Zune HD: A Better Choice Than iPod Touch

When most people decide on buying a new portable media player, they check out the latest and greatest gadget offered by Apple. For the most part, they’re right to do so- Apple’s iPod has pioneered the development of portable media devices for years. While there have always been alternatives to the iPod, it has consistently demonstrated superior features and offered a more innovative experience for users. However, on September 15^th, a new challenger is being introduced- one that may be a serious threat to the iPod’s dominance. Microsoft’s Zune brand is adding a touchscreen player named the Zune HD to its lineup. The Zune HD boasts a snazzy OLED screen, a powerful Tegra CPU, HD radio, and a sexy new design. Read on to see why the Zune HD is the perfect upgrade for this college student and a better choice than the iPod Touch.

The Specs and Features

The Zune HD was specifically designed with the 2^nd generation iPod Touch in mind as the main competitor and as a result, the player matches or beats Apple’s device in practically every category. It comes with a gorgeous multitouch 3.3 inch OLED screen which allows advanced lighting effects and consumes less energy than the iPod Touch’s LCD screen. The Zune HD’s Tegra processor is a powerhouse that grants the device a seamless user interface. The player itself has a slim design and weighs in at an incredibly light 2.6 ounces, smaller than the iPod Touch (4.05 ounces). Currently, the Zune HD is available for pre-order in two different colors and capacities- black for a 16 gigabyte model and platinum for a 32 gigabyte one. However, those willing to wait until the 15^thto order can customize their Zune’s faceplate in blue, lime green, and or red, and get a sweet embedded design on the back from ZuneOriginals.com. This level of personalization is exclusive to the Zune HD- the iPod Touch merely allows you to add two lines of text on the back.

Using the Zune HD is a pleasure- demos of the new interface show that navigating through your content is a smooth and simple procedure. The device completes the experience by providing a variety of related graphics and information on the artist, album, and songs, alongside your music collection. The Zune HD takes full advantage of its Wifi capabilities. On top of having a dedicated Internet browser, the player allows users to download music directly to the device, just like the iPod Touch does. However, the Zune HD distinguishes itself with a host of other features. The Zune HD is the first portable media player on the market to have an HD radio receiver installed. The iPod Touch isn’t equipped with a radio receiver and doesn’t provide any access to radio stations. The Zune HD also allows users to stream high definition video (720p) to a HD television using an HDMI Zune dock.

The Subscription Model

I’ve been a Zune owner for about two and half years (I have a 1^st generation Zune 30) and luckily, one of my favorite features from the original Zune is being incorporated into the latest model. The Zune Marketplace, the platform through which Zune owners can purchase music for their device, has an amazing subscription model available called the Zune Pass. For an affordable $14.99 a month, you’ll have access to all the music you want. I love discovering and listening to new tunes and this feature is one of the main things that attracted me to the Zune.

Granted, you’ll have to keep paying the subscription fee every month- otherwise you’ll lose access to your songs. However, at a price equivalent to that of one CD, you’re getting a pretty good deal. To make the subscription model even more appealing, you’ll get to download ten free songs each month which are yours to keep permanently, even if you abandon the Zune Pass in the future!

The Price

Being a college student, I’m on a pretty limited budget. As much as I love getting the latest technology, I recognize that the less money I spend, the better. The Zune HD is priced with people like me in mind. It undercuts the 16gb iPod Touch more than $50 and the 32gb iPod Touch more than $90! With the amount of music I download, the Zune Pass is also a moneysaver. If I were to download a new 50 songs for the iPod Touch each month, I’d have pay close to $50 every month. Using the Zune Pass allows me to get the same 50 songs and more for $14.99.

Final Thoughts

The Zune HD looks like it’s going to be a great portable media player and is sure to land on many wishlists this year. Its features are certainly a step above those of the 2^nd generation iPod Touch and its lower price will help attract customers. Even if Apple unveils a 3^rd generation iPod Touch at its rumored upcoming media event, the Zune HD will still be a serious competitor in portable media player market.

For me, the Zune HD is the obvious and superior choice. It’s cheaper than the iPod Touch which is always a plus. It packs more features into a slimmer device and is built on more advanced technology. It has a higher degree of customization, which is nice because I feel that my portable media player represents who I am. Best of all, it has a great subscription model which allows me to continually increase my music library and actually follow-up on music recommendations from friends, all for a low flat monthly rate!

