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20 reasons why the Microsoft Zune is better than the Apple iPod

By Vito Cassisi, 26/9/2008 2:07:04

Many audiophiles believe that Apple’s iPod range aren’t the best media players on the market with sub-par audio quality and limited functionality. While fancy, they are fairly basic with inflated prices. The iPod’s popularity is fuelled by fashionistas and passionate Apple fans but also by consumers that get caught up in the hype – buying Apple because it’s ‘cool’. The Microsoft Zune aims to change this, and to an extent, they already have. We’ve extracted the top 20 reasons why we believe the Zune is the better choice in the media player war.

20. Wi-Fi
The Zune was the first to implement Wi-Fi in their portable media player. Wi-Fi allows Zune users to exchange music and photos with other Zune devices, as well as to download media from the Zune store when connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot. It is also possible to sync your media wirelessly to a PC via the supported 802.11a/g protocols.

19. File sharing
Sharing the love is what humans do. Capitalising on the popularity of peer-to-peer networks, the Zune can share music and photos with people within a 9 meter range via Wi-Fi. The downside is that the music is sent with a 3 day use limit enforced by dynamically attached DRM. Despite this, it allows peers to share their interest in music, not to mention it ultimately supports the music industry.

18. Bigger screens
Video playback is only enjoyable when the screen is large enough to see the image clearly, without straining your eyes. Fortunately, the Zune screen is large enough to fit the frame of the player, making it easier to view from a distance. The resolution of the screen is on par with the iPod, making its size a key selling point.

17. FM Radio
Most would consider FM radio as an essential (and expected) feature of any media device. Nonetheless, Apple omitted this basic feature while the Zune, despite being similar in size to the iPod range, managed to fit it in nicely.

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.

15. Unlimited downloads
Zune’s Marketplace offers users a pay by month subscription which lets them download unlimited music. This is excellent for those who love their music, but don’t want to spend a fortune.

14. Social networking

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Comments

	Principessakika
	Very good points! As the owner of a gen1red30, I would have to agree with everything expressed here. I even bought an iPod Shuffle just to have an idea of what it would be like to deal with... Where is it now? Somewhere on a shelf, lol.
	9/29/2008 3:58:08 PM

	that's about right
	Thought this would be another Microsoft vs Apple thing, but you're on the money son, nice.
	9/29/2008 4:24:27 PM

	Alan
	The one big downside to the Zune is the confusing implementation of their "sync" capability. Songs that are deleted from the orginal PC directory are automatically deleted from the Zune when it is plugged back into that computer. My niece kept losing all her music when she plugged in her Zune to the family computer using an account other than hers (as her mom gave her a very restricted account). I had to do some serious research on the internet to find out how the sync process worked.
	9/29/2008 5:38:39 PM

	James
	As a Zune owner let me be the first to say, there is no mic in the zune and no line in recording... Already had this comment deleted once, but i will keep posting it...
	9/29/2008 10:55:06 PM

	wombat
	Wow, this article is full of false statements and half-truths. If that's the best you could come up with, why did you even bother to write anything?
	9/30/2008 12:48:07 AM

	wombat
	Wow, this article is full of false statements and half-truths. If that's the best you could come up with, why did you even bother to write anything?
	9/30/2008 1:00:30 AM

	Dave Jansen
	Hey James, your original comment about the microphone was only deleted because it was no longer relevant to the article since the error was oorrected. As always, we welcome feedback about articles on gadgetzone.
	9/30/2008 11:43:06 AM

	Anonymous Coward
	You know, the iPod has preinstalled games too...
	9/30/2008 5:14:35 PM

	Anonymous Coward
	Okay so apparently you just deleted my comment too. I'd like to reiterate a few things. First, the iPod comes preinstalled with three games, which is more than the two found on the Zune. Second, dimensions wise the iPod is about 9% smaller than the Zune, which is the same ratio of the weight difference, yet that isn't mentioned? Thirdly, they both have identical RRPs in the US of $249 for the 120GB version. No price different there.
	9/30/2008 5:30:06 PM

	Anonymous Coward
	And now my comment reappears, how bizarre.
	9/30/2008 5:30:59 PM

