Zune Software! Trying it

First of all, I'm a longtime iPod owner ever since my regular old iPod 2G with 20gb. I, like many, were disappointed in the new ipod touch updates. I've been waiting for a camera for two years, and still the touch doesn't get what the iphone has had from the beginning! I sold my 2G touch last week fully expecting the camera by now, but only to be extremely disappointed and angry..I know the zune hd doesn't have a camera or anything, but I have now been looking at it as a viable new possibility.

First of all, I wanted to find out how easily I could convert to zune. I downloaded the zune software tonight, and I must say i'm very impressed! I customized it to search my computer and all my iTunes folders. Everything was found and loaded into the iZunes (for lack of a better description), even my movies and tv shows and audiobooks. This constantly updates based on anything i do in the folders i have told it to monitor. If i add a song to iTunes, iZunes will add it the next time i start it up! Even better, it doesn't create its own copy or anything, it simply uses the same folders and locations as iTunes. MS seems to have made it really simple and easy to move to the Zune.

The program itself is also very nice. I've always had a little lag using iTunes (i'm on vista, its not my computer), but the zune software is very responsive and crisp so far. The interface is different, but after a little playing around and familiarization it is just as simple and easy as iTunes really.

The only problem is DRM songs and videos, but i've only got a few hundred of those (out of thousands), and I've heard there are cheap programs that will convert them without the hassle of burning cds, etc.

ZunePass is also very intriguing as I am learning more. For $15, i essentially buy 10 songs a month, plus i can listen to anything else on the marketplace. Thats not too bad actually. For a little more than a cd, i get a cd and can listen to everything.

Now I'm a person to downloads most stuff online, away from iTunes and a marketplace anyways, so its pretty simple so far. Another thing I like is MS integration between my computer, iZunes, and xbox 360, very convenient!

HD ratio is also something I'm interested in, seeing as my car only has standard radio. At the moment I have a cassette tape that I can play my iPod through the headphone jack. I'm really interested in seeing if i can listen to HD radio through my car speakers the same way. For those of you who don't know about HD radio, its pretty neat and the stations tend to be better and less mainstream, which in my book is a good thing.

Yeah, so the apps are missing, at the moment anyways, but honestly how much do you use? I like having my games page, utilities page, music apps page, etc, but i had maybe 4 or 5 pages, not all of them full. I hated organizing on the touch, dragging page to page, because I like having them organized, not just downloaded next in line. I like having my games with games, utilities with utilities, etc. I think the potential for the zune hd is really solid, especially long term for MS users.

And if you're unsure, you can just keep iTunes updated, and whenever you start iZunes, it will update as well! I plan on doing this, seeing as i still have my 80gb classic. Zune HD is a definite possibility!