I'm just a girl...

I've dropped mine at least twice and it also still works. Small crack on the screen though. :( The headphone problem happened on it's own, so I don't know if it's related to the drop or not.

Likely the headphones is a problem with the headphones only, so you would just need to spend $30 to replace them. I'm on my 5-6th pair.

Nope, same problem with 2 different headphones and a pair of computer speakers (only plays in 1 speaker). I'm pretty sure all my headphones and speakers did not go bad at the same time. :/

120gb is indeed 4x as large as 30gb. Something to be aware of is what kind of storage medium is used - hard drive based units are bulkier but higher capacity than the same $ spent on the svelte solid state devices. This distinction isn't normally part of the consumer-facing marketing, but will be evident in the Product Dimensions & Weight.

That said, I believe both 30gb and 120gb Zunes are HD-based. Amazon shows about $150 price difference. Check your prices?

Also - there's a "Zune HD" that just hit the market in the 30gb range. That will output a full HD signal to your TV for watching movies. If you never plan to do that, a non-HD Zune probably is a smarter buy for you.

I wouldn't put any stock in "Video MP3 Player" vs "Digital Media Player" - just marketing speak.

edit: HD is an overloaded term here.

"HD-based" means "hard-drive based".
"full HD signal" means "full High Definition signal".

90% of the time I'll be using it to play music in my classes and workshops. Maybe 9% of the time I'll use it on the go to listen to music while I clean or shop. I might use it to watch movies only twice per year while I'm on a flight. I have no idea how much memory I'll need but since I plan to use it for 3 or 4 years, I thought I might as well invest in the best one with the most memory.

All Zunes will play movies on the device itself. Its only if you want to play back that movie to a larger TV screen does the ZuneHD matter to you. Sounds like it probably doesn't.

(The ZuneHD would function equivalent to your DVD player or VCR in the scenario I'm describing)

Got it, thanks. It would be nice if we could download movies onto the Zune instead of just music. Then I would have something to watch while on a flight.

Yep. Everything ever sold called a 'Zune' supports that particular feature.

You mean I *can* download movies onto a Zune? It didn't mention that on Amazon on the list of features.

You can, yes. There is a video marketplace to purchase them.

http://www.zune.net/en-us/products/learningcenter/zunemarketplace/gettingstarted/buyingmovies.htm


One more stab at distinguishing Zune from ZuneHD:

Imagine you have "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" downloaded to your Zune. All your friends are over, and you all decide want to watch Hugh Jackman's veins pop together. Rather than crowd around the tiny 3" screen on the Zune device you have in your hand, you decide you'd rather watch Jackman's veins on your 60" plasma TV.

With regular Zunes, you can get a crappy Standard Definition highly compressed video to display on your TV.
With ZuneHD, you can watch Jackman's veins in their full HD splendor.

Any Zune will let you download and watch movies. Any Zune will connect to your TV if you are tech savvy enough to figure out the cabling**. ZuneHD enables you to get a nicer picture on your TV (as well as some other features Sharahazad mentions, notably a touchscreen interface).


**http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2006/11/16/five-zune-secrets-you-need-to-know.html

"you'd rather watch Jackman's veins on your 60" plasma TV"

Damn, now I just need a 60" plasma tv!! Wish I could wait for them to have both HD and 120GB. But if I want to watch a movie on my tv I would probably just use On Demand to rent it on the spot. So I'll go with the 120.

You can download movies and video on All Zunes, but I believe you have to buy them from the Zune Marketplace.

To play back video on your tv from the Zune, you have to have a tv with a Zune Dock, or buy a Zune Dock and have a tv with an HDMI interface...

If you only wanted to watch video in flight (and not display it on a tv) then you can go for a -) Sandisk Sansa Fuze (-...

p.s.
I have the Sansa Fuze 8GB, which like the regular Zune requires you to have a computer with certain software that will convert your video down in size and quality in order to play back on the device. But they are well worth it for long trips or trips where you expect to be bored...

I just ran into this issue. The 120 GB Zune is being phased out in favor of the 32 GB Zune HD. The HD is designed to operate like the I-Touch. It has a touch-screen, and some extra features. The big one is internet access via wifi.

I still found the cut in storage space to be really frustrating. I'm having problems with my Zune 120 right now (battery won't charge), and I have a "replacement" plan from Best Buy, but I can't actually replace it because Best Buy no longer carries the Zune 120. The service plan is good for another year, so my current plan is to wait and see if Microsoft releases another model with higher capacity, and just keep my current one to use in the car (it works fine when plugged in).

Thanks. If they are phasing them out then I had better buy one fast!

I love my Zune, and the interface is better than iTunes. Even better, for a monthly fee, I can listen to pretty much any music I want to, put it on my Zune, and play it elsewhere. It does not matter if I've purchased the CD or not. The downside is that since you don't own the music, when you discontinue the membership, you lose that music. However, we can create endless playlists in the mean time and I think it's well worth it.