| #758 - Microsoft Zune - Part 1/3 |
|
|
| Written by Zach Jeffers | |||||||
| Tuesday, 21 November 2006 | |||||||
Page 5 of 5
A Closer Look – The Zune: During the ordering process, I was VERY tempted to buy the brown variant of the Zune, but I promised my brother in law, John, that he could have the brown one (his favorite color). Since my favorite color, or lack of, is black, I ordered the black Zune. The Zune has what they are calling a 'double-shot' color on them. All this is, is that the top layer of clear plastic that covers the Zune has a slight color hue to it. The black Zunes have a blue hue, the brown has green, and the white Zunes have simply a frosty effect to them. This is very attractive and gives a very unique effect to the face of the Zune. You will notice that the Zune has a fairly large screen. This is a 320x240, 3” screen and out of the box, the Zune has a plastic film over the top to protect it during shipping. Image 21 Below the screen, you will find a back button, the control pad with an 'Ok' button in the middle and a Play/Pause button to the right. At the bottom of the Zune, below the control buttons, you will find the USB sync jack. This jack will also enable other 3rd party devices to plug into the device. From the third picture here, you can better see the 'double-shot' effect inaction as well as the topography of the control buttons.    At the top of the Zune, there is a lock switch and the headphone and video/audio out jack. From the side, you can see that there are now added 'features' or buttons to interfere while holding the device. Also you can see that the Zune is not as slim as it's direct competitor, the iPod. I have found that the thickness of the Zune is very pleasant for me since I have meatier hands. This also follows through to my wife who has smaller hands. She says that the size and weight of the Zune “just feels good”. This might also have something to do with the slight radial indent on the back. Microsoft has added a comfort spot on the back of the Zune. I have, even though you never realize it until you stop and think about it, found it to be very effective and a great implementation of 'simple things that matter'.     Here are a couple of shots of the Zune plugged in with the sync cable and the included ear-bud headphones.   The included pouch for the Zune is very soft and attractive. The pouch only has room for the Zune player itself and not for any type of headphones or ear-bud headphones that you might want to use. The pouch goes on the Zune very snuggly and does not pull shut like I expected. The included pouch for the black Zune is a black/grayish color. The pouch for the white Zune is white and the brown Zune, brown.    Intermission: So that is the Zune and what comes with it. The build of the Zune feels wonderful, but that is for part two! Stay tuned to 3dGameMan.com for the next update of this three part review. | |||||||
