It's clear from his posts that he hasn't spent any time with it, nor does he want to.
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iPod touch iPod touch vs. Zune HD
- Thread starter SnowLeopard2008
- Start date
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It's clear from his posts that he hasn't spent any time with it, nor does he want to.
I've never bothered with a stand alone media player before as my smartphone had all the same capabilities, and I had no desire to carry around another device. That said, the Zune HD sparked my interest enough to pick one up, and for comparison's sake I decided to pit it against the new 3rd Gen iPod Touch (32GB) which I also picked up from a local retailer. My impressions:
Lets just jump right in with the OLED screen.
- Yes, it is better. Way better. Side by side comparisons of identical images honestly make the iPod's screen look like a washed out piece of junk. I'll post images if there is demand, but suffice it to say that the Zune's screen is in a different league all together when it comes to color saturation, black levels, etc. You've heard it all before.
- Yes, it also performs quite poorly in direct sunlight. Much worse than the iPod. I really don't think this would have been much of an issue for me, but I can see that it would be for some.
On to the browsers. Both are surprisingly good, but the hands down winner is Safari. It is a much more polished all around product, and a real pleasure to use. The new processor brings Safari's rendering speeds very close to the speed of a desktop. I will give a nod to the Zune here in that its screen reorientation was noticeably faster and smoother. As long as we're talking browsers, lets talk keyboards. As far as visual appeal (completely subjective), I'd choose the Zune's on-screen keyboard. The iPod's keyboard is starting to look slightly dated, and MS has an interesting, slightly different approach. Who really cares what it looks like though? Functionality-wise, I'd say the iPod is a winner. At first glance, you wouldn't think there would be a huge difference between on-screen keyboards on a 3.3" screen and a 3.5" screen, but the Zune's 16:9 aspect ratio means that the screen is actually significantly narrower in portrait mode. Narrow enough to make two handed typing more difficult. The iPod's keyboard is also more intelligent at putting context relevant keys on the screen at appropriate times (".com" "@" etc.).
Apps. No contest obviously. The Zune's pre-application advertisements and load times suck most of what little enjoyment there is out of them. And while it is fair to say that the iPhone/iPod also launched with no 3rd party support, I find MS' stance on the issue frustrating. The iPhone/iPod team of devices is attractive to developers because they are 99% compatible, but Microsoft is segregating the Zune from the entire Windows Mobile ecosystem. I'm well aware of what hurdles exist in integrating the two, but some effort (or at least acknowledgement of the desirability of the prospect) would be welcome.
Media Interface. It's a fairly subjective topic, but I find the Zune's interface much more involving and visually interesting. Not a deciding factor when the device is in your pocket, but I think it's worth mentioning.
Sound quality. I'm not a huge audiophile, but I'd give the Zune a small margin of victory. For most people, I would think either device would be perfectly acceptable in this regard.
Exterior design. Again a subjective field, but the people making fun of the screws on the back show themselves to be hopeless fanboys. Overall, I preferred the industrial, aluminum look of the Zune, but the iPod is still an attractive device. Being more of a function person, this category is largely irrelevant to me.
Overall size. Slightly less than half a millimeter separates the two in thickness, but the Zune is significantly narrower and shorter. Slip it into a pants pocket and it completely disappears. For the record, the iPod is hardly a pocket-hog either. Here's where you start getting into the mp3 player versus pocket computer debate. As strictly an mp3/media player, the Zune's size is preferable. As a pocket computer, the iPod has reached the sweet spot of screen size, one handed usability, and pocketability. I'm not going to weigh in one way or another here. User preference.
Processors - The Tegra is powerful. Although officially limited to 720p output, the Tegra APX 2600 is widely rumored to be able to handle 1080p without much fuss. The power is there, but wether applications take advantage of it remains to be seen. Let's wait until we see some real 3D games (Project Gotham Racing for example). Of course, the new Cortex A8 chip in the iPod/iPhone is a tremendous little powerhouse itself. And seeing as there are no existing cross-platform benchmarking applications that produce reliable, meaningful results, discussions of raw horsepower are...meaningless. Please noone even suggest a comparison of clock speeds. Verdict - virtually zero difference to end user. If you're concerned with media hype and internet bragging rights, go with the Tegra.
HD radio - Why wouldn't you want it? Dismissing it's usefulness seems like a stupid attempt to justify senseless brand loyalty.
Bluetooth and External Speaker - Significant Zune deficits in my opinion. Maybe on the Zune HD2...
