Zune HD Vs. iPod Touch Features Comparison

Apple's iPod Touch has recently been dominating the sales charts with its versatility thanks to the apps store. Will the yet-to-be released Zune HD's features compare?

Battery
The Zune HD has a 33 hour battery life playing music, and an 8.5 hour batter life playing video. The iPod Touch has a 36 hour battery life when playing music, and 6 hours when playing video. The complete charge time for the Zune is one hour less than the iPod Touch. This category is a narrow victory for the Zune HD because of the faster charge time.

Touchscreen
Both MP3 players have 16:9 (wide-screen) scratch resistant, multi touch displays, the Zune HD's screen is .2 inches smaller and has a slightly lower resolution. The Zune HD has an OLED screen which does provide slightly richer color. The winner in this category is the iPod Touch, although not by much.

Applications
The iPod Touch has a large library of Apps already available. Microsoft has said that the Zune HD will have a marketplace, but they have said little about how extensive they will be. The winner in this category is definitely the iPod Touch.

HD Radio
This category is an easy victory for the Zune HD, because the iPod Touch doesn't have any radio support. The Zune HD promises to include an HD radio receiver that will provide CD quality audio while allowing listeners to tag songs for future purchase.

Portability
The Zune HD is slightly shorter and less wide than the iPod Touch, while being about two tenths of an inch thicker. The Zune HD is also slightly lighter than the iPod Touch. The Zune HD narrowly wins this category.

Video Output
Thanks to the nVidia Tegra processor in the Zune HD, it will be capable of outputting video in 720P to HD capable screens. The iPod Touch is only capable of outputting 576P video. The winner of this category is the Zune HD.

Price
In arguably the most important category, the Zune HD definitely has the advantage. The 32 GB Zune HD is available on Amazon.com for pre-order for $90 less than the 32 GB iPod Touch. The 16 GB Zune HD is $50 cheaper than the comparably sized iPod Touch. This category definitely belongs to the Zune HD.

The Zune HD narrowly squeaked out the victory over the iPod Touch, but we have yet to see the Apps and web browser of the Zune HD so that may either change the outcome.On September 15th, 2009, music and video lovers everywhere will have a tough choice choosing a MP3 player.

Sources:
www.apple.com/ipodtouch/specs.html
stadium.weblogsinc.com/engadget/files/Zunespecs_0813.pdf
www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss-Zune HD
www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss-iPod Touch