It would have been juicier if Microsoft hadn't
announced the fall Zune lineup a day early and gone directly head-to-head with Apple's
newly refreshed iPod lineup, but the fact is that if you're in the market for a new player the past 48 hours have delivered a slew of new options. Microsoft concentrated on the software side of the equation with
Zune 3.0, but Redmond's players themselves got a WiFi music store, some new games, and Buy From FM, while Apple added in new Genius playlists across the board and updated the
iPod nano's form factor and UI. At the high end of the capacity scale, the Zune seems to have the win on paper -- both the Zune 120 and the iPod classic
frustratingly top out at 120GB, but the classic's stagnated essentially at the level of the 5.5G video iPod while the Zune 120 carries all the features of its smaller siblings. On top of all that, you have the
newly-thinner iPod touch, with all of its browsing, media, gaming, and third-party application features -- and the lost purity of purpose adding all features those entails. That's a ton of choices -- so c'mon, kids, what's it going to be?
What new iPod or Zune are you most interested in?| Flash Zune | 5269 (9.0%) |
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| iPod nano | 13230 (22.6%) |
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| iPod classic | 3127 (5.3%) |
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| Zune 120 | 8373 (14.3%) |
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| iPod touch | 18907 (32.3%) |
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| iPod shuffle -- no, we didn't forget you | 665 (1.1%) |
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| None of 'em -- give me an Archos, Creative, SanDisk, or iriver any day | 8975 (15.3%) |
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posted September 10th 2008 12:00PM
Zune all the way!
Neither...I'm in love with my ZUNE 30...that's right zune tattoo guy...I'm not afraid to say it...
Oh, and if the Zune tattoo guy ever reads this...what do you think of the 3.0 update? ;-)
Hope you had fun w/ your 15 minutes of fame...it ended poorly w/ you.
I'm just using my good old 1gb iAudio 5 that purchased 3 years ago. Being able to replace the AA battery brings plenty extra years of life to such small yet powerful device. Apple just sells easy and cool products for the non technical guy. Alternative brands try to attract more people with under the hood goodies (Cowon, HTC on mobiles, etc)
Well, I'm upgrading from a 16GB touch to a new 32GB touch. I'm gonna sell my touch and my 3G nano to work up the cash, as my disposable income took a huge hit this year...
can I use a zune on my mac?
The iRiver Spinn completely kills the current iPod line-up.
Though, this is the best nano yet.
It has to be said that there isn't even much of a choice for me between the Zune and iPod. I'm running on a Mac and live outside the US, so it's not like the Zune is even an option. That said, I'd go with the iPod Nano anyway - the new features are useful to me whereas the ones added to the Zune are either already present on the iPod or not useful. As much as the ability to buy music from the radio sounds interesting, I never listen to radio anymore.
"What're"........... Seriously? When did that become a valid abbreviation :)
I know this is a Zune vs iPod article, but seeing as 'Archos, Creative, SanDisk or iriver' are touted as alternatives; How about an honourable mention for the new Sony S-Series players (the S639F & S739F)?
On paper they look good, I've read that Sony palyers sound great and their spec. seems to trump the Nano in many areas.
I know this is a Zune vs iPod article, but seeing as 'Archos, Creative, SanDisk or iriver' are touted as alternatives; How about an honourable mention for the new Sony S-Series players (the S639F & S739F)?
On paper they look good, I've read that Sony palyers sound great and their spec. seems to trump the Nano in many areas.
I would love to buy a Zune, but as Microsoft still don't sell it in the UK i will have to buy a Nano insted even with the UK price hike
the new nano's look UGLY. all they did was make it taller while decreasing the screen size. Why are people so interested in the touch, its Realy expensive and it comes with a Very small hard drive.
Idiot.
1) the screens are the SAME SIZE.
2) the iTouch is FLASH, not hard disk.
I'd go for the Zune-- Really, I would-- But it doesn't support AAC, and doesn't play nice with the Mac. I don't need WMA support. I don't need WMV support. What I need is a device that can replace the iPod in ALL ways... That includes playing the same files (with the exception of protected stuff, of course).
75% of my library is in AAC/MP4 format. I'd switch if Microsoft gave me the option. They don't.
I might just try going back to the PSP instead. It plays MP4 files, at least.
ZeroCorpse, the Zune device does support AAC/MP4. However, DRM encumbered files will not play.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928191
One of the two new Cowon players, obviousely
I second that :)
The zune is better then the ipod for many reasons but the biggest is that you can buy a zune whenevr you want and no matter how many software updates it gets in the future you always have the newest for nothing. you really get ur moneys worth
I'm waiting for the Archos 5g, I been really impressed with what I have seen of it from videos and articles covering it.
The REAL issue is the new Zune 3.0 software out next week. You can buy a Zune 120, and a round trip ticket to San Francisco for the cost of a touch with 1/4 the storage space. Among knoledgable buyers the Zune has a 20% market share (read your poll) not to bad for a new product.
I won't be buying a new one but I voted 120gb because I support the zune. Instead I am modding my Black 30gb with a bigger HDD and maybe an internal Bluetooth receiver for some bluetooth headphones.
When I first saw the Zune 80 in red, I automatically fell in love with the screen, and the OS (unlike some people, I just find it more easy to use and navigate through), I also really like the squircle hybrid button. I went home ready to order from amazon, but decided to do research a bit for the battery life to see if the projected 30 hours of music was true, but it wasnt. I looked it up and it got maybe twenty hours or less. To me battery life is really important since I travel a lot, and I guess this is the reason why I'll have to get an Ipod Classic, sigh, I hate looking like an iSheep.
p.s.
don't bash me please :O I was just giving my opinion on the battery life which to a lot of people to are really important
The i pod is just a fad. There are better music/ video players out there, just the i pod is riding on the success of the first few i pods and people buy them because they liked their old i pod.... Tools...