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iPod touch Zune HD vs. iPod Touch
- Thread starter Firestar
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Considering it's the main competitor to the touch, and the Zune HD is obviously trying to be more than a media player, I will take it into consideration 
Considering it's the main competitor to the touch, and the Zune HD is obviously trying to be more than a media player, I will take it into consideration
Actually, the remaining Zune fanboys on forums across the Internet object pretty strenuously to calling the HD anything other than a media player, because, well, that's the only way you'll win any sort of comparison.
Considering it's the main competitor to the touch, and the Zune HD is obviously trying to be more than a media player, I will take it into consideration
i was being facetious, see the comments by the OP.
I voted with my money. Although I love the HD, it's bleeping beautiful, I bought the iPT4. I still may get a Zune on eBay, if I can find a deal.
Media players have apps for Pandora, Last.fm, AccuRadio, AOL Radio, BBC, CBC, NPR, etc.
So where are those apps?
The size isn't bad, but the whole design of it isn't very stylish. Especially the kinda translucent navy color.
Like said before, I love the Zune HD, but its lack of apps bothers me. I'm going to get the Touch. This thread isn't for suggestions, just an overall general vote.Good luck with whatever you choose.
Uhmmmm... Yes.....
The Zune HD is a superior MEDIA device. Media, meaning videos, music, etc ON YOUR DEVICE (not streaming, besides radio). Right now it has no peer. The iPod Touch 4 cannot touch it (pun intended). Zune HD's media presence is not hobbled by apps, it's about your own content, your own way, without another company (Apple) telling you how to get it or put it there.
The problems are numerous with the iPod Touch.
The Zune HD lacks really one thing: Bluetooth. Means I cannot stream audio to my car deck. I do have the car kit, but it requires either using FM (which is spotty quality) or a separate audio patch cable (Which is messy). If it weren't for that the Zune HD would be perfect...because music is all I need the device to do and it needs to do it the way I need it. Lack of Bluetooth holds the Zune HD back from perfection in that arena.
The problems are numerous with the iPod Touch.
- On a Mac, the iPod Touch 4 basically requires iPhoto to get the photos off. To me this is a big negative. It makes no sense that I cannot import photos directly from iTunes without doing a sync.
- The iPod Touch 4's audio quality is just not nearly as robust as the Zune HD. It just isn't.
- The Zune HD's interface when working with music is significantly easier to work with. It's also more appealing, in my personal opinion. The problem is navigation: the iPod Touch 4 wants you to do like 5 clicks to play a single song, it's designed for people who like playlists, and that's fine. The Zune HD, on the other hand, lets me do the same thing ( play a single song ) with half the clicks.
- The Zune HD downloads specific screensaver art for given artists and albums that show when the device is not actively being used. This just comes off looking quite nice when playing music.
- The Zune HD's battery life, for SOME reason, spanks the iPod Touch 4. I have not figured this one out yet. I left my Zune HD untouched for a month and it STILL had power to run songs for a day.
- Zune HD can wireless sync to a computer; iPod Touch cannot, not without third party software (this one is big for me. I hate pulling out the cables every time)
- Zune Marketplace is significantly more user friendly and easy to manage than iTunes. I can download my songs from the device to my computer one by one or in a group, regardless of how many computers I might have (iTunes lets you "sync" assuming it's the same computer. If it's not it wants to delete the existing files. Not good).
- Zune HD, when playing a song, will also list other songs from that artist/album, even if you don't own them, as listed from the Marketplace. So if you wanted to try some of their other work and you were in a WiFi hotspot, you could try it out, even reserve/buy it on the spot, then it downloads. iPod Touch can't touch that at all and I'm appalled that they are missing such a simple feature.
The Zune HD lacks really one thing: Bluetooth. Means I cannot stream audio to my car deck. I do have the car kit, but it requires either using FM (which is spotty quality) or a separate audio patch cable (Which is messy). If it weren't for that the Zune HD would be perfect...because music is all I need the device to do and it needs to do it the way I need it. Lack of Bluetooth holds the Zune HD back from perfection in that arena.
1) No, it doesn't. iPhoto (09) > Preferences > General tab > Connecting Camera Opens > pick your application (I.E, image capture)
2) How do you know? I know the Zune HD doesn't have speakers (cmiiw) so you must mean via headphones, did you test both with the same headphones at the same volume with the same song with no equaliser?
5) If you leave the iPod touch for one month it should also be able to play songs for a day too. Note, if you leave the iPod touch display on while listening to music it'll drain the battery much faster than it would on the Zune HD since the Zune uses an OLED 480x272 res whilst the iPod touch uses an IPS 960x640 display.
In terms of software, there's no question. iOS is a better, snappier interface. Plus, access to the iPhone's app store is invaluable. Keep your FM radio, I'll take Pandora, Last.fm, apps that play local radio stations anyway, etc.
In hardware, I think it's much closer, but it's hard not to go for the iPod touch 4. It's ridiculously thin, the screen remains unmatched, the camera is crazy, the iPod touch is much more powerful...
