Battery Life?

[Marshillboy]

I read somewhere that the Zune has a shorter battery life than the iPod. Is this just some whacked-out myth or is it fact?

[ozman69]

I don't know this for certain, but I read somewhere that both the video ipod and the Zune had the same battery. Now, I'm sure the Zune will suck the battery dry faster with the larger screen and if you have the wi-fi turned on, but I don't think it would be a huge difference.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Oz

[lpxxfaintxx]

The ipod battery is better than the Zune's by an hour or so. Not much of a difference, but turning your wireless off can help save some battery life.

Originally Posted by Marshillboy

I read somewhere that the Zune has a shorter battery life than the iPod.ÂÂ*ÂÂ*Is this just some whacked-out myth or is it fact?

Nothing to worry about. I can usually go a day and half without charging.
Not too bad.

[Groux]

Originally Posted by lpxxfaintxx

The ipod battery is better than the Zune's by an hour or so. Not much of a difference, but turning your wireless off can help save some battery life.

I saw a huge improvement when I turned off the wireless.

[fks16]

Originally Posted by Groux

I saw a huge improvement when I turned off the wireless.

How exactly do u do that?
i dont know cuz i dont have my zune yet...

Originally Posted by fks16

How exactly do u do that?
i dont know cuz i dont have my zune yet...

Then I guess you don't need to know yet...;-)
You select the "Settings" menu (its on the main menu) and the first option is to turn "wireless: off".
By default the Zune has the wireless turned on. Its a simply toggle option.

[fks16]

Originally Posted by RYS

Then I guess you don't need to know yet...;-)
You select the "Settings" menu (its on the main menu) and the first option is to turn "wireless: off".
By default the Zune has the wireless turned on. Its a simply toggle option.

Ah ok thanks....i didn't know because at Best Buy, the models didn't have that option...

Originally Posted by fks16

Ah ok thanks....i didn't know because at Best Buy, the models didn't have that option...

They should have. I doubt they have versions of the Zune that are *that* modified. o_O

[Marshillboy]

The Zunes at Best Buy have never been hooked up to a PC, thus the firmware isn't updated, thus no wireless support.

Originally Posted by Marshillboy

The Zunes at Best Buy have never been hooked up to a PC, thus the firmware isn't updated, thus no wireless support.

The option should still be there, the feature just shouldn't work.

[Equinox]

Does anybody know if playing songs in MP3 rather than WMA format uses less of the Zune's battery power? I've heard that WMA files, even unprotected ones, require more processing power than MP3 files?

[lpxxfaintxx]

Originally Posted by RYS

The option should still be there, the feature just shouldn't work.

When the Zune was first manufactered, they installed firmware 1.0 with it. So, when you get your zune, you will have nothing related to the "Community" function. That is why as soon as you connect your zune to your computer, it will update the firmware to 1.1.

Does anybody know if playing songs in MP3 rather than WMA format uses less of the Zune's battery power? I've heard that WMA files, even unprotected ones, require more processing power than MP3 files?

Seems like an interesting rumor. Anyone know anything about this?

Originally Posted by nomae

Does anybody know if playing songs in MP3 rather than WMA format uses less of the Zune's battery power?ÂÂ*ÂÂ*I've heard that WMA files, even unprotected ones, require more processing power than MP3 files?

Wouldn't the battery usage have more to do with the length and bitrate of the song, rather than the type?

[Equinox]

Originally Posted by RYS

Wouldn't the battery usage have more to do with the length and bitrate of the song, rather than the type?

They're also factors; but my understanding is that MP3 and WMA files of the same length and bitrate differ in terms of battery power used.ÂÂ*ÂÂ*See the following excerpt from an article on dapreview.net on battery usage:

In fact, digital audio player manufacturers who list battery life for plain MP3’s and WMA’s routinely list WMA battery life at 4 hours below what they state for MP3 playback (for example, the Olympus m:robe MR100 states 12 hours of playback with MP3 and 8 with WMA), which is exactly the difference CNet’s test found between MP3 and WMA-DRM. For a comparison to actually be valid or useful, WMA’s of the same bitrate with and without DRM would need to be examined. So that’s what we did.

(http://dapreview.net/e107_plugins/co...hp?content.265)

[fks16]

^well its a good thing i use mp3's...

And about best buy....i remeber searching the zune's settings for 2 things turning off wifi, and chenging the screen mode from horizontal to vertical. I also remeber that i didn't find either, they were not present at a toggleable (O_o) setting. I dont really care now that i know its is there...maybe jsut not in version 1.0

Originally Posted by fks16

^well its a good thing i use mp3's...

And about best buy....i remeber searching the zune's settings for 2 things turning off wifi, and chenging the screen mode from horizontal to vertical. I also remeber that i didn't find either, they were not present at a toggleable (O_o) setting. I dont really care now that i know its is there...maybe jsut not in version 1.0

Apparently, I was wrong. It isn't there with 1.0, when you update to 1.1 it will be added. :-D

[fks16]

Lol well happy you could read that...I typed it fast and now i see that if has a ****LOAD of mistypes....