FUNKOMETER RATING: 3

Ok, so those in "the know", know there's a new version of the Zune from Microsoft.  Microsoft in it's infinite knowledge decided it would be good to make new accessories for the Zune as well.  They cut out all the fluff of the first version accessories, so as near as I can tell no new bags for carrying all your stuff, no solo remote, and no solo car charger (at least not yet).  Well, the focus of this review will be the new and improved Zune FM tuner. 

First thing you'll notice about the new tuner is it has 2 cables.  Both cables go to the tuner it self with one going to the power outlet and the other to the Zune.  According to the manual the cable going to the Zune acts as an antennae for the tuner.  Those that had the old tuner or read my review know that the signal on the old one was really weak, so this new built in antennae helps to solve that problem, however the signal could still use a little more power.  The LCD is pretty nice and bright and easy to see during the day or night while driving around.  There's also the option to set two presets on the tuner so you can quickly change the stations if you travel a lot or just need to change the station if you're a radio heavy area.  Another interesting item they packed in is a "slip proof" dash mat (not pictured), so you can put your Zune on it and not worry to much about it flying all over the place.  I don't know how well the mat works since I don't really need it in my car (yay for cup holders that are impossible to put cups in).  The round part on the back of the tuner conveniently mounts on the top of the power plug and the connecter for the Zune fits nicely into the plug as well.  That was Microsoft's idea of cable management, it's pretty neat the way it all goes together, but really isn't all that great for "cable management".  Over all some really good improvements for the tuner, however there are a few things I don't like.  First, you can't use the tuner if you don't plug it into the power outlet, so there's no taking the tuner with you and pirating the airwaves (only mobile in car pirate radio allowed).  Next, for some reason when you get the Zune and the tuner close to each other reception gets bad, it even says in the manual to keep the Zune in tuner apart, I of course didn't believe that could cause I problem till I tried it out.  

The end result: Nice improvement over the old tuner.  There's no way to take it with you and use it out of your car, which kind of sucks.