The Zune 80 Winner will be picked at or around 11pm CST on the 20th!

I am not going to bore you with all the details head to head, but I can say a couple things.

• The video quality on the iPod is better than the Zune 2. The resolution is the same (320x240), but the pixels per inch are much more compact on the iPod. I can sacrifice a bit of video quality for a bigger screen though.
• I hate the iPod scroll wheel with a passion, so I have to hand the navigation over to Zune. I think Engadget said it best... The thumb dislocating thumb wheel.
• The iPod has the battle won on size.
• The Zune's back is much nicer than the ipod. If I wanted a mirror, erm... I meant a fingerprint magnet, the iPod's back would do, but I don't.
• Zune Market Place 1 or the new one > iTunes. Yes, iTunes has more of a selection, but not really important to me. The newest Zune software has some issues, but it's fast and easy to use. The podcast section of iTunes is better than Marketplace. I don't buy videos so lack of video section is not a big deal to me.

Some more photos after the break....

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I was devastated when I had to return my Zune 80 GB after having it for only a few hours on Tuesday (launch date). The sync cable would not release from the Zune. I took it back to Circuit City and was told "Sorry, we don't have any more but we can special order you one". No thanks.

I checked all the other stores in town..... no Zunes. (Sigh) I didn't have the heart to come to Chris' GotZune site. I avoided it for a few days. I didn't want to read about all the oohs and aahs of the device I no longer had.

Yes, I still had my Zune 30....and yes, I had updated the firmware... but that wasn't the same!!

But today, I had to go to Wal-Mart for groceries and decided to wander by the Electronics department so I could show my son the flash zunes. I pointed to the display and said "See?", and as he was looking my eyes wandered below the display  to the units below.... and what did I see? ONE Zune 80 GB!! (Oh my!) I left my cart and went directly to the counter to grab the nearest clerk. Before my son could turn around I had the clerk with keys to get my Zune. Once I had my purchase (I also got the new FM Transmitter), I called Chris and told him the good news.

So, THANK YOU WAL-MART!!

I guess I was destined to get my Zune 80GB at the exact same place I purchased my Zune 30 a year ago (shortly after it was released and I had watched Chris' unboxing and first impressions videos ).

So, for those of you discouraged by not being able to find the new Zune 80..... DON'T give up!!

I have been quiet today. I looked back at the last 3 days and realized that I must be mad posting as much as I have in this time period. Good Stuff, but today, I am taking a rest a bit. I can't say that my natural geekness won't come out later today and I throw another posting spam attack at you all!

Anyhow, just wanted to tell everyone where I am.

Update on Susan too... Susan is not pleased. She is so sickened at her situation that she doesn't even want to look at the site.

What happened? Susan's sync cable got stuck on the Zune and wouldn't let go. She returned her Zune 80 back to Circuit City and wouldn't you know, they sold out. So, Susan is Zune 2-less. She does still have her Zune 30.

Everyone wish Susan luck in dealing with this tragedy. She had it and now it's gone.

Willing to drive? Fly? Well, there are Zune 80s still available for in-store pickup in the Southeast.

If you really want a Zune 80, just head over to CircuitCity.com and throw in some Zip Codes around you and see...

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...

I wanted to a) remind everyone reading about the Contest and b) remind those that are commenting for a chance to win that comment spam will get you disqualified. We've had and removed a couple waves of this already.

Anyhow, if you want to win... follow the rules. Thanks!

To kick off Got Zune, we are giving away a Black 80GB Zune 2.  This contest couldn’t be any easier, well it could be easier, but… ya know.

Read more about the contest!