Availability of Subscription Service - Major selling point for me. I've been a Rhapsody subscriber for several years and I love the subscription model. Again, to me dismissing subscription services (especially one where you keep 10 songs per month) seems like a silly attempt to detract from the Zune. I don't know why you wouldn't want to explore music in the way a subscription offers. I suppose you can pirate the same quantities of content, but poor organization, missing or inaccurate track information, missing album art, etc seem like more than enough reason for me to shell out $15. To each his own though. And this was the segway into my final deciding factor:
Zune HD + Zune Pass + WiFi enabled cell phone should have equaled more music than I know what to do with everywhere I go. Unfortunately, Microsoft has pointlessly locked out adhoc network connection sharing, thereby killing my dream. The iPod is a great all around gadget, can share my phone's internet connection over WiFi, and Rhapsody recently released an app to allow streaming on the iPhone/iPod Touch. And while I would prefer high quality downloads to somewhat low quality streams, I'll take what I can get.
Winner (for me): iPod Touch. And that's from a die-hard Windows Mobile geek.
Sorry, didn't realize how long this was getting. Hopefully someone found it interesting
Lets just jump right in with the OLED screen.
- Yes, it is better. Way better. Side by side comparisons of identical images honestly make the iPod's screen look like a washed out piece of junk. I'll post images if there is demand, but suffice it to say that the Zune's screen is in a different league all together when it comes to color saturation, black levels, etc. You've heard it all before.
- Yes, it also performs quite poorly in direct sunlight. Much worse than the iPod. I really don't think this would have been much of an issue for me, but I can see that it would be for some.
On to the browsers. Both are surprisingly good, but the hands down winner is Safari. It is a much more polished all around product, and a real pleasure to use. The new processor brings Safari's rendering speeds very close to the speed of a desktop. I will give a nod to the Zune here in that its screen reorientation was noticeably faster and smoother. As long as we're talking browsers, lets talk keyboards. As far as visual appeal (completely subjective), I'd choose the Zune's on-screen keyboard. The iPod's keyboard is starting to look slightly dated, and MS has an interesting, slightly different approach. Who really cares what it looks like though? Functionality-wise, I'd say the iPod is a winner. At first glance, you wouldn't think there would be a huge difference between on-screen keyboards on a 3.3" screen and a 3.5" screen, but the Zune's 16:9 aspect ratio means that the screen is actually significantly narrower in portrait mode. Narrow enough to make two handed typing more difficult. The iPod's keyboard is also more intelligent at putting context relevant keys on the screen at appropriate times (".com" "@" etc.).
Apps. No contest obviously. The Zune's pre-application advertisements and load times suck most of what little enjoyment there is out of them. And while it is fair to say that the iPhone/iPod also launched with no 3rd party support, I find MS' stance on the issue frustrating. The iPhone/iPod team of devices is attractive to developers because they are 99% compatible, but Microsoft is segregating the Zune from the entire Windows Mobile ecosystem. I'm well aware of what hurdles exist in integrating the two, but some effort (or at least acknowledgement of the desirability of the prospect) would be welcome.
Media Interface. It's a fairly subjective topic, but I find the Zune's interface much more involving and visually interesting. Not a deciding factor when the device is in your pocket, but I think it's worth mentioning.
Sound quality. I'm not a huge audiophile, but I'd give the Zune a small margin of victory. For most people, I would think either device would be perfectly acceptable in this regard.
Exterior design. Again a subjective field, but the people making fun of the screws on the back show themselves to be hopeless fanboys. Overall, I preferred the industrial, aluminum look of the Zune, but the iPod is still an attractive device. Being more of a function person, this category is largely irrelevant to me.
Overall size. Slightly less than half a millimeter separates the two in thickness, but the Zune is significantly narrower and shorter. Slip it into a pants pocket and it completely disappears. For the record, the iPod is hardly a pocket-hog either. Here's where you start getting into the mp3 player versus pocket computer debate. As strictly an mp3/media player, the Zune's size is preferable. As a pocket computer, the iPod has reached the sweet spot of screen size, one handed usability, and pocketability. I'm not going to weigh in one way or another here. User preference.
Processors - The Tegra is powerful. Although officially limited to 720p output, the Tegra APX 2600 is widely rumored to be able to handle 1080p without much fuss. The power is there, but wether applications take advantage of it remains to be seen. Let's wait until we see some real 3D games (Project Gotham Racing for example). Of course, the new Cortex A8 chip in the iPod/iPhone is a tremendous little powerhouse itself. And seeing as there are no existing cross-platform benchmarking applications that produce reliable, meaningful results, discussions of raw horsepower are...meaningless. Please noone even suggest a comparison of clock speeds. Verdict - virtually zero difference to end user. If you're concerned with media hype and internet bragging rights, go with the Tegra.
