Let's be very clear on this. I have a Zune, but I bought it on sale and only because my intense dislike of MS was outweighed by my aversion to being trendy and owning a white MP3 player.

One reason you may be getting favorable comments is that Zune owners do not see headlines about their choice in music player nearly as often. I tend to read the articles to see if software updates have come out or if anyone has improved the storage mode hack. And I'm not about to cruise MS's web sites for that purpose. I only use half the features, but I like that half. If they would just fix the software issues, I would be thrilled, but I'll probably retire waiting for MS to do that.

Holy crap, this thread is amuzing. Microsoft finally syas it's sold/shipped (which is it?) it's 2 millionth Zune. It's only taken, what 22-23 months? 

Oh, but here we have several reader comments all blathering on about how wonderful the Zune is and how much better than the iPod it is.

Looks and sounds like a brief spat of astro-turfing to me. I guess that the Microsoft Offense Force is out in force, eh?

Love the zune, I've had three ipods, all sucked (screen scratches, battery life). Zune screen and wifi has been awesome (family and friends have them as well). Zune updates have happened every three months, with added features. best bang for the buck at 30 gigs for $99.

Zune is a good no nonsense piece of kit. Love my black 30 and I am in the UK too. £75 brand new from Ebay, not bad at all. Had it six months and it still looks pristine.

There are some dismantling instructions on the web. First port of call is to pop out gently the dock port surround at the bottom. That gives you access to two screws, then you prise the shell apart. I take no responsibility......

If you have dust behind the screen, it's more than likely not brand new. Regardless of what they tell you on e-bay, it's probably refurbed with a new screen.

I've got a couple zunes and ipods. I can't complain about either one, but I can say that I've never had to clear or redo a zune in the time that I've had them, as opposed to the ipods.

I don't come across people who have a zune in the uk. I got it brand new on ebay

It's screen is now full of dust and i cant figure out how to get into in and clear it up :(