Two first gen 30 gigs, one second gen 8 gig...3.0 firmware....looking for a 120gb
Have two first gen 30 gig Zunes (one is mine that I have had since the Zune was first introduced, the other is my daughter's that I got for her two years ago). Excellent players, and with current upgrades....are even that much better. Have never had a problem w/ either of the devices, and they get a complete workout. I use mine to exercise, at work, on the road, plus mounted to my helmet when I offroad/trail ride. Same w/ my daughter's except hers is probably used harder (and she rides offroad/trails too....). Have always kept the software updated on both, and they are getting better with age thanks to the excellent evolution of the firmware!

My wife has a second gen 8gb, and is used just as hard, with the same excellent results.

Having just started to using the video capability of the device, it makes trips a lot more tolerable, as we can download cartoons and educational programs/dvds for our son which he would rather watch and use than watching the dvd player in our suv.

Anyone not sure about the Zune....I was in the same boat when Microsoft first released the 30gb Zune several years ago, and I haven't regretted it since. So much so that I have bought two more, and am currently looking to purchase the new 120 gig version for myself.

Thanks Microsoft for the excellent product!

Continual updates make this thing awesome!
A ridiculous amount of props to Microsoft for continually updating these first generation Zunes. New firmware and software updates make this device better and better as time goes on. New features are being added constantly. New Zune 3.0 software is infinitely better than iTunes. I couldn't be happier with my decision to get a Zune over an iPod.

What problems?? This works great!!
I bought my zune 30gb used for and I had no idea how to use it. It is my first multimedia player and I've never owned anything before this. I had problems at first getting the zune device to be reconized by the software, so I looked for some help on the internet and a website said that the front USB ports on a computer are generally weaker than the ports that are located in the back on the motherboard itself. So i connected the zune to one of the USB ports on the back of the computer. Since then, no problems. It's easy to sync songs, and it's easy to edit mp3 tags so you can organize the music the way you want to. The video and audio tracks sound great! My mp3's are all encoded at 192kbits-256kbits, so everything is high quality. I throw on my Bose Tri-port headphones and I'm set! Everything on it works great: 2,125 MP3's (no wma, or acc), 8 videos, 10 pictures, 2 games. and I've only used 13.11GB, leaving me with another 14.68GB to fill it up with!

My Opinion on the Zune
So I've had the Zune for about a year now and I've liked it alot. It can stand up to my craziness on a bike(including my crashes witch have broken two ipods) and can withstand a drop and not have to be restarted unlike some other players. It also plays movies well and I enjoy watching them on it(though after I got my PSP it went second to that for movies). It plays all my music and I've never had a problem even with some of the DRMed music I had. The only problems I really have is the crappy software and the non-external hard-drive link-up, for it forces the software(though I will say the software has gotten alot better over the year). So atm the Zune would still be my top choice for player(though I dont think I would pay 200 for what I payed 100 for but i wouldnt pay 200 for a mp3 player anyway).

So quick summary of Pros and Cons
Pros = Can play most DRMed Music, Good size screen for movies, Picture Aulbum, and Durability
Cons = Can't be hosted Externally, and the software still needs work(but it is getting better)
Other notes = I've never had a problem with connection to my computer even when I ran Vista and the program worked just fine then. Now that its popular it costs twice as much new as when I bought it, I'm glad I got mine when I did since I would hate spending 200$ on this.

Zune
the product delivers what i expected it to. very nice, i dont mind the color it took awhile though. it was the cheapest (and i am a cheap person). so i cant complain. amazon thanks

olympus player pretty good
Overall it is nice piece of gear, but I have two gripes. It is only monaural, meaning you can only plug in your headphones and listen via one ear. I mean, c'mon, we can split the atom, but we can't have sound in both ears? Second issue is that if you download sound files to your computer, it is a .wav file and there is nothing easily accessible to convert it to .mp3 format, which most portable audio systems need. The file will not convert like most do when you try to import it into iTunes. Says I need some sort of codec. The whole point of downloading to your computer would be so you can listen to it with the portable media device of your choice.

Highly Dissatisfied
Unlike other folks with an unfavorable view, I didn't have any real problems installing the Olympus software and connecting the recorder to my laptop -- and this despite running an XP variant that produced a fail for some other reviewers. If this device will work at all for you, I suspect, the main trick is firstly to plug into the USB port and then run the software. Thereafter, if the software runs properly and you yourself are the least computer savvy, you'll work out the rest within a minute.

No, my problem is that the actual physical device interface and the instructions accompanying it are lacking. As others note, you don't get much in the way of a manual/instruction, and what you do get only covers running the recorder in conjunction with your PC -- as above -- and starts with the heading 'The feature of the Digital Wave Player.' In other words, it's rushed, ill-thought-through copy by somebody in China with imperfect English skills.

No big deal, maybe, because I could work that part out. What I couldn't get easily was the actual physical device. I work as a tech/science journalist and 18 months ago I picked up one of these things on the way to the airport and a trip to interview somebody. Once I'd got my boarding pass, I had fifteen minutes to play around with the recorder. The physical interface of a consumer device like this should be intuitive, especially when Olympus supplies no instructions on that side of things. Nevertheless, I struggled all that time just to set the time on the device. Then, I arrived at no explanation and/or got no results with the index function. Finally, although I could record sound and then stop the recording in tests, when I did my actual interview, I found afterwards that the device had simply turned off/failed to save after about thirty seconds into what would be a two-hour interview.

