I’ve ordered a gadget which I hope will improve the functionality of my Zune HD. I should receive it early this coming week. I’ll let you know what it is and if it works.

It’s been a couple months since I told you my first impressions of the Zune HD. Overall I was favorably impressed, a good thing considering the bucks I shelled out for this PMP. However, one dislike was the need to use wired earplugs (I don’t like wires) to listen when the Zune HD wasn’t connected to a computer, such as when I’m in my car. The Zune doesn’t have a speaker, and doesn’t support Bluetooth. The Zune has an accessory which supposedly enables you to play the Zune through your car’s FM radio. But it doesn’t work well.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I invited my long-suffering wife to a romantic walk … which just happened to take us past the local Radio Shack. The Gigaware Universal Speaker for MP3 (pictured on right) caught my eye. I pointed out to my wife that its price ($21.99) was less than the cost of a dozen red roses (that didn’t go over too well for some reason). And upkeep would be cheap; the unit requires only one AAA battery. Last but certainly not least, the sound is pretty good.

The Gigaware has an interesting feature. Its 3.5 mm plug slides along its top. This is convenient since the Zune’s 3.5mm connection is on the left. By sliding the plug to the left, the speaker is centered (see picture above).

Now, without wired earplugs, I can listen to my Zune in my car — or while lying down on the sofa or bed. You can’t keep a good geek down!

Nevertheless, I still want to be able to listen to my Zune HD through a Bluetooth headset. For one thing, it would be more private than sound going over a speaker, important if I’m around other people. I think there’s a way even though the Zune doesn’t support Bluetooth. If I figure it out, I’ll let you know.

Of course I ordered the Zune HD. Did you think I could resist the “come hither” siren song of the latest, greatest device?

I received the Zune on its release day, Tuesday, September 15 via Amazon’s release day shipping. So I’ve now had a chance to play with it for a few days.

There are plenty of Zune HD reviews already. So I thought I’d provide a different perspective. You see, this is my first MP3 player (and the Zune HD is primarily an MP3 player). I’m not that into music (or so I thought). I don’t own a stereo system. My car radio is about as far as it goes. So did the Zune HD change my music listening habits? 

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I’ve pre-ordered the Zune HD (32GB) through Amazon. It’s supposed to ship September 15.

I don’t listen much to music. I rarely watch videos or view pictures. My taste in radio is mostly sports talk. So why did I order the Zune HD?

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