Microsoft's Zune Versus Apple's IPod

Microsoft's new Zune or Apple's iPod? This seems to be a question that plagues many when they consider buying an mp3 music device. Which is the better buy for your money? That depends on what you want from your device. Since both Microsoft's Zune and Apple's video iPod of the same capacity costs the same amount (both at $249) and both the Zune Marketplace and iTunes charge essentially the same price for songs (about 99 cents) the decision really comes down to what features are important to you.

If clarity or easy of use is an issue for you it is a close call. Having used both players it I find that the clarity on both is about the same, and in fact although Zune's screen is bigger both the Zune and iPod have the same resolution (320 by 240 dots). As for usability in my opinion they are both easy to operate neither one being clearly superior at least in question of the device itself. However, iTunes the music download store associated with iPod is easier to use and runs smoother than the Zune Marketplace the iTunes equivalent for the Zune. I found the Zune Marketplace to freeze up frequently and occasionally have problems interfacing with my PC. While on iTunes I never experienced such problems.

If size or capacity is important to you then Apple's iPod might be the way to go. iPod's come in various sizes and capacities (the shuffle, nano, and 80GB version) and the smaller versions cost notably less than Microsoft's Zune so if size or capacity are your biggest concerns iPod will win your decision hands down with more options. Unless your interest in size is in relation to the screen size in that case you might be interested in the Zune's three-inch LCD display, which is a full half-inch larger than iPod's and automatically shifts to a wide, horizontal view for videos and pictures.

The biggest advantage that I found the Zune has over the iPod, and probably the Zune's most exciting feature, is its WiFi-based sharing of songs and digital photos wirelessly between two or more nearby Zunes. The iPod lacks this feature as well as an integrated FM radio tuner both features that originally I thought wouldn't make that much difference but found that I actually really enjoyed and made the Zune more attractive to me as a consumer. The only problem I had with the built in 802.11 b/g WiFi radio is that it only works for Zune to Zune wireless transfers. However, there is no technical reason Microsoft could not open it up to allow for wireless syncing with your PC or even better wireless song downloading from the Zune Marketplace. If Microsoft was to do this the Zune, and there is no reason to believe that they wont, the Zune's cool factor in the marketplace would rise dramatically.

Battery life on both the Zune and its iPod video equivalent is about the same as near as I could tell. However, that observation is based only on video and song playback, if you use the wireless Zune to Zune feature on the Zune i noticed that the battery life on the Zune goes down substantially.

The Zune might be a good bet for the future. Microsoft is the world's largest software developer and one can only imagine that they will invest everything they can into trying to develop the Zune into a true "iPod killer" but for the moment in a head on head battle Zune simply comes up short in it is overall convenience factor. The iPod simply offers more options and accessories that appeal to many. The new iPod camera dock is a very useful accessory that allows you to download your pictures form your digital camera to your iPod so you don't have to carry your laptop or multiple memory cards on your trips, something the Zune does not offer. Also iPod's recent deals with Nike make the iPod much more usable while working out or participating in athletic workouts. So for now, while the Zune certainly has a few promising features until those are more fully developed the iPod wins in this one on one competition.