Zune or Ipod? and why?

Question

This march I will be traveling to Germany, and I figured that since it is a long flight that I will purchase a Zune or an Ipod. However, I am not sure which one to buy.

I understand many Ipod fans despise the Zune, however, I admit that I am quite intrigued by the Zune.

In addition, I hear that Apple is coming out with a newer Ipod, does anyone know when this will be? Also, does anyone know if Microsoft is changing their sharing ability on the Zune to share with all mp3 players (not just the Zune)?

Answer 1

Ok ill be honest. GET A ZUNE!! no i am not person who has never had an ipod or a person who hates apple. In fact i just bought and 30G ipod video three weeks ago and im still buying my Zune today. Face it, it offers more than and ipod and i dont understand why people complain about having radio and stuff, you got nothing to lose if you have 'em. You actually get more for your money since it cost the same as an ipod video. Come on, it also has a beautiful nice big screen which is way more attractive than an ipod's. I thought the Zune was a piece of crap knock off of the ipod but i was wrong and knew that as soon as my brother got one. The menus alone are fun to play around with and you can have any picture in your background which is pretty cool compared to an ipod. I got bored of my ipod and it seems that almost everyone has one which gets kind of annoying in my opinion. I would go with the Zune also because you cant get them dirty like an ipod which they look disgusting in only two seconds after you get it out of the box. People say the Zune is so big but when you put an ipod next to it theres not that much of a difference. Theres a rumor going around that apple is going to stop selling ipods anyways. Face it, ipods are boring.

Answer 2

I think you should get a Zune. I've used both before, and to me, the Zune rocks way better.The UI is great and easy. Ipod's UI is just ok. The screen is bigger too, and if you watch videos, you can just turn it on it's side, and watch way better. Ipod can't do that. It includes built-in FM tuner, something ipod doesn't have. If you meet someone else with a Zune, you can share pics and song, something ipod doesn't have. It can sync with the xbox 360, something ipod can't do. You can change the background pic, something ipod doesn't have. There are a few thing it doesn't have that the ipod has, but it's really few, and doesn't seem too important to me and most people. So the Zune basically has some more features that the ipod doesn't have, and is really great. You have to try it. Maybe the next ipod will be better, but right now, the Zune is the way to go.

Answer 3

i like the Zune greater effective simply by fact i'm able to connect it to my 360. the zune would not have as many songs to make your innovations up on between has the ipods i tunes and that i dont understand if the zune has video games. ive had a ipod and a zune i like the zune greater effective. the zune has an even bigger demonstrate. if u decide directly to maintain all of ur songs then u could get a sparkling ipod. if u get the zune u can get all of ur old songs on the zune then u can get the 15$ a month song card and u can get new songs with it.

Answer 4

I have an iPod and love it, so I admit that I am biased. That said, I really think the iPod is the better choice.

The Zune includes an FM radio receiver which you have to buy as an accessory for the iPod (but I bought my iPod so I wouldn't have to listen to a radio).

The Zune allows wireless transmission of songs to other people - but only other people with Zunes, and only certain songs, and only for 3 days, and only to be played 3 times, and only songs, not video, and you can't re-transmit it to someone else. So basically, the WiFi is useless unless you know a lot of other people with Zunes, and see them every day. You can't use the WiFi to synchronize to your computer, either. And finally, if you just turn the WiFi on, you lose about 10% of the battery life. Basically, if you aren't still in school, this "benefit", well, isn't.

The Zune's music download service has two options - you pay $15 a month and can download as much music as you want (although not all of the songs are available). If you let your subscription lapse, however, you lose all of the songs you downloaded to your Zune. You will be unable to play them unless you re-subscribe. Or you can buy songs using a point system - 79 points for a song, but each point costs 1.25 cents (so the actual cost of a song is 98.75 cents) and you have to buy the points in $5 increments. In iTunes you can buy songs at 99 cents each and albums for slightly less than the total of the individual songs. You can purchase each song using either a pre-purchased iTunes card, or via a credit card.

Some people think the interface with iTunes is complicated; I think it's about as simple as you can get. I can't comment on the Zune interface, as I've never used it.

iTunes has more music available - more than 3.5 million songs. Microsoft offers more than 2 million. iTunes has a large selection of movies and television shows available as well, which Zune doesn't yet offer. Zune doesn't offer any downloadable games either, while iTunes has several games available.

The Zune is a new product and as such is likely to have bugs that need to be worked out. This isn't a slam on Microsoft - any entirely new product could say the same. It's more likely there will be bugs in a Microsoft product... (okay, that WAS a slam).

iTunes has a smart playlist function in addition to your own playlist creation. With Zune you have to create your own playlists.

The Zune has a larger screen than the iPod. It is also larger in general, and weighs more. I frequently watch videos on my iPod and have no problem at all with the size of the screen. I can also easily slip the iPod into my pocket. The Zune is a little bulkier.

The iPod has more accessories available. There are hundreds of different speakers alone. In the next couple of years, most new cars will be iPod compatible, meaning you can connect your iPod directly so it plays through your car speakers. Many cars already have this ability. Zune is currently limited to a setup that transmits the music on an FM frequency. You set your radio to the same frequency to hear the music. The quality is noticeably degraded, however. (My car is not iPod compatible, and I've tried a transmitter. Worst $60 I ever spent.) Also, since you'll use this while traveling, you need to be aware of battery usage. Both advertise battery time of about 14 hours when listening to music (although that's a generous estimate). However, if you watch video that time goes WAY down to about 2 hours. With the iPod you can get a battery backup accessory that uses standard AA or 9 volt batteries to supplement your iPod's battery. The Zune does not have anything like this yet.

The iPod can be used as an external hard drive - you can transfer files to it as well as music. The Zune cannot.

Both have their own proprietary format, and both will convert music in standard formats to their own.

The iPod comes in 30GB and 80GB, while the Zune is only available in 30GB. They are comparably priced (although I've heard that Microsoft had to lower it's price to match the iPod).

Of course, if you really want a BROWN MP3 player, Zune is the way to go. I think it looks like the stuff I scrape off my shoes, but that's a matter of personal preference.

Basically it boils down to this: The only things the Zune does better than the iPod are larger screen and a built in FM radio. I don't like listening to the radio because of all of the commercials and the annoying DJ's, but that's a personal choice. Many people consider this a true benefit. The larger screen is also nice, but since the Zune has NO movies and videos available for purchase, there isn't much to watch on this larger screen. I don't believe these two things overcome all of the negatives, or even come close to matching the positives of the iPod.

As far as Microsoft changing their sharing ability to share with all mp3 players - not gonna happen. First, they can't share with something that doesn't have WiFi, and many MP3 players don't have that. Also, why would Microsoft do anything that would encourage people to buy other MP3 players? They want everyone to buy a Zune.

Finally, there are rumors that Apple may introduce the 6th Generation iPod in April at Apple's 30th anniverary. Or they might not. You know how rumors are.