Microsoft Zune Black (30 GB) MP3 Player

I promised myself I would never buy an Ipod.

Years ago, I worked at Best Buy while I was still in college and was shocked at how much money people were willing to pay for Ipods considering their high return rate. The major problem? If you dropped an Ipod – it most likely wouldn't work when you picked it up. This was due to volatile Hard Disk Drives of the day. Nowadays, HDD's are much more reliable.
I also never liked the Macintosh, Apple, Imac or the OSX software. I have been a Windows 95/98 and XP user for years and I shunned any MP3 player that could not readily and seamlessly connect to Windows XP for my music listening pleasure.

I have been in the market for a mass storage MP3 player for the past 5 months. Though my sister's new 30 GB Ipod Video looked cool, I was determined to wait for the next big thing from either Toshiba, Samsung or Microsoft. Now, many years after Ipod's release (and worldwide market domination), Microsoft has finally released the ZUNE. I bought mine this morning from Best Buy to the tune of $250 plus tax.


ENTER THE ZUNE


Micrososft's Zune features a 30 Gigabyte Hard Disk Drive, 802.11 protocal radio frequency adapter Wifi, a built in FM radio receiver, a 3 inch screen (diagonal), and a very consolidated front panel control design.

The Zune is immediately available in Brown, Black and White – although more colors are certainly going to be released over time.

The Zune supports MP3, WMA and Apple Ipod's AAC as well as Apple's video format named h.264.
This means that Zune can readily accept PODCASTS and downloadable videos from your favorite weblogs.
{Included software can convert tracks if required}
Unfortunately,the Zune cannot support Xvid or DivX which are formats typicaly used by people who illegaly download illegal ripped movies from limewire and Kazaa, however, most people won't miss this besides only the most avid of media junkies. Since Ipod doesn't support those formats either, there is no comparison between the two units in this regard.


Out of the Box, you get a ZUNE player, the Zune proprietary USB cable, the software CD for the Zune Marketplace, a pair of black earbud headphones, a thin baggie for Zune, and documentation inside a very Ipod like box labeled: "Welcome to the Social". Right away I was disappointed with Microsoft. Why wasn't there a hard case for Zune? Why was there no belt clip or armband? Do you really mean to tell me that Microsoft's answer to Ipod is simply selling an Ipod-like device where I still have to go out and buy proprietary add-ons? Welcome to the extortiously priced Audio player add-on market.


I am a little disappointed in the styling of the Zune. While the wheel and the buttons are easy to use and responsive enough, I'm disappointed that Microsoft would produce something that looks so similar to the Ipod. There are a number, actually, a legion of Chinese made Ipod ripoffs with the same screen size, same click wheel design, etc. The Zune just happens to look like a few of the ripoffs I've seen. Even Toshiba had the foresight to produce the Gigabeat S with a cross-shaped button configuration. This is not to say that Ipod started this design - absolutely not - the circular style control was actually on players from Diamond Multimedia and Creative Labs many years ago before Apple's Ipod was released – though Apple added the spinning rim. Problem was, during those days barely anyone even knew what an "MP3" or digital portable audio was – still dedicated to $100 Sony Discmans - until Ipod popularized it.
Every single media player that was released later on would be compared – unfairly - to the Ipod as a basemark.

This is what I would have done...
Simply take the featureless grey pushpad and replace it with either a new pushpad or crossbar that has the WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER LOGO - right in the middle - like what you've seen on the media center remotes.

http://www.irlink.ru/pages/tiles/btw/msremotecontrol/remoteControl.gif

If you Microsoft did this, it would give the ZUNE a much more quality look in my opinion.



USING THE ZUNE

The Zune's dimensions are about 4.4h x 2.4w x .58d with a weight of about 5.6 ounces. By comparison, the Ipod 30GB is about 4.1h x 2.4w x .43d with a weight of 4.8 ounces. While the longer length is not noticeable, the weight of the Zune is. It feels a bit on the bulky side which may be forgivable for people who haven't used an Ipod but are used to a Sony PSP.
The weight is forgivable. After all, Microsoft is giving you half an inch more screen than Ipod affords you.

