So, Microsoft Corporation just announced the Fall ’09 release of the Zune HD, Zune’s newest and best answer to iPod, which has of course dominated the mp3 multi-function device market since…well, forever.
With the Zune franchise, Microsoft has tried its best not to follow in the path of Apple, focusing on a few different emphases.
Here’s a quick comparison between the newest Zune HD vs. iPod Touch…
| Comparison | Zune HD | iPod touch | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes | draw |
| Screen Size | 3.3 | 3.5 | iPod touch |
| Screen Resolution | 480p | 480p | draw |
| HD Video Out | Yes | No | Zune HD |
| Built-in Radio Tuner | Yes (HD radio) | No | Zune HD |
| Built-in Application Store | No | Yes | iPod touch |
| Wi-Fi connect | Yes | Yes | draw |
| Web Browsing | Yes | Yes | draw |
Ok, here’s the deal. I’m not a fashionably sold-out Mac lover, but neither am I a stubborn PC cult-geek. So let’s just leave all the prejudices and emotions out of the equation and try to see which of these devices is better.
Zune HD Video vs iPod Touch Video
In my opinion, this is the biggest advantage the Zune HD will have over the iPod Touch. Although the 3.3″ screen on the device itself will not display HD (why would it need to? Its 480p function transcends the human eye’s ability to see pixels anyway), the ability to hook it up to an HD TV and watch content in 720p is way cool. Since the soon-to-be overhauled Zune platform is integrated with Microsoft’s Xbox, and Xbox Live is integrated with Netflix, maybe Zune users will be able to rent and download HD movies from Netflix to their Zunes, without having to mess with file conversion? That would be cool.
HD Radio
Zune marketing continues to highlight the Zune HD‘s radio-tuning ability (which they’ve had since the original Zune) as its break-out functionality over the non-radio iPod. The internal tuner has gotten a little cooler now with HD radio (although this technology is understandably less mainstream than HD video), and a feature that lets users “tag” the song playing, so that they can easily buy it later, which is neat. But is it just me, or does “radio” sound pretty mid-20th century? Microsoft is going up against the Apple iPod monster, and half of its marketing game plan is “let’s say ‘radio’ a lot?”
The Social
The Social is another heavily-marketed feature of the Zune franchise. It pulls data from each user’s device (if allowed), and shares your listening tastes with the Zune-using community online, as well as providing a forum for discussions.
The App Store
Apple offers the App Store built-in to the iPhone and Touch. The store allows cheap access to over 35,000 different programs to customize the functionality of the device. You want to find out what song you are hearing in the elevator? “There’s an App for that.” (hold up your Touch to the speaker, let it listen, and it’ll identify the song for you.) As there is for finding nearby businesses without typing in any clunky and unnecessary data like your address, or finding out if a shelf is level, or what direction you are heading. The App store is uber-popular as a software solution to ultimate multi-functionality with ability for constant updates and progress without a hardware upgrade. I think Microsoft would do well to swallow their pride and imitate the App Store in some way for the Zune HD.
Price Comparison
The Zune HD 16GB sells for $155, compared to the iPod Touch 16GB that sells for $269…$114 bucks cheaper!
The Zune HD 32GB sells for $196, compared to the iPod Touch 32GB that sells for $268…$72 bucks cheaper!
The Zune HD 64GB sells for $258, compared to the iPod Touch 64GB that sells for $340…$82 bucks cheaper!
*starting prices
The Zune HD 16GB will sell for $219, compare that to the 16GB iPod Touch which sells for $290…$71 bucks cheaper!
The Zune HD 32GB MP3 will sell for $289, compare that to the 32GB iPod Touch which sells for $370…$81 bucks cheaper!
Thanks for reading!