You can preorder the Zune now at Amazon.com- the Zune HD 16gb model sells for $219.99 and the 32gb model is $289.99.

Tags: ipod touch, Microsoft, Zune HD

Comments

dj

I bought the Zune HD. I lost interest as soon as i went online and couldnt watch one single video on you tube or any other site.

Rev. Billy Bob Becker

I try Ipod Touch of my friend and take a look to the app store...at least more than 70% of all apps (not games) are poorly not useful... "hey look! I have a lighter on my screen!"... just shut up fuck off dude...there are a difference between buy a "popular trademark" and a "[good quality made products] trademark". Fuck off with your "Hein, they ripped their idea..."...Stop crying. we live in a "humanized" world...Think about it... I know that the marketplace is very small, but it is not boring to create ownself customized apps... so, goodnight...zzzzz
(sorry for my english)

shae123

What does ipod isn't Bu mean?

Yeoh Jia Le

In the future, zune must be more expert & world class technologies will be even more better! Then some how of the things required is the most futuristic than other devices!

Yeoh Jia Le

Best job for zune world!

Yeoh Jia Le

Sorry, I had change my account! My previous account is futuretech2080@hotmail.com! I supported zune for everything! Zune is very furtive(secrettive) & skillful! I'm rapt about zune things as well!

jojomonkey

The Zune HD is really quite nice. I'm a Linux user ever since I was 14 and since then I've had a dislike for MS products - but it would be stupid and ignorant to not give credit where it is due. The Zune is really fun to use and it's interface and speed is really impressive. The Tegra is an amazing chip. The interface to the Zune is also clever and fun to use - w/ a bit of a learning curve.

The last MS product I bought was a 360 which I sold pretty quickly because of the red rings of death issue. I was really bummed w/ MS - but since buying the Zune I haven't found the excuse to go back to Best Buy and return it (which is what I was planning to do in case it was a waste).

This device has really nice potential - esp. in the Marketplace section. This device would be even more amazing if there is ever a Last.fm and/or Pandora application available for it in the future.

The only cons I've found is that the Zune software is not the best - though I can live with it since I'm not syncing so much. I'm forced to run it in a virtual XP instance since I probably will never get it to work correctly on Linux. My issues w/ the software will more or less be corrected once I have a dedicated Windows netbook which I plan to buy soon.

Of course, as a soft. engineer I'm more impressed with it technically than most - and most other people are fine w/ Apple products.

P.S. - another small issue w/ the Zune HD (which is easily fixable w/ a firmware update) is that you have to connect to a WIFI access point that is broadcasting it's SSID. So I've had to re-enable my SSID broadcast on my home network - which I don't really like.

Yeoh Jia Le

All zune is the best! Except zune 1! Zune 2 and Zune HD is splendid and fabulous!

Hipfoot

no facts to backup your claim just a microsoft fan too many dumb fucks these days

Mark

HA!
and I see you have plenty of them eh?
(may I be so bold as to say!)
hypocrite!

Julia

Prepare for zune awesomness Sept.15 (tomorrow ;) )!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!&!!!!!!!!!!$$$$!!!!!

Julia

ZUNE HD ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jake

i hope i'm in debt for this thing!!

jake

um...well i was going to buy an ipod touch but i think i'm going to try and get an extra $20 bucks from my mom now..she will complain but i think it will be worth it i have had a white 30gb zune for a year and a half and i love love love it. it has never failed me but i have lost my charger therefore i want/need to replace it !

Mark

I was once an apple fan, I thought nothing could compare to the "Ipod" tell about two years ago
I was going to buy the new Ipod nano
the worker at bestbuy conviced me that the new zune looks much better than the new Ipod
I had heard of Zune but I thought of it as just another 2nd rate mp3 player.
I bought it, at that time I like apple much more than Microsoft
I got a red 8 GB Zune
I thought it was amazing
this is a personal opinion
Apple is overpriced with EVERYTHING from there computers to there media players
Microsoft just appeals to me more than "apple"
which is why I have already preordered the 32 GB black Zune HD