First thing you will notice when actually operating the ZUNE is the directional "wheel" in the center. This wheel does not actually operate like the Ipod's Click Wheel does which is probably one of the Zune's pluses.
The Black wheel on the Zune is actually a push button in the center surrounded by clickable directions: up, down, left, right. Previous Ipod users who attempt to
Use this system like they would the Ipod clickwheel will be surprised when their finger movements don't do anything. The reason I like the Zune's interface better is because Ipods that hold 30GB or more can be very painful on the thumb when you are rotating to scroll down or upwards for a very long time.

The next nice feature is the aforementioned LCD screen. The screen on Zune is larger than Ipod's which means that videos are more pleasant to watch and you need not do as much scrolling to find tracks since you can see more of them at once.

I tested my Zune by uploading a couple of videos to it through the software to watch them. Playback was exactly what I expected: crisp and clear. The Zune automatically switches to the Horizontal profile while you are viewing videos or pictures so that the screen is maxed out with viewable image. When this happens, the click wheel also automatically switches from vertical to horizontal orientation to make navigating easy.

When listening to a track on Zune, the album art appears full screen while the track information and elapsed time appears at the bottom of the screen. Since the screen is so large, the setup looks very nice. There is even a small icon to show you elapsed battery power.


SOUND QUALITY

Microsoft's sound quality in their new ZUNE is easily better than Ipod's. First of all, Ipod's 30 GB player has poor bass response. While this is no trouble for Rock listeners with the volume way up - listening for the highs in the songs... I found Ipods to be absolutely horrible for listening to Rap music.
Zune has a total of 7 equalizer presets that do a great job of balancing out music's tones - even with the volume way up. It is easy to make comparisons between Zune's audio quality and the spectacular sound gained using SRS WOW effects on the computer.

Zune's Radio is decent enough. It comes out the box ready to adapt to the American, European or Japanese FM transmitters. When you use the radio, a very simple frequency graph appears on the screen with a bar that indicates the current tuned frequency. You merely push the wheel buttons to highlight the channel you wish to listen to and in moments you are listening to that channel. The sound quality of HOT 97.1 WQHT is pretty decent on the Zune, much better than the reception I was getting on my Sony Minidisk player. I'm disappointed no one offers AM frequencies anymore for portable media players – here in NYC, AM radio on Sundays is filled with talk radio, gospel and other interesting channels to listen to.


BUYING MUSIC

Along with the launch of Zune, comes the launch of Microsoft's ZUNE MARKETPLACE. This is the online store which Zune owners will be able to download music from using their credit/debit card. The music downloaded from Zune Marketplace is fixed at 192 Kbps. This downloaded music may only be played on the Zune however since it is protected by Window's Media's newest version of Digital Rights codecs.

The Zune Marketplace can be used passively to update your Zune every time an update is available – during your next synch when you need to add songs or delete them.

Zune comes boxed with a software CD. When you install the software into your computer, it gives you access to Zune Marketplace as well as a "burn CD" option for your downloaded Zune tunes. The software is quite similar to Windows Media Player which makes me wonder why Microsoft didn't just make Windows Media Player 10 and 11 beta. a standalone substitute for the software in the first place? I see no reason why Microsoft couldn't have just created a "WMP 12" and integrated Zune's Marketplace into it. Perhaps this will come in the future. I personally prefer to use the fastest easiest program to download to my MP3 devices. Mind you, I am upgrading from a Sony Minidisk player with its annoyingly unintuitive Sonicstage program.



ON BATTERY LIFE

The ZUNE averages about 12 hours for music (regardless of format) and about 3.5 hours for Video watching. The sharp decrease in battery life, naturally, is due to the fact that the LCD screen must stay on while you watch a video – thus draining the batteries quicker. The only Ipod that you may compare the Zune to is the 30 GB Ipod Video. My sister's 30Gb Ipod video averages about 14 hours of music play and 4 hours of video play. For comparison, the 60 GB Ipod Video averages 20 hours for music / 6 Hours for video (but costs considerably more than Zune).
Battery life on the Zune will also decrease further if you are liberally using the Wifi to beam music back and forth.