HD radio - Why wouldn't you want it? Dismissing it's usefulness seems like a stupid attempt to justify senseless brand loyalty.
Bluetooth and External Speaker - Significant Zune deficits in my opinion. Maybe on the Zune HD2...
Availability of Subscription Service - Major selling point for me. I've been a Rhapsody subscriber for several years and I love the subscription model. Again, to me dismissing subscription services (especially one where you keep 10 songs per month) seems like a silly attempt to detract from the Zune. I don't know why you wouldn't want to explore music in the way a subscription offers. I suppose you can pirate the same quantities of content, but poor organization, missing or inaccurate track information, missing album art, etc seem like more than enough reason for me to shell out $15. To each his own though. And this was the segway into my final deciding factor:
Zune HD + Zune Pass + WiFi enabled cell phone should have equaled more music than I know what to do with everywhere I go. Unfortunately, Microsoft has pointlessly locked out adhoc network connection sharing, thereby killing my dream. The iPod is a great all around gadget, can share my phone's internet connection over WiFi, and Rhapsody recently released an app to allow streaming on the iPhone/iPod Touch. And while I would prefer high quality downloads to somewhat low quality streams, I'll take what I can get.
Winner (for me): iPod Touch. And that's from a die-hard Windows Mobile geek.
Sorry, didn't realize how long this was getting. Hopefully someone found it interesting
I've never bothered with a stand alone media player before as my smartphone had all the same capabilities, and I had no desire to carry around another device. That said, the Zune HD sparked my interest enough to pick one up, and for comparison's sake I decided to pit it against the new 3rd Gen iPod Touch (32GB) which I also picked up from a local retailer. My impressions:
Lets just jump right in with the OLED screen.
- Yes, it is better. Way better. Side by side comparisons of identical images honestly make the iPod's screen look like a washed out piece of junk. I'll post images if there is demand, but suffice it to say that the Zune's screen is in a different league all together when it comes to color saturation, black levels, etc. You've heard it all before.
- Yes, it also performs quite poorly in direct sunlight. Much worse than the iPod. I really don't think this would have been much of an issue for me, but I can see that it would be for some.
On to the browsers. Both are surprisingly good, but the hands down winner is Safari. It is a much more polished all around product, and a real pleasure to use. The new processor brings Safari's rendering speeds very close to the speed of a desktop. I will give a nod to the Zune here in that its screen reorientation was noticeably faster and smoother. As long as we're talking browsers, lets talk keyboards. As far as visual appeal (completely subjective), I'd choose the Zune's on-screen keyboard. The iPod's keyboard is starting to look slightly dated, and MS has an interesting, slightly different approach. Who really cares what it looks like though? Functionality-wise, I'd say the iPod is a winner. At first glance, you wouldn't think there would be a huge difference between on-screen keyboards on a 3.3" screen and a 3.5" screen, but the Zune's 16:9 aspect ratio means that the screen is actually significantly narrower in portrait mode. Narrow enough to make two handed typing more difficult. The iPod's keyboard is also more intelligent at putting context relevant keys on the screen at appropriate times (".com" "@" etc.).
Apps. No contest obviously. The Zune's pre-application advertisements and load times suck most of what little enjoyment there is out of them. And while it is fair to say that the iPhone/iPod also launched with no 3rd party support, I find MS' stance on the issue frustrating. The iPhone/iPod team of devices is attractive to developers because they are 99% compatible, but Microsoft is segregating the Zune from the entire Windows Mobile ecosystem. I'm well aware of what hurdles exist in integrating the two, but some effort (or at least acknowledgement of the desirability of the prospect) would be welcome.
Media Interface. It's a fairly subjective topic, but I find the Zune's interface much more involving and visually interesting. Not a deciding factor when the device is in your pocket, but I think it's worth mentioning.
Sound quality. I'm not a huge audiophile, but I'd give the Zune a small margin of victory. For most people, I would think either device would be perfectly acceptable in this regard.
Exterior design. Again a subjective field, but the people making fun of the screws on the back show themselves to be hopeless fanboys. Overall, I preferred the industrial, aluminum look of the Zune, but the iPod is still an attractive device. Being more of a function person, this category is largely irrelevant to me.
Overall size. Slightly less than half a millimeter separates the two in thickness, but the Zune is significantly narrower and shorter. Slip it into a pants pocket and it completely disappears. For the record, the iPod is hardly a pocket-hog either. Here's where you start getting into the mp3 player versus pocket computer debate. As strictly an mp3/media player, the Zune's size is preferable. As a pocket computer, the iPod has reached the sweet spot of screen size, one handed usability, and pocketability. I'm not going to weigh in one way or another here. User preference.
