Zune versus iPod - War of Music Player
Read More MP3 / Digital Music Player
Apple’s Warrior: iPod 30GB Model
Microsoft’s Warrior: Zune 30GB Model
[View More Pictures of Zune Music Player]
Comparision Chart Between Zune and iPod
|
Features / Specifications |
iPod |
Zune Player |
Winner |
|
Hard Drive |
30GB Harddisk |
30GB Harddisk |
Tie |
|
Height |
4.1 inches |
4.4 inches |
iPod |
|
Width |
2.4 inches |
2.4 inches |
Tie |
|
Depth |
0.43 inches |
0.58 inches |
iPod |
|
Weight |
4.8 ounces |
5.5 ounces |
iPod |
|
Screen |
2.5 inches LCD |
3.0 inches LCD |
Zune |
|
Supported Audio Formats |
AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV |
H.264, MP3, WAV, AAC and WMA |
No Clear Winner. |
|
Supported Video Formats |
H.264, MPEG-4, |
WMV, MPEG-4 |
No Clear Winner. |
|
WiFi |
No |
Yes. 802.11b/g |
Zune |
|
DJ Mode |
No |
Yes. Broadcasts songs that you are listening. |
Zune |
|
Navigation |
Famous Wheel Navigation. |
Arrow Navigation which Up, Down, Left and Right controls |
iPod. iPod’s ease of use navigation system makes it a unique product. |
|
Built-in FM radio tuner |
No |
Yes |
Zune |
|
TV Output |
Yes |
Yes |
Tie |
|
Picture Viewer |
Yes |
Yes |
Tie |
|
Supported Operating System |
Mac and Windows 2000 and Later |
Windows OS only. |
iPod |
Overall Conclusions:
Zune doesn’t impress us in her hardware specifications besides having bigger screen, built-in FM tuner to save you from buying iPod’s FM Tuner accessory, and Wi-Fi chip to support music sharing and broadcasting.
In fact, Zune is bulkier than iPod by about 15% which is an important fact for those of you who think that your current iPod is heavy and you want to buy a Zune for replacement. Besides that, the overall size of Zune is also bigger than iPod.
It looks like Microsoft wants to copy Napster’s music sharing idea to beat Apple. AdminPick.com editors think Zune doesn’t look that promising in hardware specifications but the built-in Wi-Fi chip with good software for features like DJ Mode and music sharing might be the killer for iPod.
After all, Microsoft is more or less a software development company rather than a hardware development company. Hence, Microsoft’s lethal weapon might be the applications that power the Zune to ease our lives in not just music playing but also music sharing, social networking through music and so on.
Microsoft hasn’t releaseed the price for Zune music player. It is very positive that Microsoft will make Zune music player cheaper than iPod likes what Microsoft did for Xbox to compete with Sony’s Play Station gaming device.
References
http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html
tags: zune, ipod, music player, Mp3 player, zune ipod comparison
September 25th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
[...] Microsoft, the famous copycat, is entering the digital music player by releasing the Zune digital music player which is designed to compete with Apple’s iPod. The reason why Microsoft does that is because they realize that digital music market is so profitable. The same reason also brings Nokia into this competitive market. Recently, Nokia has announced two new cellular phones and branded them as “Express Music” which obviously wants consumers to buy the new “Express Music” cellular phones instead of standalone digital music player. [...]
October 3rd, 2006 at 12:19 am
[...] Apple is facing competitions from all corners. First, Apple has Microsoft’s Zune attacking her iPod digital music player market, and then this Sony VAIO VGC-LS1 All-in-One Personal Computer is going to pose a strong challenge to iMac. The outlook of the Sony VAIO VGC-LS1 All-in-One Personal Computer is pretty sharp and up to the standards of Apple’s products. [...]
October 4th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
[...] While Microsoft Zune and Apple’s iPod are fighting each other in the digital music player market, AdminPick.com recommends all of you to thrash your iPod music players to save your life. Why? Look at the pictures that shows a 17 years old Colorado boy named Jason Bunch got struck by lightning while mowing the lawn and listening to his iPod. [...]
October 8th, 2006 at 7:54 pm
[...] Unlike Microsoft, who always jump into others market after seeing others making money (the perfect example right now is the fight between Zune and iPod in digital music player industry), Toshiba, on the other hand, is more creative and innovative in coming out great and excellent gadgets. [...]