Fortunately, I also ran two tape cassette machines. But I've no explanation of why the device failed, how its index function works (or doesn't), and what exactly I did to set the time. Even if I'm an idiot -- and if I am, how come I got the USB connection, software and file downloading working immediately? -- a consumer device like this should be idiot-proof, especially when no instructions are supplied. Or maybe it wasn't just a matter of me and the interface design, but rather the unit I had was a lemon. Either way, Olympus gets a failing grade from me for this recorder.

Olympus Digital Recorder
I needed a small recorder for a specific job, and it lived up to my expectations. It's small, light weight and very easy to carry. I'm able to carry it with my camera in a small camera case. All that's needed are earphones! I'm pleased with my purchase.

Software Stinks!
The voice recorder works fine. It's the software that stinks! I have Windows XP and most of the time my system will not recognize this device. If I disconnect the voice recorder and then plug it back in my PC reboots itself. I've reinstalled the software and it makes no difference. I called Olympus and they were of no help! If so many users have this problem why can't they update their software??? I will never buy anything Olympus again!

Excellent Digital Recorder
The Olympus VN-960PC is a great digital recorder with excellent clarity, battery usage, memory size, and ease of use. I highly recommend this if you're looking for a recorder. An additional great feature is the voice activated recording. You can leave the recorder anywhere and it will only record when noise or voices are present. You won't go wrong with this one. The software is also good if you don't have any audio editing software already.

Sony ICD-SX57
I like this recorder a lot and use it constantly.

I think it could be improved if it were just a bit bigger in size so that the buttons could be spaced further apart, but you do get used to it as it is and it is fine.

The soft travel case is not so good. After a few weeks of use it falls off and becomes inconvenient. Also, there is a place for a hand strap on the recorder, but it does not come with one.

Interfacing with Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred software is another story. The recorder is OK, interfacing with the software is a bit challenging.

ICDSX57 DVR
This Sony DVR is just what I needed TO record MY guitar lesson live.I just clicked on the record button, placed it on my teachers music stand in front of us and shut it off 35 minutes later. When I got home I hooked it up to my computer speakers and was awed by how great the recording was.I also made a CD copy to practice with. I want to take it to a play or consert and see if its as good. For now I am very happy with this product.

Soney ICD-SX57 Digital Voice Recorder MINUS Dragon Software
The recorder works well although noise is a little bit of a problem.

The main draw back is that it came without the Dragon software!
This was misleading in the advertizement and product discription.
On the product package itself it claims compatability with the Dragon software but says its not included and doesn't indicate which version of software it is compatible with.

When serveying to buy this product I was mislead trying to compare products and prices. Some included the Dragon S/W and the other ones that did not include the S/W generally did NOT indicate it, so I was mis-led for price comparisons.

OK, but just OK
I am a journalist and use the device for recording interviews. The weakness of this device is the Sony proprietary file format.If they would only record in MP3 format you could download, file and play from your computer. Instead I back up on the computer, erase and if later I want to refer back I have to reinstall onto the device to play. It sucks, what were they thinking.

Five star recorder
I want to recommend the Sony ICD-SX57 to anyone who needs a small high quality voice recorder. The recording ability is excellent, size and shape are perfect and High Quality Stereo recording time is four hours. There is one issue to be aware of. The unit comes with non-rechargable batteries but is set to "CHARGE" batteries when connected to USB, as a default setting. This will probably cause the batteries to melt and ruin the unit as another reviewer discovered. Navigate the menu and change the USB to "NOT CHARGE" if you are using non-rechargable batteries, before connecting to a USB port. As a voice recorder the Sony ICD-SX57 far exceeded my expatations.

Why so many fake reviews?
The reviews of this product smacked of the manufacturer's marketing department hiring interns to post bogus positive reviews. Sure enough, over and over again so many of the 4 and 5 star reviews are by accounts that exist only to have posted the bogus reviews here.

Please, someone who is familiar with similar models by other companies, name other recommendations here. I hate to give business to a manufacturer that engages in such smarmy and deceptive business practices. Much less the red flag that those posting the bogus reviews clearly don't have confidence in their product based on its own merits.

Especially welcome would be reviews of a competing product with a USB connection that enables it to appear as a another storage device in Windows file management without requiring the install of kludgy software. If my digital camera can transparently display its contents for file copy or move to the PC within Windows File Manager as soon as the USB connects, I'm sure that someone else is manufacturing a voice recorder capable of doing the same.

Cheap, excellent qaulity
Spoken words record and sound excellent. Little backgournd noise. Recording spir of the moment music sessions, like with my guitar, not so great. Still a handy and easy to use recorder with USB. Worth the price!

great!!! but not perfect
This is so far the best (cheap) sound recorder I have had. It does what it is suppose to. The menus are easy to navigate and if you read the manual you can find the perfect settings for recording in any situation. the only thing I have to say would that would be negative would be that when I plug in the headphones to listen to my recordings, only the left earbud works. This also happened when I plugged them into my home speakers. With that said, its a pretty decent machine. Software is a bit slow for my taste.

Awesome recorder
What an awesome digital recorder! I've used it for several different things, including recording a workshop I attended. With the different folders and indexes available its easy to download recordings to my computer and share them with others. I would definitely recommend this recorder to others.

Simply awesome!
This voice recorder is awesome! It has a powerful enough microphone to record when a professor is lecturing half-way across the room, and you can still clearly hear them on play-back. It is easy to use, transfer data to your PC and organize. I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a simple recorder, and wants to be able to share files with their computer.