20 reasons why Zune is better than iPod

3 Responses for "20 reasons why Zune is better than iPod"

1. anonymous September 30th, 2008 at 2:21 pm 1

   Has anyone noticed that the new Nano’s have the Album art take up the whole screen like Zune’s have since the beginning?

2. Kart Go September 30th, 2008 at 2:50 pm 2

   I thought this article was pretty weak. Most of the arguments presented here can be refuted pretty easily. There are several other important reasons that the Zune is better than an iPod (mixview anyone?) that were completely omitted.

3. Minimum91 October 5th, 2008 at 5:36 am 3

   16. Preloaded Games
   There are times when one needs a distraction. Whether to procrastinate, entertain or to unleash those trigger-happy urges, the Zune provides the goods. Texas Hold ‘Em and Hextic are pre-installed, while tools such as the XNA toolkit allow developers to port games to the Zune as well.
   -This is not really a point, iPod has Preloaded games too.
    
   9. Line-in recording
   Unlike the iPod range, it’s possible to record audio using line-in recording. Even though many people probably won’t use it all that often, it’s a great feature to have for the times you really need the functionality. Line-in allows ‘line level’ recording, such as streaming audio to the Zune and recording it.
   - iPod does that too.
    
   11. WMV and WMA
   Oddly enough, Apple’s iPod range have no support for Microsoft’s WMV and WMA audio formats. The Zune has implemented these file formats along with the popular MP3, MP4, AAC and JPEG formats.
   -What about all those photo formats that iPod supports unlike the Zune?
    
   8. PAL resolution for TV-out
   Unlike the iPod, the Zune supports the PAL standard definition resolution of 576i/p (720×576). The iPod can only support 480i/p (640×480) which forces PAL television sets to scale the information, leaving it prone to image reproduction errors.
   - What the Hell? Where? I couldn’t use the Zune with my TV just because it did not have PAL!
    
   4. Price
   Based on the US pricing, the Zune looks to be cheaper than the iPod.  Sure, price isn’t everything but for some it can go a long way when making their decision on what media player to buy.  When you consider the many differences in features and the fact that the Zune is cheaper, the price is certainly an eye opener that makes you wonder how the iPod justifies its price point.
   - iPod Price: 249.00; Zune price: $249.99
   
   3. Two-way syncing
   One thing that people really hate about the iPod/iTunes combo is that you can put music in, but not take it back out. A high level of content control seems synonymous with Apple Corp and has given Microsoft a chance to offer something less restrictive. With the Zune, you have two-way synchronisation, making the players more user-friendly and therefore far more appealing
   -Just take your mouse, drag the song out of the iTunes library and boom. Wow.
    
   2. No required extra software
   Unlike iTunes, Zune software doesn’t force you to download extra software such as QuickTime. Users like to have choice, specifically the choice to install extra software, or not. There are QuickTime alternatives out there, after all.
   - Quicktime is not extra software. Quicktime is the Industry standard for H.264 and MPEG4 playback. Did you try playing some video in Zune software when there are no video codecs/players installed? 
    
   1. Decent earphones
   The iPod ear buds are notorious for their tinny sound and lack of bass. The Zune is bundled with respectable canal phones. The advantage is not only high fidelity sound but you don’t have to fork out extra cash to buy a decent pair of headphones like you do the second you take your iPod home.
   Oh, too bad Zune doesn’t come with premium earbuds anymore. iPod standard earbuds are as good as the standard Zune earbuds. 
    
   Now putting all this angry crowd stuff aside, I loved my Zune, I just sold it because there is no Mac support.
    
   Now, there is still time to write about 1000 reasons why Mac is better then PC.