I've seen in some of the black friday ads that the Brown Zunes are going to be on sale:

Meijer - $89 (Thur)
Radio Shack - $99 w/ case (Fri)
Circuit City - $99 (Fri)

In my online research, they look like bricks compared to the ipod, but the large 3" screen is cool. It's only 30gb and the battery only is listed at lasting for 14 hours.
[img][650:360]http://www.zuneworld.com/images/Brown-Zune-Large.jpg[/img]

I've been leaning towards the new Sandisk Sansa View which is only 8gb (more what I was looking for as a minimum). The screen is 2.4" but it is much tinier with a 20 hour battery. The list price is $149.
[img][345:500]http://www.techdigest.tv/sandisk_sansa_view_front_shot.jpg[/img]

Is it worth it to get the extra gb's and larger screen for $50+ less?
Is anyone out there head over heels about the Zune? It seems like I don't know anyone that has one. Does it do the rotate movies and images to bethe orientation of the screen, like the self rotating iTouch?

(is there a way to make the linked images smaller? They might be life size or larger. haha, but probably a close size comparison.)

I like my classic...

Crap for 99 bucks I would pick up a Zune.

My Microsoft sources indicate that a Zune 2.0 is on its way. And since J Allard (MS Zune/X-Box VP) himself said of Zune 1.0 "this device is a B, maybe even a C, but we wanted to get it out before the holidays" it could be a big improvement.

eh...more for less? Sounds like the choice has been made.

I need some microsoft sources

As a Rhapsody subscriber, that Sansa is somewhat attractive since it's one of only 2 devices that makes Rhapsody portable.
But still not enough to justify buying one.

Same w/ the Zune, especially since there's a new version on the way.

The new Zune mini's look pretty cool, but are the same price points as the Nano, so I'd rather have a nano. I have yet to see the Zune 2.0.
I'm skeptical about plopping down $100 for a Zune when I see the new one and want that even more. I guess I'm a greedy fellow.
This is sort of along the lines of why I want the Sansa View 8gb model instead of the almost identical Sansa e280 8gb model. The view has a slightly better battery, better interface and a larger screen at 2.4" vs. the 1.8" of the e280.

I guess I should just bite the bullet and get the one that I really want so that I am really happy and stop worrying about saving $60 to get something that I might not be happy with.

Just bought a 30gb zune off of woot for 89 dollars. Black. Ships today. You can port the new 2.0 software to the old devices, too. I can't wait.

Coolest thing about them: they have an undo button.

The 2.0 model looks almost identical to the first version, except the screen is slightly larger 3.2" vs. 3" and the hard drive is 80gb vs. 30gb.

I think the hard drive issue is making me lean towards the Sandisk because I prefer the flash memory. No moving parts = less likely to fail in my opinion.

You mean these? Came out this week.

Yeah, doesn't that have wi-fi syncing or something? Seems like it's still a work in progress somehow.

Yea, the Zune 1.0 has wifi syncing and you can send stuff between zunes for a 3 play trial, but you can't use the wifi for the internet which is dumb.
I'm not sure about the 2.0 and internet.

I'm not a Zune fan, but if I didn't have an iPod... and I had a Windows machine... I'd certainly leap on that 30GB for $99.

And yes, they are bricks.

i think my iriver finally shit the bed. the new oneida album killed it. won't turn on, nothing.

i'm thinking of getting a zune.

I recommend the Sansa View, I really like my 16gb version, but I figure you want a lot more capacity. (I think they have up to 32gb now.) I recommend getting a flash based player instead of a hard drive one. It is less likely to shit the bed.

Getting video on it is a pain, but the screen borders on the too small end for video anyways. The Fuze is pretty sharp.

I actually use a Sansa c240 that I got refurbished more than my view. It's tinier, only has 1gb of built in memory, but I threw on Rockbox and put in my spare 8gb card and voila, 9gb flash player for $15. (+card) The conrols are a little akward, but I just throw it on shuffle.

call me chicken little. i just hit the reset button on my iriver and it's back up and running.

even better

zune lol

Johnny Taint & the Cans of Piss - aka - the PPDD All-Stars?