New Zune website is up!

1 Comment

• So, since there are no comments here yet - how about something to get the discussion going. Here's my take on the Zune:
  
  Pros:
  - WiFi music sharing (though 50% of songs purchased by money.cnn.com reviewer on Zune store had sharing disabled)
  - DJ mode for broadcasting what you're playing to other Zune users
  - 3" screen vs 2.5" on iPod (though same 320 x 240 resolution so album art looks more blocky on Zune in portrait mode)
  - Integration with Xbox 360 (iPod only works on Xbox with non-DRM music)
  - FM Radio built-in ($49 option for iPod)
  - Rubber-feel plastic case doesn't scratch as easily as Face of iPod Video
  - Subscription option for music ($180 per year pretty expensive though for music that is deleted if offline for a month or cease subscription)
  - Guest Synchronisation option to copy songs from other PC (but not back up to your PC)
  
  Cons:
  - 46% larger volume than the 30GB iPod (13% larger than even the 80GB iPod)
  - 35% thicker and 8% taller than the 30GB iPod
  - 17% heavier than the 30GB iPod (1% heavier than the 80GB iPod)
  - Zune Chunky vs slim and elegant iPod according to Wall Street Journal
  - 2hrs less battery life than the 30GB iPod (in real-world tests)
  - 12-14hrs battery life for Zune vs 20hrs for 80GB iPod or 24hrs for iPod Nano
  - WiFi reduces battery life by 2hrs in real-world tests
  - no WiFi to Computer or Internet
  - 4 buttons instead of scroll wheel
  - 2 million songs in Zune Marketplace vs 3.5 million on iTunes Store
  - No TV shows in Zune Marketplace
  - No Podcasts in Zune Marketplace
  - No Music Videos in Zune Marketplace
  - No Movies in Zune Marketplace
  - No Audiobooks in Zune Marketplace
  - No Games in Zune Marketplace
  - No music library sharing between computers unlike iTunes
  - Confusing points system for music purchase - $5 minimum purchase
  - No Calendar on Zune so no calendar synching
  - No Contacts on Zune so no contacts synching
  - No Note viewing or synching on Zune
  - No pre-installed games on Zune
  - only ~100 accessories for Zune vs 3,000+ for iPod
  - No auto integration for Zune vs 70% of new cars iPod compatible
  - Zune adds yet another DRM standard
  - Zune not compatible with Plays For Sure so can't play music bought from Microsoft's own MSN music or other MS licensees
  - Zune not compatible with Windows media player, the MS standard for MP3 player integration
  - Zune Windows-only vs iPod Windows and Mac compatible
  - half songs ripped by money.cnn.com reviewer would not transfer to Zune Player
  - 3 models (colours) of Zune vs Shuffle, 6 Nano models, 30GB Video iPod and 80GB Video iPod (plus Red and U2 versions of Nano and larger iPods)
  - Fewer supported audio formats:
  Zune: WMA, MP3, non-protected AAC
  iPod: AAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, MP3, WAV, Audible
  - No USB Disk mode so can't use for file transfer/storage on PC
  - plastic case on Zune vs metal case back for iPod or all-metal for Nano
  - 3-day or 3 play limit on DRM and non-DRM shared music (even 1 second counts)
  - No passing on shared music to a third Zune player
  - no synching of purchased music from Zune up to other computer (new iPod feature)
  
  Have I got any of this incorrect?
  
  -Mart