	Phil
	or you jumped to a conclusion?
	9/30/2008 7:03:11 PM

	Chicken McNobody
	About the price thing, yes they are the same price with the same ammount of storage, but yo uhave to pay $30 bucks more to get an FM tuner on an iPod. So you are getting more for your money right there, there are other features that could be thrown in as well, but this is the most relevant.
	10/1/2008 2:43:33 AM

	Matty
	I own a Zune80 and I live in Melbourne. After using the Zune for 2 months, I'm actually quite frustrated with it. It cannot play multidisc compilations properly, cannot repeat single songs, no video playlists, a sub par battery life without wifi, they got rid of the quicklist and u couldnt even transfer that list to your computer anyway and editing metadata on the zune software is so basic and the most painful thing to do, especially with a large music library. Also that big screen isnt that flash when the resolution is still at 320x240 with 65k colours, you can see individual pixels too easily. Basic functions when it comes to the music/video experience are lacking in the zune but are found in the ipod... But the Zune has made music discovery and listening to my music more enjoyable, it just needs a few more tweaks to be great.
	10/1/2008 3:46:44 AM

	Andy
	I am looking for anything other than Ipod. Have used Ipod for 3 years and I am sick of it. Other players have more features, and quality of sound and video sucks on Ipod. They are ripping people off...! I am willing to try Zune, Creative, or Sansa.
	10/1/2008 5:45:49 AM

	BeautifulZune
	Nice article. A few points are off though. First, the iPod does come with games. Second, I believe I read somewhere that MS is not going to be bundling premium headphones with the 3rd gen Zunes and going forward. The reason being that those who care are going to buy something else anyway.
	10/1/2008 5:53:36 AM

	wetworker
	Welcome to the social, I’m glad people are finally seeing the value in the zune, we early adopters knew that two years ago. …Haduken!!
	10/1/2008 7:19:04 AM

	Lucas
	No mention of the Zune Pass? Its what sold me!
	10/1/2008 9:40:17 AM

	Brian
	Sorry, but I think this meets the definition of EPIC FAIL. FM tuner? Really? You're probably one of the types who wouldn't buy a G1 because it doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone jack.
	10/1/2008 1:20:13 PM

	Jon
	I won a zune in a random drawing a few years ago, and was pleasently suprised. The UI is significantly better than the ipods (In my opinion), and I definately prefer the zune music organizer to the ipods (although itunes has some nice playlist creation features). The comment about sincing issues was dead on though. There were a couple of times where I would delete a folder that would have a song or two buried in it, and the next time I plugged in my zune, the song got earased. Not a huge deal once you know about it, but a bit frustrating.
	10/1/2008 2:51:28 PM

	Tuli
	Seriously, this is one of the most bogus articles ever. So many half-thruths. Not putting down the Zune (However poor it really is), but the author of this article really needs to check his/her facts about iTunes & iPod before writing such crap.
	10/1/2008 2:53:14 PM

	Huh?
	• iPod does both NTSC & PAL. It's under settings. • iPod comes with pre-loaded games and many many more are available from the iTunes Store
	10/1/2008 2:57:57 PM

	Notahijacker
	Ok -- I don't own either one of them, so I'm doubly frustrated by those above saying "bogus article" and "half-truths" without actually explaining what's bogus and what's a half-truth in the article. EPIC FAIL TO THE HATERS!
	10/1/2008 5:10:20 PM

