Going Shopping

Being an early adopter comes with a price tag. Right now, Microsoft-branded Zune accessories are priced sky high and third party vendors like Belkin are late to market with a limited set of Zune-compatible offerings. You may read about some great"Zune" accessories, but they might not hit the shelf for some time yet.

So what's a Zune owner to do?

For some things, you'll have to bite the bullet. When you need extra sync cables, you've got no choice but to buy from Microsoft. It's the only vendor supplying these. They depend on using the Zune's proprietary communications port at the bottom of the player.

For most other purchases, you're luckier. You can go iPod. Many accessories meant for iPod and other digital music players, like the Creative Zen or iRiver, work perfectly well with the Zune. You can use headphones, screen protectors, speakers and more exactly as sold off the shelf with no modifications needed. They may be"made for iPod" but they "work with Zune". They're cheaper. And they're available.