Ipod and zune

[cjcamilla]

Well, if the Zune will have more podcast integration, you think the Zune will have its own podcast section in the Zune Marketplace like iTunes???

[domainer50]

My reasoning on the entire thing, is that in the past microsoft has just not had the greatest products outisde of an OS. Xbox IMO is horrible, although the games are not the system is. And i just dont see how the Zune is any different. However my sister does own one so i am a supporter somewhat

[DJ Kent Aron]

Originally Posted by yensed

At this point, The Zune is in the lead with Features/Functions, Customizations, Originality and Concept (IMO). Its so much more Customizable and personal then an iPod. They also both have similar battery life. The Zune weighs less then an 80GB iPod even though its got a much Larger Screen and is larger then the iPod in total size. The "WiFi Sharing" is a great idea, and might even get more functionality as time goes by. But unless you know someone else with a zune, Its not that useful(at this time). The FM Radio is something the iPod should have had Built-In years ago, But never did(And still doesn't). I like the idea of having a player with an FM Radio built in. That way if the power goes out or there is some type of emergency, You have some way to get information.. It really all comes down to personal preference. If you want a portable Video Player that can also handle Music and Pictures, the Zune is that player. But if you mainly want a Music player which can also display Pictures and Videos, the iPod might be more your style. And if you know anything about Apple, You know its only a matter of time before they release an iPod that can do most of the things the Zune can.

Wow... originality and concept? is that why it looks like the ipod and even has an interface that looks exactly like a click wheel (though it's not touch sensitive, therefore more wear and tear on the buttons and in the commercials it's being used like a click wheel), and the screen being bigger? actually it's the same resolution, but wider, so you get an inferior image. Does the Zune have video out? to say... a TV? i don't think it does. Oh and yea... lets not forget the fact that you have to know someone with a zune in order to use that whole wifi thing. The electronics store upstairs in the mall where i work (won't say where... but i'm sure you an figure it out), has only sold 10 zunes as of yesterday and they can't move them. Why? Inferior product. The copy is never as good as the original... just a fact.

[lpxxfaintxx]

Actually, there is TV out. I heard it's better than the ipod's too.

iPod weren't the first harddrive based DAP's, so you really can't say MS "copied" ipods, for that will be hypocritical.

[DJ Kent Aron]

Originally Posted by lpxxfaintxx

Actually, there is TV out. I heard it's better than the ipod's too.

iPod weren't the first harddrive based DAP's, so you really can't say MS "copied" ipods, for that will be hypocritical.

oh please. they copied everything about it, and then threw in some cheap bells and whistles that in the end won't matter... things like wallpaper... do you need to have a different background when most of the time the zune is in a case or in your pocket?

[palmerdeville]

Originally Posted by lpxxfaintxx

Ok, just think about this.

Zune 30 GB, Ipod 30 GB.... both $250. Ipod offers music, pictures, and video... Zune offers music, pictures, video, WiFi Sharing, Firmwares, FM Radio, Customized Wallpapers, etc.. You get MORE with the Zune than the ipod, for the SAME PRICE. So you tell me, what's the smarter choice?

I have no problem saying the Zune is a great device, but let's be a little more objective when someone asks to compare iPod and Zune.

iPod offers:
1. Variable scrolling rate media browsing (ie clickwheel)
2. In-device podcast support, (ie chapters and bookmarking).
3. Lossless audio quality playback.
4. Gapless playback.
5. Volume normalization (no more one song loud next one quiet)
6. TV out at 640x480, 4x better than Zune
7. On-the-go playlists that actually sync back to PC
8. External Hard-disk support.
9. Games.
10. Ability to view lyrics in device.
11. Clock, alarm and sleep timer.
12. Passcode protected screen lock.
13. Audiobook support with adjustable playback speeds.

For those interested, there is a fact based Zune to iPod comparison covering almost 150 points at MindSplice.com.