Really, the only clear advantage the Zune has in my opinion is its music store. And since no one buys their own music anyway, that's a very weak argument.
In hardware, I think it's much closer, but it's hard not to go for the iPod touch 4. It's ridiculously thin, the screen remains unmatched, the camera is crazy, the iPod touch is much more powerful...
Really, the only clear advantage the Zune has in my opinion is its music store. And since no one buys their own music anyway, that's a very weak argument.
MythicFrost said:
There is a significant bug in iOS 4.1 when running on 4th gen iPod Touches that causes the battery to drain within 24 hours in standby. The only solution is to disable wifi. Leave wifi on and it won't sit for a week let alone a month. Unfortunately Apple is not recognizing this problem.
My point is that I cannot just connect the iPod Touch to iTunes and say "take all of these photos and put them on my drive" without using iPhoto first. Nor can I use any other app to do it. If I connect the same iPod Touch to Windows 7, to WINDOWS, it will find it as a camera under Devices, prompt me to import the photos, and ask me where to put them. No need to open any other app, it just does it.
Zune HD does not have external speakers. However, when connected to a sufficient system via a pair of Sennhauser production headphones or my Headbanger traveling earbuds, there is a clear difference in audio quality. The iPod Touch does not have the same crisp clarity that the Zune HD or even the Creative Zen X-Fi has.
Negative. Just earlier in the week, I had left the iPod Touch in the car, screen off, not playing any audio, with wireless on but not connected to a hotspot. It was near dead the end of the day. Zune HD has had its wireless on for that month and it still had juice. What that tells me is that the iPod is constantly searching for hotspots and draining itself out - a symptom of my Palm Pre which is why I'm familiar with it. The Zune HD just waits until I query it to search for a hotspot.
If I turn wireless off the Touch will last for maybe a week without active regular use. Again though, the Zune HD runs circles around it in total battery life, and regardless of excuse about screens, the fact remains that the Zune wins here, for whatever reason.
This still isn't true no matter how much you post it. You might have an app causing this (e.g., Skype).
And people wondered why Apple was so reticent to introduce multitasking.
The number of people who buy headphones that cost as much or more than their portable media player is tiny. I can't even find whatever obscure earbuds you're referring to.
*Sigh* When your iPod Touch in iOS 4.x is running down in standby alone in like 24 hours from fully charged, you've got an app nom-nom'ing your battery, likely by keeping your wifi active all the time. I have push Exchange set up on my Touch, I never disable wifi, and I'm still at 63% after about 33 hours since last plugged in, including pretty frequent usage and game playing.
You have the benefit of not having this problem with the Zune HD wifi because, well, there's not a whole lot you can do with its wifi.
FAIL. I'm saying that as someone who has owned a Zune 30, a Zune 8, and a Zune HD, and who hasn't owned an Apple product since 1994 before buying my 4th gen 64 GB Touch.
Myth. Neither the Zune software nor the Zune HD even do gapless reliably. I was fully expecting to be disappointed by the sound quality of the Touch. I was not.
The one thing the Zune unequivocally does better is that it provides a text "Album Artist" list. That's the one thing I really miss. Its playlist support sucks. The Zune HD lets you create playlists, but you can't edit them, so if you make a mistake, you have to delete the playlist and start over from scratch. I don't know where you get the "half the clicks" bit from.
The Zune Pass is the only reason for the Zune to exist, and it sucks. Many albums aren't available, and there is an almost ubiquitous policy that songs >= 10 minutes long are "Album Only", preventing them from being downloaded without purchasing the whole album. You can't even use the 10 free song credits you are allotted each month for this. In addition, most albums contain more than 10 songs, so to use your credits on the albums where it's possible to do so, you have to download them over two or more months. It ain't worth the trouble.
The rest of your comments fall into the "Who cares?" category. I'm not even going to talk about how glacially slow the Zune software is with large collections. Of course, iTunes is far from perfect, but I find I prefer it.
Why do you ask this on a Mac forum? The answer is going to be the iPod Touch, which personally I think is better the Touch just has a better app store and just is a overall better pocket computer.
Wrong. I left WIFI on every night and there was no noticable change in battery when I woke up. Most of the nights I even left Safari or other apps opened. I don't have Skype though.
No, I don't. I do not have an Apple bias, I just prefer the Zune HD as a media player. And I will not fill the forum up with rants, unless I have problems. And I am not asking for opinions on which one I should get, as mentioned before, I am going to buy an iPod, but I just wanted to know the overall opinion.
Even on a MacForum.
^
Your ignorance on the details of the issue is simply adding nothing but static. A vanilla 4.1 iPod Touch 4G with no other apps installed and Wifi active will indeed drain in 24 hours. I feel no need to convince you otherwise, you are free to believe what you wish.
The fact that you think that Apple "introduced" multitasking with 4.0 is further proof that you need to do a little more research. (FYI, multitasking has been around since day-1 of the iPod Touch)
Your first-hand experience does not negate the experiences of others. Not all bugs are universally experienced by everyone. Many bugs are only revealed under certain conditions. The conditions have not been fully identified yet. Wifi and the 4.1 upgrade are part of the mix.