	LolaBandita
	I have a Zune, my brother has an iPod that I steal fairly often, because I don't like my Zune. The Wi-Fi sharing is awesome.. if you can find another Zune user.. The FM radio is very temperamental, you can walk across our porch and lose signal. And no, that doesn't happen with other radios at our house.. it's not just bad signal. I've never used Buy From FM, so I don't know anything about that. The games are seriously crappy and you can't add more. My Zune came with headphones, but they aren't any better than the ones bundled with the iPod. The Zune is a pretty light device , but not noticeably lighter than any iPod I've ever messed with. If you're really being taxed by how heavy your media devices are, you might want to get your heart checked. One thing that didn't get mentioned on here is the controls. I was happy to hear that they were adding touch controls, but the new Zune touchpad is really sensitive. Too sensitive. I have quite a lot of music on my Zune, and if I'm not really careful I quickly zoom past what I was looking for. I was really glad when I figured out how to turn the touch controls off. I do like the fact that whatever letter of the alphabet you're zooming through displays on your screen when you're scrolling through the play list. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I think Alan is right about the stuff having to be removed from the program for it to no longer sync to your ZUNE. I don't really know, because I don't put stuff on there that I don't like. And before someone says "You're only being so critical because this is the first Zune you've messed with.." Let me stop you. I had one of the First Gen, brick shaped, huge Zunes. I still have it. I loved that thing. But after.. 3 years??.. its battery started not staying charged and the size of it started bothering me since I wasn't toting it around in my backpack anymore. So I decided to buy my new Zune. Hope this is helpful to someone.
	10/1/2008 7:03:10 PM

	EriK
	Actually, version 3.0 of the Zune Software enables you to manually synch all audio/video and photos, this will no longer delete the files on the Zune when you delete them on the PC.
	10/1/2008 7:57:34 PM

	Tommy_G
	I notice that "ease of use" was not in your top 20 list. With good reason I might add.
	10/1/2008 10:41:03 PM

	Scott
	At first I thought this article was from 2004, considering the Ipod in the picture is. But no, the Zune wasn't released until late 2006, 5 years after the original Ipod. You can't argue that a new Zune is better than an old Ipod...the Ipod touch is the current Ipod release and that has many of the features the Zunes have.
	10/1/2008 10:44:16 PM

	Seabear70
	I won't speak to the accuracy of the article or which one is better. I will say that every long time Ipod owner that has tried my Zune has bought one.
	10/1/2008 11:22:30 PM

	Craigevar
	This article seemed too much like advertising not reporting. Microsoft is this massive corporation with massive resources and this is the best they could come up with? It is ridiculous to say the least. I do not want to argue with my technology. I do not want something i have bought to tell me how to use it. my saw does not do this, my boots don't do this. why didn't they make it play java games? why restrict the file sharing by assuming we are all thieves. why make a substandard piece of equipment to please who, not the consumers but the drm people? well ask the drm people if they will buy your production run. modern corporations are designing and operating for the benefit of their corporate partners, well wake up, it is the consumers that will make or break your product.
	10/1/2008 11:47:38 PM

	Brian
	I have a first gen Zune 30, and I just recently bought a second gen iPod touch. If you compare the Zune to the touch, there is absolutely no contest. You get wifi that actually lets you go online, you have a massive library of applications you can download and add, the new genius playlist feature which works wonders, and it's much smaller and much lighter. I like my Zune, and will still give it love, but my new iPod touch blows it out of the water.
	10/2/2008 12:17:40 AM

