Player Zune Review

FM tuner included, wireless synching is convenient; large selection of size options

The Bad

Annoying pre-loaded content; not enough color choices; no Mac compatibility; slightly more expensive than the iPod players

The Bottom Line

The player Zune does have a lot of great features. Really, there’s not much difference between this model and most of the others on the market. Whether or not you choose a Zune or an iPod is really more a matter of preference and a few limited features.

Review

To compete with the dominating and seemingly unstoppable force that is the Apple iPod, Microsoft released the Player Zune. These devices were widely touted as the iPod-killer meaning it would inevitably lead to Apple’s downfall in the market. While that hasn’t happened, that doesn’t mean the player Zune doesn’t have some features you might want to consider.

The player Zune comes in a large number of sizes. You can find 4 GB models and huge 120 GB models, plus a lot of choices in between. Unfortunately, most of the models only come in black. There is a blue version of the 8 GB model and a special Gears of War 2 (a popular video game for the Xbox 360 console) version of the 120 GB model, however.

Like most of the MP3 players on the market, the player Zune offers pretty much the same features. It does offer an FM tuner which is something you won’t find on the Apple iPods so this could give the Microsoft model a bit of an advantage.

An even more impressive feature is the wireless synching ability. With this, your player Zune can transfer music between itself and your computer without having to be connected by wires. That can make the process much easier.

Depending on the size of the player Zune you select, you can get a fairly good size screen. The 4 GB version has a 1.8 inch LCD screen which is comparable to that you’ll find on the iPod Nano. With the 120 GB player Zune, you’re getting a 3.2 inch LCD screen. That’s larger than the 2.5 inch LCD screen on the 120 GB iPod Classic.

On the downside, the player Zune is not compatible with Mac and does not support music or video files that you purchase through iTunes which is the most popular store for entertainment-related downloads. Another drawback is that the player Zune comes equipped with pre-loaded content.

While many of the players come already equipped with games, such as solitaire, the Microsoft device goes further and includes actual songs and videos, too. Most music fans are not going to want this pre-loaded content and will find getting rid of it a bigger hassle in the long run.

In terms of price, the player Zune is a little more expensive. The 120GB version is about $10 higher than the same size iPod Classic. The price different between the 8GB Zune and the 8GB iPod Nano can be as much as $50 through some vendors.

You may want to check out my other guide on Creative Player and Mp3 Audio Player.