Zune Insider has finally acknowledged that the latest firmware update tanked the battery life with a few [ahem...17 pages] Zune 30s.

I reported this 3 weeks ago, a scant 2 weeks after the update was released. I'm glad to see they're finally acknowledging it publicly & officially, but I really wish they would have done so sooner [unless I missed it somewhere].

I honestly feel Zune is a great product, both hardware and software, and the team is obviously very passionate about it. I use my Zune 30 all the time, which is why the battery issue was such a drag.  But, and you knew it was coming, I wish they would embrace the idea of transparency a little more. If you have a 17 page post in your forums about a problem...chances are pretty good that more than a few people are seeing it.

You'll do more good than harm by simply saying "yep, we know about it and we're working our asses off to get it fixed for you."

~tod