	Kelly
	Let's go over this alittle bit; 1) Wi-fi - Available on the iPod Touch, downside to having it; it drains your battery faster. 2) File Sharing - You can use the iPod as an external, sure it isn't any hip as wireless, but it beats out the 3 day use by a long shot. And the touch has the feature to share actual files, not just songs as the zune does. 3) Bigger Screens - New iPod Nano and Touch have this covered. 4) FM Radio - There is the option as an add on on the class or nano and the fact it's an option is good, how many people still listen to the radio frequently. The touch has many applications that support this. 5) Pre-loaded games - All iPods come with them. On the touch you can download them and buy them wirelessly. 6) Unlimited downloads - sure iTMS doesn't have this. 7) Social networking - Ok so maybe the zune beats iPod here; to some degree. It's only as good as the number of friends who have one and the iPod touch has socail networking apps, for msn, aol, iChat, yahoo, twitter facebook and myspace (among others). 8) Weight - Arguable depending on the device. The zune 120 does beat out the classic, by about 12 grams, which you know would totally wear you out if you lugged around whole extra 12 grams for the day. The zune 4 GB weighs more then the iPod nano which is 8 or 16 GB. The nanos sell far more anyway. 9) Tool Kit - well if you want alot of diversified games you would go for the touch or the iPhone which do provide alot more features then your regular iPod/Zune possibilities. And the new iPod adds the accelerometer to them too, does the Zune have that? 10) . WMV and WMA - The iPod Support more formats, more then I am willing to list (google it people!) and iPod supports MP3, MP4, AAC and JPEG too. 11) Intuitive Interface - you can change the font size on the new iPods and well the whole music and video option was rather smart of Zune - if every other device that play music and videos didn't put it first. 12) Line-in recording - That fact is false, new iPods have line in capability. - This journalist needs to come out of the rock that he writes under. 13) Xbox 360 - Fair enough you win, but I don't have a 360 but I am not going to now or anytime soon either so I won't miss out on much. 14) Vista Windows Media Center Integration - iTunes does the same thing, thanks for finally coming up to speed. 15) Price - Another reason I think this write should have skipped the lobotomy his parents got him when he was a kid - they ARE the same price for the 120 and the classic, the touch is 20 dollars cheaper. The 4GB zune is $149, while the 8GB is the same price 16) Two-way syncing - Apple does only syncing with purchases to prevent mass privacy, I have't used a zune (nor will I ever) to really look in on this feature, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was something missing from that blurb that makes the zune not as friendly - does it let you 2 way sync all music or just the tunes you bought. 17) No required extra software - Well you claim you give customers choice, so how many programs can you use for the zune? Thought so, now that sir is lot of choice. 18) Decent earphones - I find they are excellent headphones from Apple and you can turn up the bass if you like. what I like about the iPods - they aren't UGLY. And you have the choice on colour a fair bit if you get the Nano.
	10/2/2008 12:44:17 AM

	IPOD4LIFE
	Oh you guys... like the Zune will even be here in a year or two. It's junk.
	10/2/2008 12:50:20 AM

	Kelly
	BTW how much did Microsoft pay you to write this? Here's a good visual comparassion of how many Ipods have been sold compared to Zunes. http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/05/zune_hits_2_million_sales_drinks_creatives_milkshake-2.html Also the market share of Zune to iPod is 4 to 71% - Hmm and what does that say?
	10/2/2008 12:52:31 AM

	Alex Robinson
	Umm yeah that article does fail on so many levels. Especially the wifi points. Yes you can 'squirt' music..but for 3 days or 3 plays?? What a bunch of arse! I think i'm happier having my wifi being used to umm surf the web, download apps from the app store (and yes that does include games than shiat all over the zunes games) A lot of this article is tenuous..and quite frankly the writer should be made to give half of his fee back, as less than half of the article is valid!
	10/2/2008 12:57:36 AM

	volley
	I love this line: "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." Yeah, even though many people don't actually use it, it's nice to have all the same. What!? That's a reason the zune is better than an iPod? BWAHAHAHAHA! Wow. While I am no Apple fan-boy, this article is just full of phail. I'm sorry, but seriously, this is hilarious. Thanks for the laugh, author. v
	10/2/2008 1:19:42 AM

	James
	I don't know what is more of a joke, this author, his jounralistic stylings, or the zune. The article has so much slant and half-truths I don't even know where to begin. I really hope everyone else (and it looks like it) notices it too.
	10/2/2008 2:03:22 AM

	Michael
	One major draw back. If you use a company computer that has automatic updates restricted you can not used the Zune at all. No music, games, social networking.
	10/2/2008 2:09:31 AM

	Apple Hater
	iPod's are for children. Zunes are for real men. iTunes is a complete resource hog on your computer. Windows Media Player is much faster and easier to use.
	10/2/2008 3:03:05 AM

	owner of both
	Wow, where to start. First thing is, I was an early adopter with a Gen1 30G and I love it. The FM tuner is what sold me on top of other things. This was after I progressed from an iPod shuffle-Nano-G5 iPod x 2-G2 Nano-Zune30G. I love my Zune, and currently have a Nano 3G that I give my 3 year old to play with when she is bored. The Zune is the winner with me as I love the Wifi sync too. The iPod touch is another ballpark. It is like comparing the iPhone or Treo to a Motorola Razor, or a Prius to a BMW. different classes. Love my Zune, battery life is fine still, Zune software is alrght, still needs some refining but better than iTunes by far. I cannot believe noone has mentioned the fact that MS actually provides you with the latest software updates for them for free with any enhancements to new versions that can be supported based on HW on older gen Zunes, you can get it, not like Apple. IF they added a menu option to the ipod, they call it a new generation and change the price. I went to buy a new 8GB Green Zune the other day becasue it is smaller and makes more sense for when I am out mowing the lawn, etc due to the size but they were out of the green ones, so I still love the Zune. BTW, I have both a Macbook Pro, and a Windows PC on my desk right now so I am no fan boy on either side.
	10/2/2008 3:06:54 AM

