Zune (second generation, 8GB, red)

Pros: Easy to read screen, Glass not plasic screen, good battery life

Cons: Controls are sluggish at times, square corners make it feel boxier than it really is, 1st Gen Equalizer removed

Summary: The small Zune that was released with Generation 2 of the Zune Players is a excellent first offering, but still has some obvious growing to do.

As a small Flash Memory based player it does what you expect to do, and even does some things that are not really meant for this format... like video. In both the case of the Zune and the 3rd Gen Nano, I don't understand why they insist on putting video on these devices, are you really going to sit there and watch video on these tiny screens?

The Zune Pad (a.k.a. Squircle), is comparable in usability to the click wheel on the 2nd and 3rd Gen Nanos, which is to say, it doesn't translate very well for those with large fingers. Fortunately for the Zune, you can turn off the touch pad mode and use it as a normal D-pad like device making easier for those with large fingers to work it, plus it doesn't accidently get a volume adjustment, when say doing something like putting it into your shirt pocket.

The biggest downside to the new Zune Flash based players is the sluggish reaction time of some of the menus. The device seems to almost freeze at times in response to commands taking several seconds to get "caught up"

Microsoft promised a lot in the way of third party accessories to the new Zune models which have yet to be delivered (for the most part) from companies leaving Zune owners with "iPod envy" in this category. But other than that, there is little to no reason to select an iPod over a Zune. Conversely, other than an FM radio, and "Social Networking" which very few people actually care about at this point, there is also very little reason to buy the Zune over the iPod either.

It is an excellent device however in its own right, and if you are looking for a good, lightweight Media Player for running or exercising with the Zune player is an excellent choice.