bottom line
Tight software integration, a subscription plan, and slick design make the Zune an interesting, if not compelling, iPod alternative.

pros
Nice design. Easy-to use. Three-inch screen. Wireless music & photo sharing with other Zunes. Good integration with software.

cons
Small hard drive. Non-replaceable battery. Weak Battery Life. No PlaysForSure support. No Podcasts or Video offering in Zune marketplace.

The Microsoft Zune ($249.99 list) is a shot across iPod's bow. By tightly integrating the Zune device with the Zune online store, Microsoft has made a digital audio player that is nearly as easy to use as the iPod. It has even added some innovative features, like the ability to share songs and pictures with other Zune users via WiFi. Nonetheless, when compared to the iPod/iTunes combination, the Zune just doesn't have the refinement, diverse media offerings, or peripheral support that make the former such a dominant force in the digital music industry.


Although it has capacity of 30GB, the Zune is bigger and heavier than the 80GB iPod with video. In fact at 4.4 by 2.4 by .6-inches and 5.6-ounces, it is more comparable in size to first generation of iPod. Part of the reason for this, is that the device has a larger, 3-inch screen. You can still slip it into your front jeans' pocket, but just barely.

Offered in three colors-white, black, and brown-the Zune is not nearly as shiny as an iPod. Translucent plastic covers the device itself, which diffuses the color a bit. It also has a subtle texture that feels good in the hand. This is a nice feature and means you cannot scratch the paint-though you could conceivably scratch the plastic.



Product Guide: MP3 Players A New Front in the Apple/Microsoft War
Apple iPod (80GB)
When you first look at the Zune, you might think it is missing a few buttons. Microsoft is pushing simplicity here. The screen fills most of the face and delivers 320-by-240 images in portrait and landscape mode. Below is a navigation wheel that, unlike iPod's scroll wheel, is not touch sensitive but responds nicely to pushes. To the left is the back button and, on the right-hand side of the wheel, a play/pause button. That's it. The nav wheel is the focal point (aside from the screen) and is easily five times the size of the smaller buttons beside it. Holding the Zune, your thumb instinctively reaches for the center button. Within 30 seconds we were using the Zune to play music and watch the accompanying music video.

The interface has folders and levels, as you would expect. The main screen's options are Music, Video, Pictures, Community, and Settings. The nav wheel lets you move up and down the menu and the center of the wheel is used to select. The interface is remarkably straightforward, letting you drill down through albums to individual tracks in just a few clicks. We also liked the fact that you could take any picture (JPEG format, only) on the device and use it as your background image, it is just a nice way to personalize you device.

The audio quality on the Zune was very good. We tested them with the include earphones, with modest results, and the higher-end Etymotic ER6i's, which improved the player's sound significantly. The Zune software can play unprotected AAC, MP3, and WMA files. There is no Audible or .WAV support. It can also import WMA Lossless files, but it converts them to standard WMA in the process. Ideally, we would really like the player to support at least one lossless format natively, just to keep audiophiles happy.

Video-watchers should be somewhat more satisfied. Although this screen is half an inch larger than the 5.5-generation iPod, the resolution is the same, 320-by-240 (QVGA.) Still, the landscape view made for a better -video watching experience than the iPod. The Zune will play .WMV, MPEG4, and H264 video files, the latter two by converting them to .WMV during transfer. Unfortunately, the player doesn't support any DRM-protected video formats. Microsoft told us they want the Zune to take advantage of the types of viral videos that people forward to each other via email. That's a good thing because it will be hard to play anything but those on the Zune.

The video samples we loaded generally looked sharp and bright. We didn't notice any issues with reflection on the shiny screen indoors and the screen held up well in bright sunlight as well.

The player also has a built-in FM radio that picks up dozens of stations with almost startling clarity.