	Robert
	Applehater - "iPod's are for children. Zunes are for real men" ... ??? ... thanks for the hollow opinion, maybe you should sell that to zune before they catch on, your pearls of wisdom have real marketing potential! owner of both - if the iPod touch is out of the ball park, why are you mentioning the software upgrade, afterall it was only for the iPod Touch so it holds no real basis in your arguement and did the software update for zune allow you to write email, check weather, stocks and add hundreds of applications to the zune? so it is also out of the ball park. Also, I have never heard of them adding just a menu and raising the price, they usually add several features and they keep the same price. Now if you compare the cost online of an older generation iPod to a new one, there is a price difference why? because they drop the price of the old generation because it is less then the new iPod. That comparassion is like going to a used car dealership and expecting to get a new car for the same price as an old one. Nice try but your response is an epic fail!
	10/2/2008 3:30:21 AM

	Ya-son
	How come no one ever mentions that the Zune's squared-off sides allow me to sit it on a table or any flat surface to watch movies without having to hold it in my hands and look straight own for hours at a time? That, and the Zune doesn't have that annoying click wheel that inevitably goes too far in either directions, causing limitless frustration and an almost complete inability to ong that I want....?
	10/2/2008 4:05:40 AM

	Terminalx
	Actually, you can add hundreds of apps with the XNA toolkit Apple charged users for a FIRMWARE update (touch users paid 9.95) Zune was free for the EXACT same update I'd like to point out that the Zune is a MP3 player the touch is a PDA with a mp3 player please stop confusing the two
	10/2/2008 7:37:19 AM

	Leo
	I left a turd more valuable than a Zune. It was prettier too.
	10/3/2008 12:05:52 AM

	Lanke
	You know you guys breaking down this article are comparing one zune to like 4 different ipods, ipod touch, iphone, ipod classic and ipod nano. the fact is you don't have all those devices in one. Compare it to a similair device, the ipod classic. Essentially it's like comparing cars in the same class, you don't compare a corvette to a ford focus do you? no, so let's begin, first of all, criticisers of the 3 play rule, legally you have to do that, if it was unlimited legally they just couldn't do it, it would be like napster all over again. Besides don't knock a feature that the ipod doesn't even have. yes they offer firmware updates for free too. oh my god. whilst apple(the company that apparently cares about their customers so much) charged their customers for a firmware update. The fact is my dad has a first generation zune and with that firmware update it has all the features that my brand new 120 gb has, that includes, wi fi sync and a wifi marketplace, everything. The life of your device is prolonged greatly , also as stated above with the person that "broke down" this article, the two way sync is amazing, you know how with an ipod and itunes that if you get a new computer you have to rip all your cd's over again, or get an external hard drive, haha well i reverse synced my zune to my lappy, all of my videos, all 185 of them and all of my music, 60 gbs of media altogether, where on my new computer in ten minutes.itunes has not a leg to stand on when it comes to this. and all the people knocking the style, have youseen a new one, cause the fact is the picture at the top of this article of the zune is two years old. other fact is people keep bringing in the fact that we are comparing it to the ipod touch too as far as firmware upgrades, well look at it this way, THEY DON"T EVEN OFFER THEM FOR THE CLASSIC! How can you even sneeze at that? Appalling. and with the wifi andtennea built in, who is to say that they won't add a internet browser with,(and this is the amazing part) our firmware upgrade, for FREE! can you buy music from an ipod classic, NO! can you even customize your background, even in your coveted(or so is to believed) ipod touch, NO! what a basic and amazing feature that apple can't get through their brain. just becuase you wasted a couple hundred on what essentially is a white brick with a picture of a fruit on the back, well it sould be burned in effigy
	10/3/2008 5:37:00 PM

