Update on the Zune 120 – R.I.P. XM/Sirius

Back in May this year, I wrote an article Adios XM Satellite Radio where I complained about the programming changes brought on by the absorption of XM by Sirius..  When I first started operating the heavy equipment, earplugs were mandatory to preserve what little hearing I had left.  I soon discovered noise canceling earbuds connected to a portable mp3 player made it so much nicer.  I was addicted.  When I canceled my subscription with XM,

Zune 120, Speck Hard Rubber Case, Clear Screen Protector

I bought a Microsoft  Zune 120 gig mp3 player and I haven’t looked back!  What really sold me on the Zune was the online subscription service which costs about $15 per month.  I can download all the music I want and it stays on my player as long as my subscription is active.  In addition,  I get 10 song credits per month which allows me to purchase basically an entire CD each month that I get to keep forever!  Good stuff, let me tell ya!

Since I have been using the service for 5 months or so I have found the feature I really like is the Smart DJ.  You can pick one of your favorite artists and Smart DJ will construct a  dynamic playlist of related artists that it updates every 3-5 days.  I just plug in the Zune and Smart DJ downloads fresh stuff to my Zune automatically and then I have new tunes to listen to as I rumble across the landscape in a massive earthmover.  Can’t beat it in my book.

I outfitted my Zune in the heaviest case I could find for it..  The Speck Hard Rubber case is like a big rubber shock absorber around my Zune.  It also came with a clear stick on screen protector.   The Zune has endured some extreme conditions.  Heat, humidity, vibration, getting tossed around and it has performed admirably.  Now if I could just find some dozer proof earbuds, I would be set.  I think I am on my fourth set right now.  I have yet to find a decent set of earbuds that will withstand my lifestyle.

The Zune was especially appreciated during my trip to Italy.  10 hour nonstop flights get incredibly boring and the Zune was a real help in passing the hours.

I have found 120gb to be a huge amount of space.  6000 plus songs and I still have 70gb left.  I probablly could have gotten by with an 80 gig Zune but I remember the price point for a 120 gig was not that much greater.