Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michael Luevane on September 11, 2009 at 8:26am

Trying to start a flame war ??? j/k :)

I'm an iPod/iPhone user. Love it.
AT&T? Not so much. As soon as other carriers are available (next year, maybe...) I'm switching.

But for combination player/media manager, I think it's difficult to beat the iPod/iTunes combo.

Permalink Reply by Jamie Fellrath on September 11, 2009 at 9:01am

I think you're going to have a hard time finding folks who've actually used the Zune! I have an iPod touch and love it, but have no basis for comparison with the Zune.

Permalink Reply by Alex Loker on September 11, 2009 at 9:25am

Well, I have an ipod and it's a pain. The thing never syncs right, playlists are painful, etc. I might try a Sony Walkman (not the cassette - the mp3 player). It's got to have a better interface than Apples. The Zune sounds interesting, but I haven't tried it.

Permalink Reply by Arnold Kelly on September 11, 2009 at 9:52am

I figured that most people would be iPod/iPhone geeks. But it doesn't hurt to ask. ;)

So let me ask this (after I put on my asbestos underwear)...One of the features that I liked about the Zune is that if you are listening to the radio on it and find a song you like, you can "tag" it and then purchase it. If you are in a "hotspot" you can even purchase and download the song directly from the Zune player. Now I know you can tag songs for iPod on a car stereo with "iPod Song Tagging", but are you able to do that directly from the iPod itself?

What about HD Radio? Zune has recently introduced a touchscreen model with a built-in HD Radio receiver.

Not trying to start any flame wars...Just looking to compare the two. :)

Permalink Reply by Michael J. Austin on September 11, 2009 at 9:56am

I only know the 5th gen 30gb video iPod that I have been rocking for the last 3yrs. I only have music on it and it has been filled for sometime. We have a great bookshelf stereo at work with outstanding sound, plug the pod in and it sometimes makes the 13 hr shifts fly !!!!

Permalink Reply by Dutchman on September 11, 2009 at 1:33pm

Do you have the Zune HD? I picked up the original zune to test it out and was turned off by the menu button. So I returned it. I have to like the entire gadget for me to plunk down that much money for a device.
Now I havent handled the Zune HD yet. If that is better than the old zune I will buy it.
I am NOT a fan of Ipods... I hate Itunes. For me its so frigging Proprietary it drives me crazy.

Permalink Reply by Arnold Kelly on September 11, 2009 at 7:59pm

The Zune HD is only available for pre-order right now, so can't play with one yet. :(

Permalink Reply by Thomas Easterly on September 22, 2009 at 6:12am

OK - I have the original Zune, but I use Itunes for some purposes. My wife and kids are Ipod people. I live and work in Iraq right now, so there are some features that the Zune may have difficulty with. I like the way I can build a playlist on the fly with the Zune. I was hoping that with the new software released on the 15th that I would be able to download last season's television shows, but have not tried downloading a movie yet. I was unsuccessful in downloading an episode of 'House', so I am dependent upon Itunes to be able ot download. I could hook up to a wireless connection and download music on the fly before the Ipod came out with this feature. With the new software, I like how the Zune can auto-create a playlist.

Now I'm trying to create the Art of Manliness Playlist for this on Zune. I have downloaded the music I did not have, and have it to pump.

Permalink Reply by Jamie Q on September 22, 2009 at 11:02am

I just think the iPod is overrated (and therefore overpriced). There are zillions of mp3 players out there that do exactly what people want them to do (play digital music files well), but Apple has successfully brainwashed them into thinking that they have to have an iPod to get this functionality.

The funny thing is that most uneducated people refer to all mp3 players as "iPods," sort of the way all facial tissue has become "Kleenex." My brother-in-law has a Sansa Sandisk mp3 player (identical to my wife's), but he refers to it as his iPod. Of course, the difference is that his "iPod" only cost him $10 instead of $100.

The only thing special about Apple is its marketing genius.

Permalink Reply by Arnold Kelly on September 22, 2009 at 11:15am

So now that the new Zune HD is out, has anyone had the chance to play with it? What do you like or dislike about it?

Permalink Reply by Cody Erekson on December 1, 2009 at 2:32pm

Zune fan all the way...the only MS product that I've ever bought without it being "included with the new system." I don't care much for the Zune manager though; oh it's all right, there's definitely worse out there...but there's definitely better as well. The big advantage is that since it uses most of the same libraries and services as WMP, it doesn't have nearly the memory footprint nor the level of unwanted integration as iTunes. (Can I just state that I despise iTunes? Never have I had it installed where I didn't immediately begin having problems with my system.)

Fortunately, there's a nice package I found called ZSuite which allows for unlocking the Zune. I can now use either Explorer, iTunes, or Winamp (which is my media player of choice) to manage everything on the Zune.

It is sturdy, simple to use, has had very few problems, and amazing battery life. Fully charged, I get nearly 36 hours solid play time on my 30gb. And until recently, I've never seen another portable player with the picture quality of the Zune. You also can't beat the file format support...it can play just about anything without having to convert a bit.

And best yet, it's not trendy. Which makes me cool. ;)

Permalink Reply by Arnold Kelly on December 1, 2009 at 3:29pm

Since you've "unlocked" your Zune, have you tried using it on Linux? I kinda prefer Linux over Windows and ifI knew I could get my Zune to work there I'd load it on my laptop again. :)

Do you have the new Zune HD or one of the older models?

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page