Al

I hate people who review things without even knowing anything but the specs. What made the touch and iphone so popular is the interface and how easy it is to use. These people who say the Zune HD (personally I hate HD added to the end of everything) is better without even trying it or knowing if it's even going to have a good record of reliability (remember the XBox 360 rings of death). As for a college kid's choice I like the apps for the touch and can use LogMeIn to access my computer from any wi-fi network and this can be a life saver for a student. What good is HD resolution on a tiny screen? I can stream any movies from my computer directly to my TV or ipod with the app AirVideo. Will I get a Zune HD? Probably, I play XBox 360 and if they make it work well with it I will get one, but I consider it just another Microsoft copy of Apple and again not enough of a step up to make it that revolutionary.

jason

The zune Hd will be a has been. HD RADIO? Give me a break who actually uses or has HD RADIO? Its been rumoered that it might not last 5 years. Satellite Radio is great, slacker radio is good but needs more content.

If MS put AM radio on it everyone would go around saying my zune has AM radio your ipod does not. Yea and exactlly how many people listen to AM radio? How many of those would buy a zune or ipod of any kind? How many of those that would buy one would actually ever listen to the radio on the thing?

The thing about the ipod is you have 4 models. I love the shuffle for just using when i mow the yard or working in the yard or something. The new Nanos are cool the touches you can bet will be upgraded before 6 months.
Id rather just get the music from itunes. What does renting your music do for you? You really get that much new music? What are you doing renting every new song off every new album coming out?
People claim they love the subscription thing but yet its not a big hit with people. You can bet if it was so big as MS users claim Apple would do it.
Zune has 1 model to compete against 4 ipod models and the ipod has a huge install base and the tons and tons of apps. ANd MS wants to charge more then the apps on the itunes store. If they miss judge the market (As they do many times) and things dont go well there could be buy buy zune HD

jake

the hd radio is just like a regular radio but with Christal clear sound ..and i use my regular radio on my 3 year old zune all the time

Bogdan Semida

Haha, no, I'm not working for Microsoft! I'm just an enthusiastic Zune owner who's excited about the Zune HD. I will certainly admit that the first generation Zune wasn't perfect. In fact, Microsoft's initial marketing plan of focusing on the Zune's "Social" aspect was a bit of a flop. I have had my Zune 30 for more than 2 years and have never had the opportunity to share songs with another Zune user!

With that said, the Zune brand has come a long way and the Zune HD looks particularly promising. Even with today's announcements and price-cuts by Apple, I think the Zune HD is a solid and superior alternative.

As for me actually paying for my mp3s- well, I think $15 is a fair price for unlimited access to music. Pirating is illegal and I'd hate to be the next Joel Tenenbaum; I'm actually a current BU student! More importantly, I really like the Zune Marketplace and appreciate the recommendations I get based off what I listen to.

Daniel

I bought te first ever zune model. For the outragous price of $250. I liked it at first, but when I realized how many features ipod had, it was too late. When I lost my sync cable, it took me weeks to find it in-store because the only cables they had were for Ipod. I promissed myself that I would get rid of my zune and be an apple lover. I spent weeks saving up for an ipod touch, then i found about the zune hd. I am really feeling myself turning towards the zune, the only thing holding me is wether theyll have apps.

Nathan

Man I would stick to zune because if you are really a music lover you will go with the hd. Ipod is more like a do it all device so its more focused on making money off apps, movies, and music. Zune is purley music for the most part, it has few movies, and games, apps but that will come in time the zune hd just came out what do you expect. Zune interface is easier and geared towards music and has an hd fm radio tuner. And Ipod fanboys will say ipod has a pandora app and tons of apps, sorry but when are you going to be in wi-fi constantly to be using the "radio" app and the other apps. And the zunes graphics power is unmeasured as well. Stick with Zune

jake

yeah it is announced there going to have an app store!

Niko

yup they're going to have apps if you've watched as many demos as me you'd of seen an apps link in the menu. my only worry is that you may have to pay for all apps. i personally cant handle my phone bill and a mp3 bill with the money i get for mowing grandmas lawn.

Rick

You're exactly right, there is a high probability you will pay more for apps with the Zune HD. At the Windows Mobile Developer's conference last month, Microsoft encouraged developers to charge more for their apps than what is charged on the iTunes app store. So, if you want more than just music and movies go with the iPod Touch. Its going to take awhile for the Zune app store to catch up with the amount of apps available on iTune's app store, especially if they mess up their market by trying to charge more than people are willing to pay.

