Well, once again I am linking to a nice nugget of info from my buddy Jason over at Zune Thoughts. He has discovered that you can still search dynamically.

When you are in the device or collection tabs, all you have to do is start typing and it will filter down your search. It's not as dynamic as it used to be with the old software, but who needs dynamic? I'd rather the conventional search method anyhow with the search box.

There is one BIG GOTCHA to Jason's find though. It only works in the device or collection tabs. Why is that bad? Simple, the place I most want to search is the MARKETPLACE. This is too bad, maybe this was an oversight on the Zune Team's part.

Anyhow, that's still a cool tip from Jason for those 2 tabs. With a LARGE collection, the search is pretty helpful still.

Source: Zune Thoughts

Editor's Note: This is a really neat partnership. I personally use the Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 Pro earbuds and I really like them a lot. The other part of the partnership, MyVu makes a unique set of video glasses. One of our Editors at Mobilitysite, Jack Cook, reviewed these a while back and loved them. - Chris Leckness

Myvu Corporation, creators of the revolutionary myvu personal media viewers, today announced a partnership with Ultimate Ears, the leading manufacturer of custom in-ear-monitors to 80% of the world's top professional musicians and sound engineers. The partnership offers myvu users the same best-in-breed portable media viewing experience enhanced with Ultimate Ear's earphones for the entire myvu product line, including the new myvu solo plus and universal editions. '

"Audio quality is a major component of the entire myvu experience and a high quality earphone is critical," said Kip Kokinakis, president and CEO of Myvu Corp. "By partnering with Ultimate Ears, we offer users the industry's finest on-the-go viewing experience."

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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.

As expected, nobody can review the Zune without constant references to Microsoft "borrowing" ideas from Apple, but despite this reviewers apparenent bias towards Apple, this review is pretty fair...

In spite of these factors, the new flash Zune is a pleasant surprise and genuinely benefits from most of Microsoft's development efforts over the past year, even if some of them are clearly reactions to Apple's designs. At least in black, the new Zune is attractive, durable, and finally easy to use in both hardware and software. It is also second only to Apple in terms of podcast management; this is one of the few players outside of the iPod line that I can recommend to Windows users who virtually depend on podcasts to get through work or a commute.

There are clear areas where Microsoft could have improved the design: a better screen, better battery life, stronger wireless features, and a few minor interface changes would have helped the device fare better against the newest iPod generation. With these in mind, however, the new flash Zunes (and to some extent, the Zune 80) have made giant strides compared to the Zune 30 and are certainly more capable than many of the players that sit nearby on store shelves.

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Are you still having issues with your Zune Media Collection? In the Zune.net Forums, user streetchariot has compiled one heck of a list of info to help you out. ( View the Thread ) Below are a couple of the common issues related to Album Art.

If your albums are not right on your Zune:
1.   Connect your Zune to your PC.
2.   Goto the Device Tab in the zune software, and remove any albums that are not right.
3.   Go back to the Collection Tab and browse to the albums you just removed.
4.   Right click them and choose "Sync with <<Device Name>>"
5.   Those albums will re-sync to the Zune.
* If this does not work, or every album is not right, you can re-sync your entire collection by wiping the Zune clean.

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Here are your Zune Black Friday Deals...

Store	Deal	Price
	Microsoft Zune 30GB Brown MP3 Player	$99.99
	Microsoft Zune 30GB MP3 Player (Brown)	$89.99
	Microsoft Zune 30GB MP3/Video Player	$79.99
	Microsoft Zune 30GB MP3/Video Player	$99.99
	Microsoft Zune 4GB MP3 Player (Regular Price?)	$149.99
	SDI Deluxe Table AM/FM Radio / Zune Speaker Dock	$39.99

So CompUSA, Circuit City, ToysRus, Radio Shack, and Meijer for your Zune deals. Pick One!

Credit to Black Friday Info for the info. If you know of any others, let me know!

Saturday, I was on the way out to get some things. I decided to glance at Circuit City in my town. None. I was going there anyhow... Guess what, there was 1.

Today, Wal Mart's beta inventory checker online. None in my town. I go there to get the Home A/V Kit. What do you know, they had one. I bought it. I had already bought an extra for our contest, but decided to snatch up an extra.

I am reading everywhere that they are sold out everywhere, but inventory checks on websites in areas still show them out there.

This is how Stephan over at IWAPZ describes the Zune Originals. Looks like he got his in today.

Zune Originals has the best looking packaging of any product I’ve purchased in recent memory. Everything is white and gold and just looks so…custom. You also get a small cloth bag(close up here). If you order a Zune with artist series customization you also get a poster with your customization on it.

Read and view all his photos over at iwantapinkzune!

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.

So, I modified the v1 kit to work with my 80, but what about my 30? Should I send the 30 to the graveyard? Naw, so I need to get a home for the 80 too. That said, I stopped by Wallyworld and picked up the v2 Home A/V Kit.

The Zune v2 Home A/V Kit costs $99 and to be quite honest, that's a tad overpriced for what it offers in my opinion.

What do you get?

• The Dock
• 3 Inserts to accommodate the 3 Zune varieties. The 4/8, 30, and 80.
• An IR Remote
• A wall charger
• Zune A/V Output Cable

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