I'm really not sure how Firmware always gets listed as a Zune feature. Virtually every consumer electronics device has firmware. Apple recently used firmware to add 640x480 TV out, games, gapless playback and better battery life to the year old iPod video. In the past, Apple has added Podcast support and the ability to play iTunes music to older iPods. Of course, companies are still limited by technology.

Microsoft employee and Zune team member David Caulton has twice stated that hardware limits firmware upgrades. During an interview by Paul Thurrott, David said, "Sometimes there are subtle reasons why certain features can't be brought downlevel. "Maybe the DSP chip on the first device isn't powerful enough or whatever. But we will bring every new feature we can to the first Zune. We'll also make next year's products so compelling that, hopefully, people will want them."

On his own site, Zunester, David has already hinted that the first generation Zune device has hit some hardware limitations. He said, "the limitations are primarily driven by the power of the CPU and digital signal processor on the device. Above some combination of pixels, framerate, and bitrate, the hardware can't keep up and starts dropping frames, which makes video playback jerky. Also, higher quality video hits the battery harder and drops battery life."

[SpikedFox]

Originally Posted by dieu

One detail you overlooked kido, is the Zune software pretty much nullifies your existing iTunes library. In my case, 150GB worth of pristine tagged, high bitrate music including album art. Attempting to dump a sampling of 4GB worth resulted in erased album art, incorrect track numbering, and other abnormalities. So bad, I simply gave-up and deleted the library.ÂÂWhen searching for album art, Zune’s search is slow and seldom yields the appropriate result. If the user is not careful, a simple album art search and acceptance could ruin the entire album and its tagging.ÂÂIn addition, the simplest activities in iTunes appear to be lengthy in Zune.

The debate of whose hardware is superior is silly and irrelevant. The issue is the end-user experience which boils down to the software or ergonomics. Currently, the Zune application itself sucks.ÂÂCurrently, I am still searching for that hidden option to convert unprotected WMA to MP3 within Zune.ÂÂFurther, those of us who have vast collections of music stored in iTunes includingÂÂalbum art, track and CD numbers will surely not waste that investment while having to fight with the Zune application by duplicating our work.

The Zune hardware is impressive. However, I could do without the clickity-clack of the touch pad. It sounds cheap. Also, I bought the Zune travel pack ($99) and after two minutes, threw the “premium” ear buds in the garbage. By far, the cheapest pieces of junk manufactured to date. However, the carrying case is very nice.

The value of the wireless feature is questionable. The usefulness of this depends on unrestricted transfer and infinite use of unprotected music. If the "3-play” restriction also applies to unprotected music, then the wireless feature is useless.

to save all some time the zune can rip music from cd's the itunes can burn music to cd's hence no loosing your tuness, burn to cd in mp3 format you lost a few bucks for a spindle of cd's tops

[Gow616]

Originally Posted by DJ Kent Aron

oh please. they copied everything about it, and then threw in some cheap bells and whistles that in the end won't matter... things like wallpaper... do you need to have a different background when most of the time the zune is in a case or in your pocket?

Damn right they did...they stole the Toshiba Gigabeat Design and build. Toshiba should be pissed at Microsoft. Oh wait, Toshiba built it. heh heh iPod, Zune, Gigabeat, iAudio, Zen, doesn't matter which you get as long as you enjoy it and I enjoy my Zune and that is all there is to it. Though if you must really compare the Zune design to the iPod, sadly its not the same design, the design it can be directly compared to is a Meizu M6 miniPlayer or the Archos player. It is probably where Toshiba and Microsoft got a start for the Zune design not from Apple.

F.Y.I. Apple is not the leader in design after all they did was change the skin to Windows Desktop Search and called it Spotlight. Other things as well. Basically my point is that there is no original design as all design inspires others to design. The Apple guys probably based their initial designs off something they saw and the guys and gals before them did the same thing. All the way back to Xerox.

