Microsoft Zune Review

Overall Rating

Interface and button scrolling, feel of case fantastic, FM Reciever, Zune Software (minus Marketplace).

Have not unleashed WiFI to full potential, not the smallest.

After buying this and hearing all the negative reviews I was confused to why it had such bad press. I presume its something to do with the age old Microsoft vs. Apple debate. As I take no side I will try and approach this review with an unbiased view.

So I should start with why I chose Zune over iPod or Creative. For me I personally have used lots of MP3 Players and there are a few main things you have to get right and the rest are just gimmicks you use very little or not at all. For me these important features you have to get right are the Interface and ease of use, the software to sync and how it manages the library, and most of all sound quality.

So for me based on the above I chose the Zune because:

1. Interface and ease of use:
No one comes close to Apple and the Zune in terms of interface you can anywhere you want quickly and easily but as I think the scroll wheel of the iPod is too much effort for me and prefer proper feedback of buttons the Zune won it for me, the buttons are responsive and scrolling is a doddle and no circular motion is needed.

2. The software.
Now its well known that iTunes is the industry leader here and it really is great software. The Zune software is just as good on many fronts but falls behind when it comes to purchasing tracks online, however as I am a strong anti-DRM campaigner and only buy CD's and rip them this is not a factor in my decision making process. I felt the Zune software looked good and handled my 150GB of files excellently and across a network too (as its stored on a NAS device). This is something I appreciate after using my partners Sony Connect software as it only support music stored on the same computer as the software and had to duplicate my music store. One small gripe is that the Album art retrieval sometimes failed to get the album art of some fairly popular albums.

3.Sound Quality
I tried an iPod 80GB Video , A Zune and a Sony NW-A1200 all with their supplied buds and also a pair of V-moda Vibes.

My opinion is as follows:
Supplied ear phones
1. Sony (by far the best quality out of all tested)
2. iPod
3. Zune

with V-Moda Vibe's
1. Sony again (shame the software is just unusable or based on these results I would of bought one)
2. Zune
3 iPod

Baring the above in mind however they all sounded great.

So that's the comparison I shall move on to living with the Zune on a day to day basis and ultimately does it cut the mustard.

Firstly I have to say how good it looks and feels and suspect it will hold up well against scratching as the material is a soft rubberised finish, I have none as of yet on mine. It is a little bigger than its rivals but not big enough to be a problem, it's not as if you are going to go running with it anyway and the trade off is that you get gorgeous looking good sized screen.

I found on a day to day basis that its battery is more than sufficient for a long haul flight or long trip on the road however as with most electronic devices it took a few charges before it performed to maximum performance.

It will be interesting to see what with later firmware releases MS will do with the WiFi feature but at current its pretty much useless. However as with most other reviews I have read they have marked the Zune down against other portable media players because of this added feature and I think this is just plain silly after all its an additional feature that others don't have, I agree yes they could of done more with it and they probably will but to knock it for trying just to me make the reviewers seem biased.

The FM Receiver is excellent its quick, very quick at searching, displays station name and additional text such as track name on many stations.

Video I am not going to go into in great detail as its not why I buy these devices but the loading of them was a quick and easy experience. They look good with no visible digital artefacts however support of more formats would of been better. There are many third party software programs that do the conversion for you and all work quite well.

They could of included a charger in the box, but the dock for me will resolve this issue, other may be annoyed.

Summary

For me the Zune is a wonderful easy to use device that stands up very well against the iPod (not to mention Creative) and as buying tracks from the manufacturers stores is not an issue for myself the Zune wins it for me it may be different if that was a consideration. Don't let the negative reviews put you off as I suspect its to do with amount of passionate Apple followers (and there's nothing wrong with that.)