The Zune was released Sept. 15. (CU Independent/Adam Alberti)
After much hype and speculation, Microsoft’s answer to the iPod, the Zune HD, has finally arrived.
Microsoft has taken a notable step forward in the world of digital music with the new HD, and certainly competes with the iPod touch in hardware. The revamped Zune sports a full-touch interface, 3.3 inch OLED screen, HD radio and Web browsing capabilities.
Everything about the HD screams cutting-edge. From its slim, sleek design to its stunning interface, the Zune does a great job of impressing anyone. All the menus are appealing, and the HD even pulls artist information and pictures from Zune Marketplace that displays while playing tracks.
One of the marquee features in the Zune is its Wi-Fi capabilities. When the HD is connected to any wireless network, it is capable of browsing the Web or searching the Zune Marketplace. The Web browser is very similar to that of the iPod Touch or iPhone’s; it’s nothing revolutionary in mobile Internet. It renders Web sites quickly, and is easy to zoom in and out of pages using the pinch method employed by Apple’s devices. The browser shares Apple’s mistake of not supporting Flash. This means that Flash videos or graphics won’t be available this time around.
The most intriguing and convenient aspect of the Zune’s Wi-Fi capabilities is the ability to peruse the Zune Marketplace remotely. This means that users can sit at any Wi-Fi hotspot and search the entire music library of the Marketplace and download songs on the go. This feature offers a whole new level of convenience.
The newest Zune includes an HD radio that displays song and artist information for any track playing on HD-compatible stations (the vast majority of urban radio stations). In addition to displaying the track information, it also allows the user to “tag” the song for future downloading on the Marketplace. There’s a slight issue with this feature however: some stations will not display the HD information if you don’t have perfect reception (Boulder tends to have slightly worse reception than other cities such as Denver).
Perhaps the greatest advantage of the Zune is the music subscription service, the Zune Pass. For $15 per month, the user can download an unlimited amount of music from the Zune Marketplace. In addition, the service supplies 10 “free” tracks. Ultimately, with the Zune Pass, $5 a month pays for unlimited amounts of music.
While the HD has some great features and a solid music service, it’s doubtful it will make a dent in the iPod’s massive sales margin for one simple reason: there’s no application library like there is for the iPod Touch and iPhone. The Zune has a few applications, but Microsoft has no plans to expand at the rate that Apple has expanded. Microsoft has stated that it will not allow independent developers to make apps for the HD and sell them. Instead, the company has plans to release a few apps with the help of select third-party developers.
In all, the Zune HD is a fine piece of hardware. It is fun to use and appealing to the eyes. And with the Zune Pass, the HD is the obvious choice for anyone who is on a budget but still wants a high quality MP3 player. However, for Apple-centric users, the Zune offers no reason to make the switch.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Adam Alberti at Adam.alberti@colorado.edu.
2 comments
Good round-up of the Zune HD, but I wanted to point one thing out:
“The browser shares Apple’s mistake of not supporting Flash.”
That is not a mistake on the part of Apple or Microsoft. Adobe simply hasn’t released a version of Flash that is able to run effectively on mobile devices (which is why you don’t see it on cell phone browsers either). Once Adobe releases a version of Flash that can run on mobile devices without making them choke, then I’m sure Apple and Microsoft will both jump on the bandwagon and add support for it.
heres a better review for those who are actually curious about the Zune HD.
http://gizmodo.com/5360126/zune-hd-review-the-pmp-evolved