So it seems the folks over at iPod Mods put together a fairly neat little hack to convert your zune from a measely 30GB device to a whopping 80GB! That means you can likely hold up to 70 full length movies in the right compression type. But here's the thing. It's sort of like the same dilemma that scientists face daily. You can't get too involved thinking about how you can do something because you might just forget to stop and think about whether you should.
So yeah having a fatter HD is a plus for any audio or video geek that needs to take their stuff on the go. And that's great but are there drawbacks? Well for one, it obviously voids your warranty. OK raise your hand if you're one of those people that actually pays for extended warranties on your electronics or even the basic extra service coverage necessary to fix even the most minor things with your electronics during the first few months. Ok I know it's not just me... don't be shy. Well here's the bottom line. If you took the basic free replacement service that is covered under the general warranty even that is now voided. So
any chance you had of getting your Zune fixed should
anything happen to it, even stuff that's not your fault, is now gone. Not a big deal to some but definitely something to think about. What's that you say? Worth it for a bigger drive? Read on
So what about just waiting for second gen? This option has the ZuneUser seal of approval
. Simply put, the 2nd Gen will likely have the bigger hard drive you crave and a lot more features you're definitely going to want. I personally would rather wait a few months and get not only a bigger hard drive that might even be bigger than 80GB but also all the cool new features and firmware fixes that come along with it.
What's that you say? The cost of buying a new one when you already have one seems silly? Well considering the replacement drive you're going to have to buy (Toshiba 80GB MK8009GAH - ipodmods.com) to replace your original one (you did realize you're going to have to buy stuff for this mod didn't you?) costs $240 and Zunes are already on sale if you know where to look for about the same price that argument becomes a moot point. Spend $240 on just a harddrive upgrade or buy the new second gen and get bigger capacity and more features, hmmm....
Finally, there's the fact that the removal of some metal shielding to accommodate the slightly thicker drive will make your DAP slightly less resilient to drops, bumps, and other mishaps. Now I baby my electronics just as much as the next guy, but accidents do happen and I refuse to make my Zune less resilient to them because in the end, it'll just make me that much madder when I ruin an 80GB Zune as opposed to a 30GB. But hey, that's just me.
- ZuneUser