WiFi Capabilities - Legal Downfalls – Plethora of Possibilities?

Zune features a Wifi link which allows Zune owners to "share" songs by downloading/uploading from one another when they are in wireless networking range.

This is a very nice feature unfortunately, it has fallen victim to Microsoft's digital rights management protocols. The problem is that although you are allowed to share a full-length song or more with other Zunes, the owner only has 3 times to listen to it over a 3 day period. An internal timer in the Zune's computer tracks the times the song has been used and automatically deactivates it when that limit expires. As a user, you have a choice to "flag" the song if you like it so that the next time you log into the Zune Marketplace, you have the option of buying it. While most people might agree that this is "fair use policy", I digress.

#1 Many people will not want their habits being tracked and recorded by Microsoft which thereby could possibly be used as evidence by the Federal government against the owner.

#2 If you purchase the rights to a song and then something happens to your Zune, you are not reimbursed for it. There are some new programs at work in Europe to reimburse digital media purchasers for their purchases so long as they have a receipt or proof of purchase, but right now, it is unavailable from Microsoft.

One downside thus far I found with the Wifi ability is that the device cannot download directly from a "Zune server". It must be connected to a computer in order to facilitate downloading of purchased music. I think MS dropped the ball here. Why couldn't Microsoft have made it possible for users to buy prepaid cards – or use a credit card and enter the codes into Zune so they could browse the website on the player and download directly to the Zune in the same manner cell phone users purchase new ringtones? This would have been revolutionary but I suppose we will have to wait for the future lines of digital audio players to see this happen.


ZUNE does not feature an "infrastructure" enabled Wifi
Right now, if I turn on my Zune and try to connect to another Zune user, I can't unless I am near them. There is no feature that allows Zune to connect to other Zune users via Local Area Network. SONY PSP allows you to play with other PSP users no matter where you are so far as you are connected via Wifi LAN – even if your opponent is in Komchatka, Russia. I sincerely wish my ZUNE had infrastructure so this way I wouldn't have to be physically near someone to download from them.

Why couldn't ZUNE have featured Bluetooth OBEX - the protocol which allows you to drag and drop files wirelessly so you wouldn't need to connect the player physically every single time you wanted to add a song?

Why couldn't ZUNE have featured A2DP- the Bluetooth streaming audio profile that allows you to wirelessly stream audio to anything which will accept it; wireless headphones, wireless stereo systems, etc. Had the Zune had this feature, you might be able to use it wirelessly in your home to send your music directly to your home theater system. Recently, their have been a number of WiFi home theater offerings designed to stream music from your computer to your more powerful
5.1 surround sound home theater.
The market is there, unfortunately the Zune doesn't cater to it.

The way I see it, just like the SONY PSP, Zune will eventually find a niche among people interested in loading it with adult videos and unprotected content that they make themselves. The Wifi feature is spectacular in that it allows people with these questionable videos and music to share them instantaneously. There is no listening/viewing time limit for unprotected files – Thank God.
If you are one of those people like Paris Hilton or the typical aspiring rapper who prefers to make your own content, Zune will allow you to share it very liberally without the hassles of being forced to go home and upload/download things.
Needless to say, Zune just might find some very interesting uses inside our schools, colleges and workplaces.

Of course, one thing that does worry me is whether or not the Zune could fall prey to a Wifi virus intent on turning it into a very lovely paperweight. Thus far, I've noticed that I can create Blocked lists to stop certain people from sharing songs on my Zune but I'm afraid that some MIT student could reverse engineer the technology and figure out horrible things to do to Zune's the world over.




IS ZUNE BETTER THAN THE IPOD ?


