In a surprisingly positive review, ExtremeTech had a look at the new Zune MP3 player and seemed to like almost all of the core features of the product. They complimented the look and feel of the Zune’s soft finish, the large(r) screen, better sound quality (as compared to the iPod), the layout and navigation of the controls, the FM radio and the picture viewer. Some negatives include lack of support for podcasts, no TV or movies and doesn’t work on Vista. They call it an “almost great product”

The review was so flattering to the Zune in fact, that it was surprising to see ExtremeTech give it a lowish rating of 7/10.

A marginally more negative take on the Zune can be found in Ars Technica at Welcome to the social. While Ars Technica did have some trouble with the Zune’s software (it crashed), they liked many of the same things that ExtremeTech did, including the appearance, the screen, user interface and the sound quality.

And continuing on to the other end of the spectrum, we find the sharply-worded “Avoid the loony Zune ” in the Chicago Sun-Times…it’s quite negative as the title suggests.

Suffice it to say that reviews are decidedly mixed. Hmm..it’s either time to short AAPL on strength, or buy on weakness.

Zune: iPod Killer or Half-Baked Flop? - ExtremeTech, November 20, 2006 

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