Why I chose the new Zune over the iPod touch

Chris Kirby — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:45:00 GMT

Seems crazy right? I thought so at first considering that the iPod touch was probably the coolest gadget I've held in my hands to date. Not only was it thin, small, and of high quality build components but also had a revolutionary touch screen interface originally available only on the iPhone. With all that said, there were some things that just didn't work for me and my Windows centric lifestyle, and I ultimately decided to return it.

iTunes.
Is there a more bloated and clunky media application for Vista? I think not! it totally pukes on a library as large as mine (16,000 songs) and continually created system instability and crashes. I've literally spent countess hours uninstalling and reinstalling, trying to figure this out, but I think it simply comes down to poor support for a large network library of music (all my songs reside on a local file server connect via gigabit LAN). Previously I used alternative software like Anapod, but there is currently no support for the Touch. And even if it did, doesn't support podcasts and store bought music.

Windows Media Support.
The only way around this is was to literally have iTunes convert all of my wma tracks to aac audio files. Now, initially that wasn't a deal breaker for me, but considering I have over 4,000 wma files in my library, it turned out to be quite an overwhelming task. That, and I'm stuck with 4,000 duplicate tracks needed only for iTunes and the iPod. Third, its overall inability to integrate in to my tech lifestyle. Since the iPod touch is Internet enabled via its built-in 802.11 b/g, it has a couple of the killer iPhone features such as safari and YouTube. While initially great, this created too much gadget crossover for me since I already carry with me an 802.11 b/g and 3g enabled window mobile 6 smart phone which can do both of those things, though admittedly not as well. In addition to that, it has no support for my Xbox 360 (and I'm not talking about the crappy library sharing via iTunes, which does not work with network tracks btw) and no glimmer of future support for a subscription music service via iTunes or the wireless store on the iPod.

Storage And Cost.
The device itself was limited to about 14 gigs of flash storage and cost $400 bucks. At the end of the day, it was just too little and too much to justify.

Now on the the new Zune. I snagged one of the rare 80gb models last Tuesday at a Target near me, and have been very pleased with it thus far. For starters, its a LOT smaller that the old 30gb brick, with nearly 3x the storage capacity, and a cost of only $249 bucks. So already its off to a better start.

The Software.
The new Zune software is a significant upgrade from the original. The interface has been totally redesigned for the better and looks and acts as I would expect a Microsoft developed WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) app to, even though it unfortunately is not WPF based. The navigation is a clean as it comes, and actually reminds me of the iPod touch interface experience quite a bit, less the touch screen of course. The new features included with the software are complete podcast subscription support via Collection or the Zune Marketplace (finally!), integration with the new Social, and wireless synchronization over your local wifi network. The podcast support is great, as of now they have a growing catalog of choices via the marketplace, or you can add the rss feed directly in the podcast section of your collection. Best part is that all iTunes podcast feeds designed for the iPod will work natively on the Zune, no transcoding necessary! The Social has been beefed up as well, which now has a built in messaging system, a new Zune card which shows all your recently played tracks and music prefs to your friends, and has even tighter integration with my Xbox live gamer tag...e.g. friends list and shared MS points. All of that combined point to some pretty amazing things on the horizon for Zune and 360 owners...I'm already envisioning full marketplace and social integration with Xbox. Just imagine being able to stream your subscription music or Zune radio channels on your Xbox while playing some Halo 3! The wireless sync is a very nice feature as well, though when I did it for a fairly decent size sync, it ate most of my battery in the process.

The Hardware.
This time around its got some significant improvements. The most notable are the size and construction, the new touch sensitive dial, and the incredible premium headphones. The size seems half the foot print of the original, and Microsoft used some higher quality components on the exterior. Primarily the change to a glass screen instead of plastic, the extra .2 inches of screen real estate. On the inside they added chip support for MPEG-4 and H.264 a/v an updated wireless adapter which now supports wpa2 security, and a new hard drive that's smaller and allows for 30 hours of audio playback on one charge. The touch sensitive dial is a very nice addition as well, it works just as you would expect sliding in the direction you wish to navigate. It's also a convenient way to adjust the volume when playing music and video...you even have the option to turn it off if you don't care to use it. Lastly, the new included premium headphones were the real surprise for me. They are hands down the best in-ear headphones that I've ever seen included with a media device...and I've bought a lot of music and video players over the years. The earpieces themselves come with 3 sizes of ear fittings and magnetically stick together for storage, which is even more convenient then you would realize. Also, the cord for the headphones are wrapped in a thin rope vs your typical plastic casing, which makes them considerably more durable. Granted, they will not take the place of my uber expensive Bose noise canceling headphones, but they are an excellent and more portable alternative for certain situations.

Final thoughts.
Overall, I'm extremely happy with my decision. Not only did I save $150 bucks, but I now have a music player and software that tightly integrates with the OS and gaming platforms that I already use. And, as much as Apple has done to make the iPod at home on Windows, it just isn't enough to compete. And honestly, I don't think they care. They would much prefer and have certainly designed for their devices to function in their world of the Apple desktop and the Apple TV, which is fine considering the Zune is equally targeted to the Microsoft universe. Though, i would love to have one of those 17" Macbook Pro's running Leopard and Vista, they truly do make some, usually unrivaled, hardware.

Chris Kirby's Inner Monolog : Apple

Why I chose the new Zune over the iPod touch