Zune 3rd Generation
In Zune-land the buzz at the moment is all about the Zune HD, which is a direct competitor of Apple’s iPod Touch. However, Microsoft also produces more compact, flash-memory based Zunes which compete against products such as the iPod Nano and the Sony NWZ-S738F Walkman.
Like most portable music players from the big manufactures, flash-based Zunes are available in a variety of storage capacities: 4; 8, and 16GB. The prices are roughly similar to the iPod Nanos and the Sony NWZ-S738F Walkmans, so the choice between those options won’t have much to do with price.
On to the hardware. The flash-based Zunes come in a rectangular 3.6 x 1.6 x 0.33 inch slab with a 1.8 inch glass-covered screen positioned above the control pad. The control pad is touch-sensitive, and it’s very responsive and precise. It’s similar to a laptop’s touchpad: you navigate by sliding your finger in one of the four directions and select by clicking it. It takes a little getting used to but it works really well, particularly for scrolling quickly through long lists, which is exactly what navigation systems on MP3 players need to be good at. The interface, including how your library is organized, is also excellent.
Overall, the physical package of these Zunes is pretty bland. They’re not ugly, but neither are they particularly striking. However, to an extent that’s because they (like all high-end portable music players of today) are dominated by their screens.
And what about the screen on the Zunes? It’s excellent, and the fact that it’s glass-covered means that it’s scratch-resistant and has less optical distortion than the plastic-covered kind that most other portable music players have. That’s good, but on the other hand at 1.8 inches you have the classic dilemma for portable music players of this size: yes you can watch TV shows or movies on it, but would you really want to?
Like most portable music players in their class, the flash-based Zunes offer storage and playback of music and videos, storage and viewing of photos, games (only two, though more are available for download) and support for Audible and OverDrive audio books. Less common perhaps is the RBDS-enabled FM radio tuner, which allows you to see station and song information, and even to tag songs you like for later download.
A big feature of Zunes is their ‘social’ menu item. What this does is provide a way for you to connect with other Zune users, basically so that you can see what they listen to and get music recommendations from them. You can do this through Microsoft’s Zune Social network, and/or you can scan for other Zune users in your vicinity using Wi-Fi. That’s a cute idea, but seeing as your friends are very unlikely to have Zunes you’re going to have to befriend total strangers in order to make use of this feature. And that’s a bit odd.
Another big feature of these Zunes is Wi-Fi, and how it’s used with Zune Marketplace. Clearly Microsoft envisages that most Zune owners will want to sign up for a Zune Pass music subscription ($15 per month). Do so and you can then access the Zune Marketplace online to search for, browse and download unlimited music, and to keep up to 10 tracks a month totally DRM-free. That’s a great service when you’re in a Wi-Fi hotspot, but of course – it ain’t free.
Finally, sound quality on these Zunes is very good (some would say better than comparable iPods).
And the final verdict: at the moment, Microsoft is clearly positioning its portable music players as deluxe products for primarily the music lover. And a music lover or audiophile will be well served by the excellent sound quality, radio tuner, and option to use a Zune Pass for unlimited music on these Zunes. On the other hand if you aren’t willing to pay for a Zune Pass and aren’t as concerned by sound quality, then other devices (such as the iPod Nano) pack more gadgets and functionality into the same sized device and for the same price or less. The choice is yours.