	CrashPad
	You gotta expect the pple fanbois to come down on this article like a wave. They hate on anything that remotely puts a bad light on their holy grail of Apple. Fortunately their are not taken seriously in the final analysis of this article. Really they mean nothing, their comments reflect the subjective slant and most foks can see through this.
	10/6/2008 2:08:07 AM

	Andy
	Ipods looks like makeup accessories.
	10/7/2008 2:58:30 AM

	PF
	Did Steve Balmer write this? He's one of the few people on earth who claims that Zune is better than the iPod. But, he gets paid to say that. I can't wait till Zune gives iPod some stiff competition so that we can have lower prices and better products from everyone.
	10/8/2008 1:10:44 AM

	Tim T.
	Line In Recording? My Zune has no Line in! And #1 were the earphones? The earphones are of no better quality than the standard earbuds that come with anything. The only difference is thier design, they fit in the canal of your ears to keep air and sound from escaping. This only creates an illusion that the sound is fuller, but quality wise its the same thing we've been getting for years. #2 No extra software) Well ok but that id overshadowed by the fact that the Zune Software is an unstable and limited mess, restricting you and controling what you can do. Its also does'nt have a very intuitive interface. Finding out how to do something simple like setting a Zune as a Guess after its been linked as chore. If more fustrating when you sync from more than one computer.
	10/8/2008 4:27:52 AM

	John
	People, get a life..... It's a freaking music player, we aren't curing cancer here. If you like the Zune, buy one. If you like IPods, buy one of those. If you feel the need to write 100+ word responses pro/con on either, try expending that energy learning to talk to members of the opposite sex instead.....
	10/9/2008 6:25:00 AM

	Lasher
	I have a Zune for one reason.. ZUNE PASS! Is no one else realizing this? I have 7000 songs on my Zune which I pay 15 bucks a month. If I downloaded songs on itunes for a buck each.. well, you do the math. Skys the limit with the Zune-
	10/21/2008 11:40:58 AM

	meinrosebud
	Yeah John IS right it is just a media player. Buy one, don't buy one just get over this brand envy thing.
	11/15/2008 6:06:02 PM

	Tyler
	I think a lot of you people are forgetting that we're talking about mp3 players, not cell phones or hand-held gaming devices. i bought a zune at launch and have been very pleased with it since. the interface is extremely easy to navigate - i'm glad there isn't a "scroll wheel" on the zune. what's the obsession with touch screens? aren't buttons good enough?
	12/6/2008 6:02:22 AM

	delroy
	Zunes are ugly
	2/23/2009 8:36:11 PM

	Thunder
	Teehee I made a post! But anyways, I have an ipod nano 4th gen and i am very pleased with it except for the fact that i cant use the newest itunes on my windows 2000. I hope you have fun with your zuns too though.
	3/24/2009 1:47:31 PM

	Krystal
	I have a Zune. I've never had a problem with it. People who complain about the control system are simply use to using Ipod's overly simplistic click wheel. What is so hard about going up, down, left, right, and click? I recently saw my friend's Itunes, greys and greens, ugly, while my Zune home is much cleaner and inviting, rather than aesthetic. My Zune has never, I repeat, never frozen, while my friend battles her i-pod when it freezes. I'm quite happy with my zune, I don't plan on ever feeding the I-Pod machine. :D (And after all, Zune is a tad bit more friendly with music sharing. My friend attempted to send me a few songs that unfortunately seemed to be MP4..My god, it's easier to download FLV videos off of youtube than it is to get those files to be compatible so I can even listen to it.)
	6/5/2009 9:23:14 AM

	Richard
	I've had an iPod and Zune. iPod - Music quality was decent, iTunes was never great to deal with. Thing started locking up on me after 10 months, and flat out died within a year. Zune - Music quality MUCH better, the software is a LOT better, been over a year, and the battery life is WAY better than ipods. I would never consider buying an ipod again as long as zune is around!
	6/26/2009 3:27:35 PM