My 30GB Zune is here…so let’s unbox this eagerly anticipated digital music player together!
Amazon packing materials – nothing too exciting here…
Tossed in the bottom of the box, in a simple clear sleeve, the object of much controversy and discussion awaits.
The box only measures 5.25″ tall x 5.5″ wide x 2.25″ deep.
The box reads:
Includes 30GB Zune digital media player, earphones, sync cable, manuals, and disc.
System Specifications:
Computer running Windows XP SP2 or later, Internet access (high speed recommended; 200MB free hard drive space, USB port (USB 2.0 recommended, CD Drive).
Supports:
MP3, WMA, WMV & JPG
The box side with the seal must be broken before opening…
The heavy paper brown outer sleeve slides off to reveal the inner treasure chest – which reads, “Welcome to the social,” obviously a direct reference to the sharing capabilities of the player.
Breaking the seal on the lower right of the box allows a flap to free…
…which when lifted reveals the clear plastic wrapped Zune!
But wait…there’s more! 😉
Lifting the flaps on either side of the Zune reveals two flaps that when lifted reveal compartments holding the earphones (left) and the sync & charge cable (right).
Next, we’ll open the backside of the box…
…which is where some other goodies are hidden. There is an installation disc, a 14-day free pass to use Zune Pass (a monthly flat fee service which allows access to millions of songs), a product guide, a quick start guide, annnnnd –
a very nice microfiber bag that will not only keep the Zune from getting scratches, it should also work well for wiping down the Zunes screen should it get mucked up by fingerprints. 😛
The earphones and the sync & charge cable… everything is nicely branded and tastefully done.
The earphones, while I haven’t tried them out so I couldn’t tell you if they sound any good, do have one interesting property out of the box – their backs are magnetized! They will cling to each other which may help keep them neatly together. 🙂
The Zune… I ordered black, which as you can see has a blue effect sandwiched between its layers. The result is very niiiiice! (said in my best Borat voice) 😉
The Zune measures 4.45″ tall x 2.5″ wide x 0.65″ thick, and it weighs 5.7 ounces.
The material from which is it composed has a wonderful texture that does not show fingerprints. Here you can see the hold slider and the headphone jack.
The sync & charge port is on the bottom, and the controls on the front include a back button, a control pad, and a play/pause button. The control pad clicks – it doesn’t follow your sliding finger.
…and a friendly message from the folks at Microsoft – nice touch! 🙂
That’s it for now. I have installed the software and the Zune is now charging. It’s time for me to restart my computer.
Any questions? 😉
Wishful thinking? Tell me about the sync connector – it looks like an iPod connector. Do you think it will actually work with iPod accessories?
Ha, only in a perfect world. 😉 Major wishful thinking, but wouldn’t it have been nice?! 😀
Here’s “Bunnie’s” Zune dismantling — they took some macro shots of various components, including its tiny WiFi module.
http://www.bunniestudios.com/wordpress/?p=131
Slashdot effect in full force, so YMMV on accessing the website…
Oooh – thanks for the link! 🙂
Me again…
Bunnie’s “Zune Guts” is available in Google’s cache, but there were a lot more comments the last time I was able to load his website…
One quickie question Judie… How come some of my comments post immediately and other times it seems like they go through an approval/moderation process? Couldn’t spot any rhyme or reason from what I’ve posted so far…
I have to approve everyone’s first post (to catch spam), but after that they should all go though immediately – unless there are more than two external links in the comment (also to catch spam).
Any other post delays are just be wordpress fun and the internet gods. 😛
Guess my one post is lost to the Internet godz then… Something along the lines of:
I was able to get to Bunnie’s website before the slashdot hordes, so I posted his photos up on flickr while I still had them in my browser’s cache. Of special interest is the jumbo-sized photo of the logic board, if anyone wants to play “name that integrated circuit!” like the visitors to his blog have.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/karrock/sets/72157594377871741/
Andrew “Bunnie” Huang has an electronics engineering background (PhD from MIT!) and is perhaps best known for reverse engineering the XBOX, so perhaps he’s taking a swing at the dark corners of the mysterious Zune… (Cue ominous music)
Found this gem in Google’s cache too — for some reason it doesn’t exist on their current website!
BleedingEdgeTV GearLive’s Zune Disassembly Video
Gear Live’s photo gallery of the Zune’s dissection is also offline now… Should we start the Microsoft conspiracy theories now…? ;o)