[Sven Johannsen]

Originally Posted by Rocco Augusto

I concur. Right now I am using the Motorola MOTOROKR S9 and I love them. They're tiny and sound great, though they are not as good as my Ultimate Ears headphones

OK so your $120 S9s don't sound as good as the $400 Ultimate Ears, big surprise.

I have had very good luck with the old HP BT headsets that they discontinued, but Logitech released as Apple ones. (Logitech made the ones for HP) My big HT820 Motorolas work fine. My favorite setup though is a couple of systems that have a BT receiver, that you can plug your own headset or headphones into. Not strictly wireless then but it lets you manage the wires better and can interface with a phone as well as a player independently. One such is at http://www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=154782 and there are a number of similar items in the BT accessories there. You could even plug your Ultimate Ears into these.

Typically what I have found, is not an issue with the headset end but rather with the device transmitting. I have very little trouble when the BT TX is an independent device such as seen here. http://www.globalsat.co.uk/product_p...uct_bta830.htm Of course you don't get any control but volume. The Tx plugs into the device headphone jack and broadcasts A2DP. The skips and garbage appear to be more a function of the capability of the device, phone, laptop, and the BT drivers on it.

[Sven Johannsen]

Originally Posted by Rocco Augusto

I concur. Right now I am using the Motorola MOTOROKR S9 and I love them. They're tiny and sound great, though they are not as good as my Ultimate Ears headphones

OK so your $120 S9s don't sound as good as the $400 Ultimate Ears, big surprise.

I have had very good luck with the old HP BT headsets that they discontinued, but Logitech released as Apple ones. (Logitech made the ones for HP) My big HT820 Motorolas work fine. My favorite setup though is a couple of systems that have a BT receiver, that you can plug your own headset or headphones into. Not strictly wireless then but it lets you manage the wires better and can interface with a phone as well as a player independently. One such is at http://www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=154782 and there are a number of similar items in the BT accessories there. You could even plug your Ultimate Ears into these.

Typically what I have found, is not an issue with the headset end but rather with the device transmitting. I have very little trouble when the BT TX is an independent device such as seen here. http://www.globalsat.co.uk/product_p...uct_bta830.htm Of course you don't get any control but volume. The Tx plugs into the device headphone jack and broadcasts A2DP. The skips and garbage appear to be more a function of the capability of the device, phone, laptop, and the BT drivers on it.

[Jason Dunn]

My, my, my - this is all so entertaining!

[randalllewis]

I, too, am not interested in turning the Zune into the iTouch and would not be interested in most of these "features" being added. I can make an argument for a clock/alarm function because it would allow for timed uses of the Zune. I often listen while vegging out and having the Zune stop and tell me when I've listened for a set period could be helpful. I know other people go to sleep with their Zunes and would like to have them shut off after a set time.

I also would like to be able to purchase music from the Marketplace wirelessly. I understand there may be some issues to resolve with navigation around the website, but I have confidence the Zune team can creatively resolve those.

[Rocco Augusto]

Originally Posted by Sven

OK so your $120 S9s don't sound as good as the $400 Ultimate Ears, big surprise.

I wish I had the $400 Ultimate Ear headphones

Right now I'm using the Ultimate Ears Metro.fi wired headphones and they were only about $70. I love my stereo Bluetooth headphones but they never sound as rich as my regular wired headphones.

[jeff119]

a point could be made for games, nothing too complicated, games like solitaire or tetris would be awesome on the zune. bluetooth would be interesting. web browser isn't needed, but maybe to buy songs wirelessly. here's a way that it could work, say you are listening to the radio and here a song you like, you can click the center button and select download this song. simple and easy.

[Sven Johannsen]

Originally Posted by Rocco Augusto

I wish I had the $400 Ultimate Ear headphones

Right now I'm using the Ultimate Ears Metro.fi wired headphones and they were only about $70. I love my stereo Bluetooth headphones but they never sound as rich as my regular wired headphones.

Rocco, you need to splurge $20 on one of these http://www.semsons.com/glbtblhe.html I have a set and I think it sounds as good as any pair of headphones that I plug in to them. Of course, I'm an old fart, so my audio assesment is questionable. Would be interesting to see if your Ultimate Ears, plugged into this, would be acceptable, just as good, or degraded, compared to plugged in directly. You could compare it with whatever you are using to drive your S9s. I get a feeling that when a company makes a combined BT/audio output device, they may skimp on the audio output part a bit.

[David Tucker]

Originally Posted by Dyvim

And regarding fingerprints and touchscreens: my iPhone gets constantly covered with fingerprints but they're invisible when the backlight is on and hence are not an issue. Zune 2's big beautiful glass screen is just begging to be a touchscreen.

Totally and absolutely disagree 200%. Everyone makes this claim. I was visiting my brother and was playing with his iPhone. Sorry...but the fingerprints on the screen made me want to constantly wipe it off. They distort the light coming through and give it a rainbow effect. Maybe you don't notice them because the ENITRE screen looks like that. No matter what the touch screen is that I'm using...I'm always cleaning it be it my Wing or my DS. I keep a cloth handy. Drives me absolutely nuts.

[Dyvim]

Originally Posted by David Tucker

Everyone makes this claim.

Which suggests that most people agree with me that fingerprints are not an issue given the right screen. Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this point.

Originally Posted by David Tucker

Drives me absolutely nuts.

Unfortunately, you may have to get used to it in the future. I bet Zune v3 has a touch interface. The next major version of Windows Mobile will have a big focus on finger-based touch interface. Will be interesting to see if Zune also chooses to go this route.

[David Tucker]

By everyone I mean everyone who buys an iPhone who then tries to convince others its the "One True Way" (tm)

But if I went by what everyone said I'd also believe that I should hate subscription music and that not having exchange support would be a fair tradeoff to get the iPhone.

'Everyone' isn't always right...especially when they're trying to justify their expensive gadget. What better way than to overlook minor flaws?

[Dyvim]

Originally Posted by David Tucker

Everyone' isn't always right...especially when they're trying to justify their expensive gadget. What better way than to overlook minor flaws?

Touché. That would be just as ridiculous as trying to justify why it's a good thing that a not inexpensive PMP doesn't include more features.