People have many reasons why they don’t want an iPod, from not liking iTunes to wanting to be a bit different to the rest of the world. If you live in America, one of the great alternatives would be the Zune HD – but unfortunately for us UK based folk, Microsoft (in their infinite wisdom) have decided against bringing the Zune here, at least for the moment. About a month before Christmas I started hankering after one, so started researching its pros and cons, especially those related to use in an ‘unsupported’ country. Having subsequently bought one, I thought I’d share what I experienced.
Lets start with the good news… getting one is easy! I advise a UK based Ebay powerseller (I used a guy called thecheetahexpress). Make sure their reputation etc is good, I find powersellers to be very professional. You could also buy one off Zunethings.co.uk if you’d rather not use Ebay but it will almost certainly cost you a reasonable amount more.
Setting up the software on your PC (no Mac support I’m afraid) is also easy but it does require changing your location within Windows to the United States (Control Panel -> Clock, Language and Region -> Change Location [applicable to Win 7]). Doing this did make me feel slightly dirty but it won’t do anything untoward to your computer, you can change it back after install but I’m not sure if it’ll let the software perform updates if you do (updates are few and far between anyway). Then simply run along to Zune Software Download and it should let you download the software.
The final thing which is a bit of a pain is that to download apps etc you need a US based Windows Live address (you don’t need to do this if you’re only interested in uploading songs, pictures and movies). I just created a new account such as whateveryoufancy@hotmail.com and used a random US postcode. Sign in with that and whabam! Everything will work as well as it would in America and you can download all the free content ’til your heart’s content.
The only problem I can foresee is for the guys that want to use Zune Pass and the market place to buy movies and songs, you can only sign up for that service with a US credit card. However I think there are probably a couple of ways around this, first off if you visit America you could buy the pre-paid Visa gift cards they sell there. Either that or just buy pre-paid Microsoft points and redeem them on your US based account. Unfortunately I’ve yet to try either so don’t take my word as gospel – but I’m fairly confident they would work.
So do I suggest using a Zune HD in the UK? Definitely, I’m loving the experience and it is nice owning that gadget that not many others in the UK have seen before. Is it better the iPod Touch? Well that’s all opinion, personally I prefer the menu system, love the looks and think the OLED screen looks fantastic, however if you’re more interested in the portable computer aspect of the iPhone or iPod Touch it does a good job but cannot live up to the quality and the amount of apps offered. I wanted a PMP and really do think that the Zune HD is the best in its field in that respect.
So that’s my experience, hopefully I’ve helped you come to a decision about what to do. Have I tempted you to look into it further? Or do you already own one in the UK or otherwise? Let me know your experiences or questions down in the comments section below.
Arctic UK 
Ben UK 
Miquel Gramberg 
Andy 
Great to see a fellow UK Zune fan, championing the HD and talking about ownership in a land where the Zune is not officially available.
I’ve had a 30, a 4, 80, 120 and now HD. I guess I’m a Zune-aholic! I don’t mind the workaround or having a US based Windows Live ID to access everything bar purchasing from the Marketplace.
I hadn’t considered your workarounds to get Microsoft Points. I’ll be interested to hear of they work. I’ll keep an eye on this post to see if anyone comes back to you about that.
What do I like about the Zune so much? The software, the HD form-factor (I thought the 8, 80 and 120 not too shabby either though) and it will play WMAs and WMVs.
It is NOT an iPod and for some reason that is also in the mix of reasons why I like Zune so much.
Plus, there’s Microsoft’s knack of often starting out with poor product and refining and refining until it’s there. I was prepared to take this journey on their MP3 player and I have absolutely no regrets! I love it!