Ever since the first iPod was released in 2001 Apple has dominated the portable media player market. Microsoft sat back and watched until 2006 when they released their own PMP, Zune. The first generation of Zune only came in one configuration, a hard drive based 30GB player. It had didn’t have a scroll wheel like the iPod, but instead it had a circular D-Pad. The hardware was not exceptionally pretty, especially the brown Zune. The website Hide-a-Pod captures this idea quite well.
The second generation was a major improvement. It came in 3 configurations: Zune 4, Zune 8, and Zune 80. The Zune 4 and Zune 8 had a 1.8 inch screen and the Zune 80 had a 3.2 inch screen that was not surpassed by Apple until the iPod Touch. These all featured the same wireless technology the first Zune had but offered a better method for navigating and controlling your Zune. You can either control it through the touch bad button or by clicking with the D-Pad like before. The third generation only offered larger memory for the two existing devices.
Zune makes music Social. This is the name of their community for all Zune users. One your online profile it shows your play count, recent songs, and other bits of information. The more practical use of the Zune Social is sending pictures and music wirelessly. Zunes within a proximity of around 30 feet of each other actually transfer these files. Music files can be listened to 3 times and pictures can be kept forever. I personally use this feature all the time. The wireless feature can also be used to play multiplayer games with your friend who is within that 30 foot proximity.
Zune’s user interface is very simple and effective. The home screen is a list of all the things you can do on it, music, videos, pictures, social, ect. To choose one of those just go over it and click in with the touch pad. To go back you press the back button. It really could not be simpler.
One feature that sets the Zune apart from the iPod is FM radio. You can add presets to it for faster selection. The radio works in North America, Europe and Japan. It is too bad the device isn’t available in most countries outside the United States.
Software is an important thing to consider when you are looking for a new mp3 player. The most famous of course is iTunes. No doubt you have used it and formed an opinion of it. If you haven’t let me tell you, it sucks. Seriously iPods are great but iTunes software is really subpar. Zune software is simple and much faster than iTunes. Plus you can sync your Zune to more than one computer without it deleting all your files.
Purchasing music is important for some users. Apple’s iTunes has with out a doubt the largest store but the music you buy from there does not work on your Zune. Zune has a store that is almost as big. Also they are heavily advertising their Zune Pass which gives you unlimited music for $15 a month. They compare it to the $30,000 you would spend otherwise to fill up your iPod. You also get to keep 10 songs forever each month. The only problem with this service is not all songs are available to download with the Zune Pass. Artists sometimes choose to not make one or two of their songs available on the Zune Pass. Honestly though most users use get their music other ways so it isn’t that big of a deal.
Overall though, Zune is a great product even though its name may have been tarnished a little after its first generation. If you care more about software and features than looks then the Zune 4, 8, and 16 are for you rather than the iPod Nano. If you are in the market for a hard drive based mp3 player with lots of space the Zune 80 and 120 are a great choice over the iPod classic with its large 3.2 inch screen and premium headphones. Though if you are looking for a touchscreen device you have to go with the iPod Touch, at least until Zune HD releases in September.
Tags: microsoft, mp3, zune, Zune 120, Zune 16, Zune 30, Zune 4, Zune 8, Zune 80
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