Processors - The Tegra is powerful. Although officially limited to 720p output, the Tegra APX 2600 is widely rumored to be able to handle 1080p without much fuss. The power is there, but wether applications take advantage of it remains to be seen. Let's wait until we see some real 3D games (Project Gotham Racing for example). Of course, the new Cortex A8 chip in the iPod/iPhone is a tremendous little powerhouse itself. And seeing as there are no existing cross-platform benchmarking applications that produce reliable, meaningful results, discussions of raw horsepower are...meaningless. Please noone even suggest a comparison of clock speeds. Verdict - virtually zero difference to end user. If you're concerned with media hype and internet bragging rights, go with the Tegra.
HD radio - Why wouldn't you want it? Dismissing it's usefulness seems like a stupid attempt to justify senseless brand loyalty.
Bluetooth and External Speaker - Significant Zune deficits in my opinion. Maybe on the Zune HD2...
Availability of Subscription Service - Major selling point for me. I've been a Rhapsody subscriber for several years and I love the subscription model. Again, to me dismissing subscription services (especially one where you keep 10 songs per month) seems like a silly attempt to detract from the Zune. I don't know why you wouldn't want to explore music in the way a subscription offers. I suppose you can pirate the same quantities of content, but poor organization, missing or inaccurate track information, missing album art, etc seem like more than enough reason for me to shell out $15. To each his own though. And this was the segway into my final deciding factor:
Zune HD + Zune Pass + WiFi enabled cell phone should have equaled more music than I know what to do with everywhere I go. Unfortunately, Microsoft has pointlessly locked out adhoc network connection sharing, thereby killing my dream. The iPod is a great all around gadget, can share my phone's internet connection over WiFi, and Rhapsody recently released an app to allow streaming on the iPhone/iPod Touch. And while I would prefer high quality downloads to somewhat low quality streams, I'll take what I can get.
Winner (for me): iPod Touch. And that's from a die-hard Windows Mobile geek.
Sorry, didn't realize how long this was getting. Hopefully someone found it interesting
Pretty much how I feel too. The iPod Touch is simply amazing. Apple is so far ahead of the curve here that its laughable. I'm returning my Zune HD tomorrow after having a 3G to compare it with in a few days.
I'm far from an Apple fanboy either. I'm definitely excited about Windows Mobile 7 but that's still one year away.
To be quite more fair, Im a guy of both sides, I owned a 1st gen Zune for like 1 year. Then I got the iPod Touch in 2007. And now, I bought recently a ZuneHD.
So, here are my opinion:
ZuneHD Pros;
1. Incredibly lighthweight, I was quite amazed at this.
2. Awesome interface, good way to navigate.
3. Sidebar shortcuts are quite stunning.
4. Amazing design, beautiful brushed metal back.
5. Content management, wooo.
6. Super fast accelerometer.
7. Full music content for every song added, including bio, related artists and pictures.
8. Price
9. HD; my God, if you get the ZuneHD, be sure to grab at the same time a pair of GOOD earbuds, play with the equalizer and bang! Super quality music.
Cons;
1. Web browser is quite bad, and to be fair, since day one of the iPod Touch's release the Touch had a complete basic safari web browser.
2. Beautiful screen but small.
And that's my opinion of the ZuneHD, basically and honestly, the iPod Touch and ZuneHD are both at the same finish line, both products bring great stuff. The touch is a great product either way, it has lasted 2 years without ANY problem, so yeah.
And also, I think that the ZuneHD was released to basically complete the Zune MP3 lineup family.
So, here are my opinion:
ZuneHD Pros;
1. Incredibly lighthweight, I was quite amazed at this.
2. Awesome interface, good way to navigate.
3. Sidebar shortcuts are quite stunning.
4. Amazing design, beautiful brushed metal back.
5. Content management, wooo.
6. Super fast accelerometer.
7. Full music content for every song added, including bio, related artists and pictures.
8. Price
9. HD; my God, if you get the ZuneHD, be sure to grab at the same time a pair of GOOD earbuds, play with the equalizer and bang! Super quality music.
Cons;
1. Web browser is quite bad, and to be fair, since day one of the iPod Touch's release the Touch had a complete basic safari web browser.
2. Beautiful screen but small.
And that's my opinion of the ZuneHD, basically and honestly, the iPod Touch and ZuneHD are both at the same finish line, both products bring great stuff. The touch is a great product either way, it has lasted 2 years without ANY problem, so yeah.
And also, I think that the ZuneHD was released to basically complete the Zune MP3 lineup family.
You might want to consult my thread....with the lack of a Search Feature on the Zune HD.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/790499/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/790499/