80-Gig Zune Now Available

[Damion Chaplin]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.ipodmods.com/shop/3017-hard-drive-disk-mk8009gah.html' target='_blank'>http://www.ipodmods.com/shop/3017-hard-drive-disk-mk8009gah.html</a><br /><br /></div><p><font face="Arial"><em>&quot;The guys who first upgraded the Zunes hard drive are now doing it for the public. You can now send your Zune to Ipodmods.com and they will upgrade it to a 80 gig or a 40 gig model. How ever, doing this will void your Microsoft Zune warranty. The Zune 80 gig model is going to set you back $489.98 in total, once you purchase a hard drive from Ipodmods.com they will install it for free and send it back to you right a way with your upgraded hard drive installed.&quot;</em></font></p><br /><p><img alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/zt/2006/80gigZune.jpg" /><br />[image from <a href="http://www.zunescene.com/80gb-zune/" target="_blank">Zune Scene</a>]</p><p>For just $239.99 you can get your new Zune upgraded to 80 gigabytes. My that's a lot of space! 80 Gigs would just about hold my entire music collection (in 128 WMA) plus a number of movies! Think about it: You're quadrupling your Zune's capacity for just less than the price of a second Zune. Sounds like a good deal to me. I think, however, that if I'm going to void my Zune's warranty (this service will), I'd rather wait and buy the drive and perform the upgrade myself. Guess I'll just have to wait. <em>(Update: It was correctly pointed out to me that the Zune is 30GB, not 20, so you're really more than doubling your capacity [not quadrupling it] for just less than the price of a second Zune. Sorry 'bout that!)</em><br /></p>

[ucfgrad93]

For just $239.99 you can get your new Zune upgraded to 80 gigabytes.

That's in addition to the $299 you paid to buy the Zune in the first place. So the real cost is $538.99. :eek: I think I'd rather wait for Microsoft to introduce a 80GB Zune.

[ucfgrad93]

You're quadrupling your Zune's capacity for just less than the price of a second Zune.

No offense, but you might want to check your math. The original Zune is 30GB, while the update is 80GB. Thats not even tripling the capacity much less quadrupling it.

[Paul Martin]

That's in addition to the $299 you paid to buy the Zune in the first place. So the real cost is $538.99. :eek: I think I'd rather wait for Microsoft to introduce a 80GB Zune.

$299? Retail is running about $249, so that puts it about $490 if you paid all retail which is certainly much better! :) OK, buy your Zune on ebay for about $190 and there are better deals on the drive as well. A search on Fruggle turns up several in the $170 range. So, estimated total is $360-380 which is ballpark for an 80 gb ipod but with the features you want :D.

[Dyvim]

I think the vast majority of people would prefer to wait until Microsoft can offer their own official 80 GB Zune at around the $349 price point (to compete with Apple's 80 GB offering). A 30 GB Zune is a good deal considering it's the same price (or a little cheaper with discounts) than the equivalent iPod, but this 80 GB "offering" isn't quite there yet (esp. when you consider it also voids your warranty).

[Damion Chaplin]

That's in addition to the $299 you paid to buy the Zune in the first place. So the real cost is $538.99.

That's why I used the word 'upgrade'. ;)

No offense, but you might want to check your math. The original Zune is 30GB, while the update is 80GB.

Quite right! :o I'm still not used to thinking of my player as 30GB. So you're "more than doubling your Zune's capacity for just less than the price of a second Zune." How's that?

I think the vast majority of people would prefer to wait until Microsoft can offer their own official 80 GB Zune at around the $349 price point (to compete with Apple's 80 GB offering).

Me too, though I do enjoy opening things up and voiding my warranty. Also, when the 80GB Zune comes out and I buy it, what will I do with the old 30GB clunker? Probably upgrade it.

[ucfgrad93]

$299? Retail is running about $249, so that puts it about $490 if you paid all retail which is certainly much better! :)

Oops, my bad. I'm not sure where I came up with $299.;) Still a little too pricey in my opinion. Although if you can get your Zune cheaper than retail, it makes the deal better like you said.

[Aaron Roma]

What? No 100GB "upgrade" yet?

[flatline response]

What? No 100GB "upgrade" yet?My thoughts exactly.

Why bother with just mimicking what the 80GB 5.5G has, especially with the anticipated 6G just around the corner? I doubt the next flagship iPod will be topped out at 80GB. Plus, the cost of this upgrade is difficult to deem as being worth it in comparison to the price of the factory-built 80GB iPod. However I suspect that the new 100GB Toshiba drive will probably find it initially going to OEM DAP builders first before finding its way into the secondary/aftermarket and direct consumer sales. :(

[Jason Dunn]

This is one of those W?BIC! things (Why? Because I Can!) that is rooted in being geek cool, not rooted in being practical. ;) So don't ask why - if you do, it's not meant for you. :D

[I still think it's a tragedy that the Zune didn't launch with a bigger hard drive as an option - Microsoft needed to make a statement and they missed the boat]

[David Tucker]

This isn't W?BIC! geeky cool. W?BIC! cool means you did it yourself. This costs a fortune to have someone else hack your Zune. This is W?BIR! (Figure out the R on your own ;) )

[Aaron Roma]

[I still think it's a tragedy that the Zune didn't launch with a bigger hard drive as an option - Microsoft needed to make a statement and they missed the boat]
I agree completely. Sure, the timeframe might have been too tight for multiple form factors, but a larger hard drive options should have been relatively easy. I wonder if only one size option was a consious descision, or simply a lack of manufacturing capacity for the short time frame.