The biggest problem I see with Zune is that it is brand new to the marketplace. The Windows PC community has been waiting for Microsoft to trump Apple's Ipod for the past 5 years with absolutely no response. Meanwhile, Apple has released multiple generations of audio solutions: the Shuffle; the color versions of the 20GB and 40GB; the impressively priced, sized, operable Nano; and then a smaller thinner version of the 20GB and 40GB versions with video – not to mention a new Ipod Video with a very large screen face in the works right now.
Microsoft only has this one model to compete with a sea of Ipods.
That is certainly not going to be a good thing when people go to Best Buy or Circuit City and see how the entire market seems to be geared towards the Ipod with everything from The fantastic Bose Sounddock to the numerous cases, armbands and vanity items designed for people with Apple's player. As much as I hated Ipods due to their proprietary Itunes and their difficulty of use in the Windows XP environment, I swore I would personally never buy one. Of course, I should mention that when my sister bought a new slimline 30GB video Ipod, my jaw hit the floor when I saw how fabulous it was compared to the previous generation.

Not only is the Zune the newest kid on the block, living in Ipod's shadow, but, how can Zune compete with Ipod's runaway cult fanaticism? Ipod holds 75% of the entire digital media player market. That means that the remaining 25% is everything else, be it: Creative Lab Zens, Toshiba Gigabeats, Lyras, Rios, etc and now Microsoft finally, casually strolls into the market with the Zune !?!
If Microsoft has aspirations of capturing the market, they must create multiple iterations of Zune. A $100, small, thin player, like the Nano, with at least 2GB and a $200, smaller version of the Zune with about 15 Gigabytes of Flash memory rather than a Hard Disk Drive. One Zune is simply not enough.

There is also huge third party support for Ipods right now which Zune won't have for at least a year to worry about. Zune will have to face that opposition head on. In order to succeed, Zune must create a fanbase willing to purchase both it and as many 3rd party accessories are produced for it. What bothers me is that though Zune is a stellar player, better than the current Ipod in my opinion, its completeness – having radio and Wifi out of the box – means that there isn't much more that is required for it which places it right down there with the sea of Chinese import Digital players that offer the same things Zune offers sans Wifi.

People are willing to go out and spend upwards of $500 on a new Ipod and accessories with their credit cards due to name recognition for Apple's proprietary parts as a fashion accessory. What I doubt the current Ipod market is willing to do however is abandon their entire collection of purchased Itunes content. Though Zune can play AAC formatted audio and Apple's video codec,Zune cannot use Itunes store purchased music. That problem right there almost guarantees that Ipod's users aren't switching over no matter how much more the Zune offers as they'd be losing out on their previous investments. Apple certainly has created a beast of a player in the Ipod by forcing its proprietary rights onto its users – making certain they have no where to go except a new Ipod. Recently, they even released a device called Icopulate to transfer music from one Ipod to a newer one. There is almost no reason to even bother switching from Ipod to Zune…

….of course, after careful consideration of the offerings my Zune has, I see that there is no reason for a person who is new to digital media to purchase an Ipod over the Zune. Compared to the newest version of Ipod, the 30GB Ipod Video,
Zune is definitely the better buy.

For one thing, Zune offers, better sound quality, an always attractive embedded FM tuner - which Apple seems determined never to offer, and then, Zune features a larger, nicer screen and the Wifi capability already built in. Though early buyers may find themselves alone with no one to "share" music with, the possibilities of Wifi built into an audio player are boundless. Only recently have cellular phones such as Verizon's VCAST and Amp'd Mobile started to offer music/video download services to complement the purchase of their phones. Zune is ahead of the game in this respect.
Perhaps Microsoft might even loosen up on their Digital Media Rights policies or offer extended use to the Wifi by updating Zune's firmware!?!

Though Zune does not support infrastructure Wifi there is already talk about setting up Zune Wifi zones in restaraunts where Zunes can connect to the local wireless network - similar to connecting to a nearby Zune.

I definitely must say that between Zune and 30GB Ipod Video, Zune is the better offer and it is about time Microsoft fans were given a device - an alternative -to be proud of.