Zune Review

Microsoft Zune Media Player


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The Zune


The Microsoft Zune Media player is a music, video, and picture player with a built in FM tuner and Wireless (Wi-Fi) connectivity. It comes in Red , Pink , Black , Brown , and White. (Prices vary by Zune color so if you’re not choosy on the color you may be able to save a couple bucks. Hover the cursor over the color words to check prices)

The Zune has a 30GB 2.5inch hard drive which stores up to 7,500 songs, 25,000 pictures or 100 hours of video. Of course, these numbers depend on the song/video length and compression options used.

The outside of the Zune is a matt surface which doesn’t show finger prints and seems resistant to fingernail scratches.

On the front of the Zune there is a circular cluster of buttons and one small button to the left (menu navigation back) and one small button to the right (play/pause) of this cluster. The five buttons in the circular cluster are left, right, up, down, and center. Unlike the iPod, there is no touch sensitive circular button. On the top, by the headphone jack, is a slide button that locks the front buttons from being accidentally knocked in your pocket.

The Zune has a 3 inch (diagonal) 320x240 pixel LCD screen with 4:3 aspect ratio. This is 1/2 inch wider and 1/2 inch taller than the iPod screen making the Zune screen 44% larger.

The Zune screen works in both portrait or landscape modes with the volume control buttons switching around so up/down (relative to the screen) is volume up/down.

The increased screen size and landscape screen orientation of the Zune makes it viable to watch movies and videos.

Another distinguishing feature of the Zune is the built in wireless (Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g) for communication between Zunes. This feature may develop with new updates to the Zune device firmware (the operating system on the Zune).

With the Zune Wi-Fi you can transmit/receive music and picture to/from other Zunes within a range of about 30 feet, sometimes further depending on other transmissions in the vicinity. Currently, received or “sample” music has a limitation of three plays in three days with the option to “flag” the song for purchase later.

There are eight (8) equalizer settings on the Zune: acoustic, classical, electronic, hip hop, jazz, pop, rock, and none/off.

The Zune is 4.4 in. x 2.4 in. x 0.6 in. (H x W x D) and weighs 5.6 ounces or metric 111.76 mm x 60.96 mm x 15.25 mm and 158.76 grams.

Playback times (from fully charged), Music: up to 14 hours with wireless off and up to 13 hours wireless on, Video and Pictures: up to 4 hours.

Included in the box with the Zune is the Zune Software (PC client) for managing the music, video, picture content on the Zune device. The Zune Software also manages Zune device firmware updates from Microsoft, lets you stream media from your PC across a private network to an Xbox 360, and allows you to connect to the Zune Marketplace to download new music.

Along with the launch of the Zune Media player, Microsoft launched Zune brand accessories and the Zune Marketplace for downloading music.

You can sign-up with the Zune Marketplace as either -

  1. “Pay-as-you-go” using Microsoft Points to buy individual songs or albums
  2. “Subscription” (1, 2, or 3month subscriptions) which provides unlimited access for the duration of your subscription but you don’t have full ownership of the songs downloaded. Songs you download with your Zune Pass are yours for as long as you continue your Zune Pass subscription; they can be copied to three computers and two Zune devices, but they can't be burned to CDs. You can choose to buy any track you have downloaded to get full ownership rights for the song

What comes in the box with the Zune?

Comparing Main features of the Zune 30GB and the iPod 30GB

Zune iPod
Height 4.4 inches 4.1 inches
Width 2.4 inches 2.4 inches
Depth 0.6 inches 0.43 inches
Weight 5.6 ounces 4.8 ounces
Screen Size 3 inches (diagonal)
320 x 240 pixels 		2.5 inches (diagonal)
320 x 240 pixels
Radio Built in FM radio with RBDS No
Holds up to 7,500 songs
25,000 pictures
100 hours video 		75,00 songs
25,000 pictures
40 hours video
Wireless 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi No
Music playback Up to 14 hours Up to 14 hours
Video playback Up to 4 hours Up to 3.5 hours
Picture slideshow Up to 4 hours Up to 4 hours
In the box
  • Zune 30GB
  • Earphones
  • Proprietary USB 2 cable
  • Case
  • CD with Zune software
  • Start Guide
  • iPod 30GB
  • Earphones
  • Proprietary USB 2 cable
  • Case
  • CD with iTunes software
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Dock adapter for use with universal dock

As a media player, the main differences of the Zune are

Supported formats are:

Music:
  1. WMA: Windows Media Audio is a proprietary compressed audio file format developed by Microsoft.
    More information here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Audio
  2. AAC: Advanced Audio Coding, the standard used as the default Apple iTunes codec.
    More information here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Audio_Coding
  3. MP3: an audio specific compression format.
    More info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3

Video
  1. WMV: Windows Media Video is a proprietary set of video codec technologies developed by Microsoft.
    More info here More info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wmv
  2. MPEG-4: a standard primarily used to compress audio and video digital data.
    More info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpeg-4
  3. h.264: a digital video codec standard which achieves very high data compression.
    More info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H264
Pictures Radio

Conclusion

The Microsoft Zune Media player is slightly larger and slightly heavier than its iPod counterpart.
In return for those slight increases you get a huge 44% increase in screen size, a built in FM radio, up to 1/2 hour more video play time, up to 60 hours more video storage, and Wireless connectivity.

The question you should ask yourself is: With more features for you money, why would I choose to buy an iPod rather than a Zune?