Ken

Item of note is that Apple just dropped the price of their IPOD touch to match (actually slightly undercut) MS prices on the new Zune. Check out yahoo tech blogs here: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/56680

Question then becomes... when priced at par... which do you choose?

Ian

actually, they didn't undercut the prices, they are still higher. the 8gb is $199 with no upgrades. there is NO 16gb (Zune HD is $219), 32gb is $299 (Zune HD is $289), and a 64gb is $399. Who would spend $399 on 64gb. I know I wouldn't.

Hipfoot

i would it is superior because it can hold more is faster and was a origanal zune microsoft is just a copycat compNY THEY PIRATED THE first computer design from apple made it into a piece of crap then sold it for way more than what it is worth same thing with the zune

Mattisdada

No your just an idiot. Learn how to speak, THEN learn how to spell, THEN learn how to type.

Xerox was the first company to have produced a GUI. It can then be thought that any OS that has a GUI stole it off them. Apple ripped off Xerox, Microsoft ripped of Xerox.

Although, in my own personal opinion, its just the natural order of moving on. I don't really care who does what first, i just care who does it the BEST. All companies steal off other companies, because thats how the world works.

For example, Apple wasn't the first to do Widgets :O! Firefox wasn't the first to have resumable pages :O! (opera was the first, with all new Firefox features lately :P).

Bottom line, the Zune software on the device, is better than the Touch's, its underlying hardware is far more powerful than the Touch's (Tegra anyone?) The subscription service is better. The screen is better, the capacitive touch is more sensitive. The only thing the Touch ecosystem has over the Zunes is the loyal DUMB fan base (+the few smart individuals)(they are dumb because, "OMGOMGOMG AN IPOD! IVE NEVER HEARD OF ANYTHING ELSE! OOOO LOOK AT ME! IM COOL") and the Application library.

Oh, and guess what? Apple stole the idea of the iPod off of SONY!:O GASP! A portable media device, was not invented by Apple, GET OVER IT! Just because its your favorite device, didn't mean it some how INVENTED the style.

Bottom line:
Everyone has their preferences, some people look at the facts, others do not and go blindly.

Oh, and who cares who makes it? Its the product, not who makes it..... So "Apple fanboys" and "MS fanboys", shut up.

-

I have a Zune, but I have to say: wtf man, are you really not working for MS? This is pretty hilarious in its pro-MS ''charm.''

Also, you're admitting to being a college student and keeping up with a $15 dollar a month subscription charge that isn't XBL? Did you not get the memo about how easy pirating is? Or how the RIAA is still bs? Guess not. Have fun wasting money on more could-be-free music.

norm

Geforce > Power VR...nuff said! LMAO Zune HD is more advanced than Ipod Touch is all levels. Also rumors about a synch to X-Box Live, maybe some nice 3D accelerated games. X-Box 180 anybody?

Joe

iPod fan boys are finally nervous that another PMP will finally beat out their beloved. It was bound to happen eventually. The Zune HD is overthowing the iPod dynasty!

Hipfoot

wow apple is superior speed and can be used more efficiantly go ahead wait 30 mins for 10 songs to download on microsoft but you can get 10 songs faster and cheaper on itunes and your ipod touch

objectiveopinion

1 song takes 3 seconds to download. I have the Zune HD, and the ZunePass... I can use my wireless internet and go to the zune marketplace, buy my songs, dowload them and add them to my library....all without connecting my Zune HD to my computer.... wireless. Can you do that with your touch? You are wrong and have never used one. My wife has an iPod.. and she is always having to fight with iTunes. IMHO, iTunes sucks as a program. It is cumbersome and poorly written. And don't dare ask for tech support... cause it blows like a hurricane. They are so into copy protection.

lj

Well actually, i can download every song on the zune marketplace for 14.99 a month about 3 million songs.
With the cost of a itunes song being 1.29 that would cost about 3,870,000 on itunes...

Carmelo

Right!?! i believe I heard the same thing when Zune was initially released! If Microsoft is so smart and better, why didn't they release a Zune HD 64 GB version?

