Zune
So I finally caved and purchased a new mp3 player on boxing day. I noticed that Best Buy had dropped the price of the Zune 16GB flash players $70, did a bit of research, and found that it was pretty comparable to the 16GB iPod Nano. Being a bit anti-Apple and not being a fan of the iTunes software, this seemed like a good option for me.
My first digital mp3 player was the iRiver H320. Waaaaay better than the original iPod with built-in features like a microphone, multiple headphone outputs, and FM tuner. The best features are the customizeable EQ settings and the fact that I don't need special software to load my music. It plugs in like a portable harddrive and I just click and drag whatever music files I want onto the player. The customizeable EQ settings were great and I could get some pretty phat, rumbling bass with a decent set of headphones. I liked my H320 so much that when the battery life had dropped down to <1 hr after years of use, I bought a 2200mAh 2nd generation iPod battery online and swapped out the old one. Voila, good as new with 130% battery life as it originally had with the 1700 mAh battery.
The Zune has got some nice features that put it on top of the nano IMO (including being $70 cheaper). I like the click pad a bit better than the iPod wheel - a matter of preference. It also has WiFi capability so I can sync it with my PC wirelessly. In the US there are hotspots at some McDonald's and Wal-Mart locations that you can connect to and update your music on the go. It allows you to send music/pictures/video to other Zune players in the same way people can send stuff phone-to-phone via Bluetooth. It does not approach the useability of the iTouch when it comes to WiFi but the iTouch is really in a league of it's own (and costs almost 3x as much). It does come built-in with an FM tuner but I don't really listen to the radio much so this isn't a big deal.
There were a couple of disappointments, the biggest being that it has no EQ settings or presets. I was playing around with my brother's iPod classic and the EQ presets don't really do anything (he is using the mediocre Apple earbuds that come with the player). I looooooooooove my bass and I usually crank it up. But on the Zune, I can hardly pick out the low frequency sounds...even with a good set of headphones. So much for tabbing out a bass line listening to my Zune. Also, the Zune Marketplace (the equivalent to iTunes) is only available in the United States. No dice for Canada or Australia.
If they added in a 5 band user EQ control to the player, this would be the perfect mp3 player for me. But because I can't get the same thumping bass that I can with my iRiver, I will be holding onto the big black brick and bringing it with me whenever portability isn't that important. Still, the Zune is a great alternative to the iPod and I hope to see them continue to improve their product and take away some of that market share that Apple hoards so well.
My first digital mp3 player was the iRiver H320. Waaaaay better than the original iPod with built-in features like a microphone, multiple headphone outputs, and FM tuner. The best features are the customizeable EQ settings and the fact that I don't need special software to load my music. It plugs in like a portable harddrive and I just click and drag whatever music files I want onto the player. The customizeable EQ settings were great and I could get some pretty phat, rumbling bass with a decent set of headphones. I liked my H320 so much that when the battery life had dropped down to <1 hr after years of use, I bought a 2200mAh 2nd generation iPod battery online and swapped out the old one. Voila, good as new with 130% battery life as it originally had with the 1700 mAh battery.
The Zune has got some nice features that put it on top of the nano IMO (including being $70 cheaper). I like the click pad a bit better than the iPod wheel - a matter of preference. It also has WiFi capability so I can sync it with my PC wirelessly. In the US there are hotspots at some McDonald's and Wal-Mart locations that you can connect to and update your music on the go. It allows you to send music/pictures/video to other Zune players in the same way people can send stuff phone-to-phone via Bluetooth. It does not approach the useability of the iTouch when it comes to WiFi but the iTouch is really in a league of it's own (and costs almost 3x as much). It does come built-in with an FM tuner but I don't really listen to the radio much so this isn't a big deal.
There were a couple of disappointments, the biggest being that it has no EQ settings or presets. I was playing around with my brother's iPod classic and the EQ presets don't really do anything (he is using the mediocre Apple earbuds that come with the player). I looooooooooove my bass and I usually crank it up. But on the Zune, I can hardly pick out the low frequency sounds...even with a good set of headphones. So much for tabbing out a bass line listening to my Zune. Also, the Zune Marketplace (the equivalent to iTunes) is only available in the United States. No dice for Canada or Australia.
If they added in a 5 band user EQ control to the player, this would be the perfect mp3 player for me. But because I can't get the same thumping bass that I can with my iRiver, I will be holding onto the big black brick and bringing it with me whenever portability isn't that important. Still, the Zune is a great alternative to the iPod and I hope to see them continue to improve their product and take away some of that market share that Apple hoards so well.
Labels: Electronics, Random
posted by Matt at 5:58 PM
1 Comments:
boo.
:p
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