[coffeefreak]

Originally Posted by DJ Kent Aron

oh please. they copied everything about it, and then threw in some cheap bells and whistles that in the end won't matter... things like wallpaper... do you need to have a different background when most of the time the zune is in a case or in your pocket?

on that issue, it gives one a moreso friendly and homey feeling while using the zune, as compared to the cold and mechanical interface while using the ipod...... i am sure that all u have said is based merely on pure fanboyism.
and on something you said previously, the wifi feature is still better than the ipod's if you think about it logically, you know why? because the ipod dosent even have this function , it is better to have a semi good thing than nothing at all.

please, in the future, think before you post, and it will be greatly appreciated.... fanboyism never got anyone anywhere, it only gets you flamed and thought badly of..... speaking as you do not only insults a product through blatant lies, but also make an ass of yourself.

if you have any realistic posts in the future that use real logic, please post them, and im sure people will be glad to respond, but until then, please dont post at all.....


sorry if this sounds harsh, but i just hate the stupid fanboyism that goes around

[David]

I like the zune, cause I can hook it up to my computer and still listen to my music.

[Mitch]

Originally Posted by palmerdeville

I have no problem saying the Zune is a great device, but let's be a little more objective when someone asks to compare iPod and Zune.

iPod offers:
1. Variable scrolling rate media browsing (ie clickwheel)
2. In-device podcast support, (ie chapters and bookmarking).
3. Lossless audio quality playback.
4. Gapless playback.
5. Volume normalization (no more one song loud next one quiet)
6. TV out at 640x480, 4x better than Zune
7. On-the-go playlists that actually sync back to PC
8. External Hard-disk support.
9. Games.
10. Ability to view lyrics in device.
11. Clock, alarm and sleep timer.
12. Passcode protected screen lock.
13. Audiobook support with adjustable playback speeds.

For those interested, there is a fact based Zune to iPod comparison covering almost 150 points at MindSplice.com.

I'm really not sure how Firmware always gets listed as a Zune feature. Virtually every consumer electronics device has firmware. Apple recently used firmware to add 640x480 TV out, games, gapless playback and better battery life to the year old iPod video. In the past, Apple has added Podcast support and the ability to play iTunes music to older iPods. Of course, companies are still limited by technology.

Microsoft employee and Zune team member David Caulton has twice stated that hardware limits firmware upgrades. During an interview by Paul Thurrott, David said, "Sometimes there are subtle reasons why certain features can't be brought downlevel. "Maybe the DSP chip on the first device isn't powerful enough or whatever. But we will bring every new feature we can to the first Zune. We'll also make next year's products so compelling that, hopefully, people will want them."

On his own site, Zunester, David has already hinted that the first generation Zune device has hit some hardware limitations. He said, "the limitations are primarily driven by the power of the CPU and digital signal processor on the device. Above some combination of pixels, framerate, and bitrate, the hardware can't keep up and starts dropping frames, which makes video playback jerky. Also, higher quality video hits the battery harder and drops battery life."

You can't compare a first generation zune to a 5.5 generation ipod and say that it is better...it only takes a couple of updates to make the zune 100x better. if better tv output, gapless playback, and games can be added in 1 update...and microsoft keeps updating, it shouldn't take long for the zune to be right on ipods heals.

[kalla]

I think ipod and zune are all good , I have an ipod and a zune ,and I download two softwares at http://www.oursdownload.com/Zune-Vid...converter.html and http://www.oursdownload.com/convert-...Pod-video.html , this two softwares are powerful .

[nighthawkz6]

The Zune IMO is the best choice of an mp3 player. The reason is because Microsoft has the power, the team, and the hardware to make anything possible. When the gen 5 ipod came out, it's screen wasn't so bright. Apple had to go out and sell a gen 5.5 just to get brightness control higher. If it was Microsoft we are talking about, they could have easily released a firmware update to fix this feature. With Zune you actually save money from buying ipods everytime a feature comes out.