Another thing: Why can't I get a simple case for the new Zune HD? If you tell me because its new, well I can't tell how many sites I found where I could buy a new case for the new Nano! Microsoft can only copy other people and not create a new thing! Tell me where Microsoft invented anything that it came up with on their own! Windows is a copy from Apple and Xerox, Office, WordPerfect was before it. XBOX is not new. Let's face it, Zune and Zune HD was created after iPod. Its a fact.

jake

what about marketplace who did they still that off jackass plus the fact that you can trade music with other zunes and get on market place straight from your zune. and who says you need that much memory to be smart anyway honestly

Nick

what did microsoft make new? hmm... what about... office, every version of windows has been a million times better than a mac os, I would never buy a mac because of one simple reason. I like to be able to change my computer at will, adjust the hardware, the look of the os and add any program that takes my fancy to it. Apple offer none of these things. In short, I like change. Not paying thousands of dollars for unadaptable crap. In fact, I wouldn't pay one dollar for one.

Mark

Yeah yuhung your wang. This is why the Windows OS is the most popular and common OS among computer users! grow up and get that ipod out of your mouth!

jason

The only reason windows has a larger market share is because 1 they did better marketing back in the 90s and the whole windows thing started out as a hack of the Mac os.
Apple was not doing well then had no marketing budget and was unsure of where they were as a company and the OS was getting old at the time win 95 and 98 came out and Apples Copeland and star trek OS never emerged. That and people never look at the OS. I have worked at these places before and also i see when going into Best buy or compusa people say i want a good laptop for $600 or something. People look at price only. They dont look at what Mac can do and its more secure they see this laptop costs more so i will take this one.
Even when they look at the Mac it use to be that the rep knew nothing about it and could not explain how it was different or anything.

Since Steve came back to Apple they have really taken off. Apple has the #1 music player, #1 music software and music store and is coming into place it wont be long before they are the #1 smart phone.

If apple ever does license its OS to say even 2 computer manufacturers or 3 you can bet your butt MS will shrink like crazy. Apple is growing year after year. While MS had a 40 million dollar loss this year and the Windows OS market is shrinking Apple is gaining.

Nabil

Well Jason I just wonder why the apple laptops so expensive. obviously they look and feel way better than a regular laptop for example the gateway I am using. What can they do that are better than a pc ? I am asking because I am thinking of getting the Mac Book pro. I heard it's good if you use softwares like Ableton to produce music.

Personally I like the Zune better. I loved them since the second generation. And yes the Zune marketplace has a smaller music library than I-tunes, the zune pass subscription is awesome. I would buy an Ipod if itunes offered a music subscription like that and if the ipod touch looked as good as the zune HD. But I have to tell you the new Nano looks amazing. If only they had a larger capacity.

Michael

well i like sorta like apple products (sometimes i think about getting a mac or ipod) but i think microsoft is redeeming itself since the intro of 7 (the only thing i liked about vista was it's good a gaming which i don't do often) and this new zune. thinking about getting one cause of the audio quallity and the awesome screen. plus i think the black one looks better than touches and it's much much lighter

beef supreme

shutup you apple nuthugging hippy, this is da better product

Hipfoot

wow great logical support bimbo

mikey

Excellent write up. I am looking forward to the Zune HD as well. Hopefully they release an SDK soon. I am ready to start creating some stuff for it.

yuhong wang

Are you from microsoft?

Do you know why people will not buy it? Because it is made by microsoft!

Microsoft Fanboy

It is a negative stigma for Microsoft created by the media and competitors. In most cases, people have a bias with no logic (other than replicating the negative perception of Microsoft) and real reality objective comparison.

Tony

What are you talking about. I am going to buy the Zune HD because it is Microsoft (and mainly not Apple). I hate iTunes, manily everytime I want to use it, it requires an update, which gives me nothing new but protects the music. Think about it, millions of people almost weekly spending 5 minutes to do an iTunes update for nothing. The Zune HD rocks, I don't really care who makes it, I just want the best music player that can do movies. Zune HD wins.

Carmelo

Its very clear that you never used iTunes. How can you say Zune HD rocks when its not even out yet! I plan to buy the Zune HD and I currently have an iPhone. The iPhone convinced to buy a mac and I'm VERY GLAD IT DID THAT!! However, I will rate the Zune and see how it compares to iPod. I'm buying it because of the OLED display. I hope it does not suck, but from what I've seen so far in content and appears to be a lack of interest from Microsoft, I'm concerned that I wasted over $300 for both the 32 GB Zune and the HD dock.