Zune Vs. iPod – Which Player is Right for You?

This article brought to you by MyTechLists – Microsoft and Apple are finally going to be going head to head in the MP3 player market this holiday season. The price wars have already begun with Apple throwing the first punch by dropping the price of the newly upgraded 30 Gig iPod to $249.00. Microsoft returned fire by shaving the final price of the Zune to $249.00 (down from a previously reported $284).

Microsoft appears to be bringing out the big guns with this player, adding features like WiFi sharing that the iPod doesn’t have, pricing themselves below Apple’s dominant Mp3 player, and backing the Zune with a major media push that, so far, has included giveaways on The Ellen DeGeneres show, tech sites like Engadget and more. Plus they’re setting birds ON FIRE, so you KNOW they’re serious.

But the real question is…which device is right for YOU? Putting all hype aside for a minute, let’s look at the specs of the system, the features and services we know about, and the prices involved with each device. By comparing what we know now, you can get one of these bad boys on your wish lists early…and hope they don’t sell out.We’re going to be comparing the 30 Gig iPod to the 30 Gig Zune, since they are closest in price, storage, and battery life.

Storage – This is one category where the two players are even. Both are capable of storing 30 Gigs worth of date

Winner: n/a

Battery Life – The iPod sports a 14/4 hour battery life, while Microsoft’s Zune comes in just slightly under with 12 hours of power.

Winner: iPod

Screen – the iPod features a 2.5 inch diagonal screen, while the Zune has a slightly larger 3.0 inch diagonal screen.
Winner: Zune

OS Support – Zune only supports Windows. iPod, on the other hand, supports both Windows and Macs.

Winner: iPod

WiFi Connectivity – The current iPod features no Wifi connectivity whatsoever, Zune, however, is 802.11g Wifi enabled, and features a slew of sharing and broadcasting features…update: although they are limited through DRM and a shocking lack of WiFi to PC connectability
Winner: Zune

Brand Stability – This may not seem important at first, but the iPod is THE standard in MP3 players. It is an established brand that has little to no chance of going anywhere anytime soon, no matter how the “war” with Microsoft goes. Zune, however, is a new brand, and a new way of doing business for Microsoft. If it fails, this time next year you might not have a place to buy Zune content.

Winner: iPod

Content - This category is the one that has the opportunity to change the most. Right now the iPod, through iTunes, has thousands of songs, hundreds of TV shows, dozens of movies, and a handful of games to download for the device. As of this writing we still don’t know what all the Zune Marketplace will hold for Zune owners. It is safe to assume that the Zune Marketplace will feature TV and MOVIE content, but right now we don’t have any idea how that will go. So, for now at least, this one goes to Apple.

Winner: iPod

Navigation – The iPod clickwheel is simple to use, and an intuitive interface. The Zune circular buttons, are merely a directional pad. While video of the Zune UI looks stylish and eye catching, without a “clickwheel” styled nav control, it won’t be as smooth as the iPod.

Winner: iPod

FM Radio Capability – Zune comes with a built-in FM tuner. If you want to listen to radio on your iPod, you have to buy an accessory.

Winner: Zune

Download Choice – With iTunes, if you want to buy music, it will cost you .99 cents per song, or you can purchase by the album. With Zune, you’ll be able to choose from buying songs individually, or purchasing an “all-you-can-eat” subscription, allowing you to listen to as much music as you want. Microsoft’s decision to give users a choice, gives Zune the edge.

Winner: Zune

Size - The iPod is slimmer, mainly due to the lack of Wifi and FM Tuner built into the design.

Winner: iPod

Price – Apple just dropped the price of the 30 Gig iPod to $249. Microsoft has responded by, reportedly, marking down the Zune price from $284 to $249.

Winner: n/a

UPDATE 11/14/2006

There has been a lot of search engine traffic to this article in the last 24 hours, and I assume that it’s because the Zune has launched and users are trying to decide which system is right for them. With that in mind, I think there is one more category that we need to include when looking at the Zune Vs. iPod situation.

Payment Options – With the iTunes Music store it’s pretty simple. You have a credit card, you give them that information once, and then paying for your music is a click away. They charge you for your credit card when you buy an item and that is it. With the Zune Marketplace, however, you have to give them at least $5 dollars to buy “Microsoft Points” to pay for your music. Music is only 79 points – but that comes out to $.99 cents a song. What happens here, though, is that you end up having money left over almost constantly, that Microsoft is just keeping, while you wait to buy more content in the future. That’s like giving them an interest free loan. It’s unnecessarily complicated, and a real hassle – in my opinion.

Winner: iPod

Final totals:

iPod – 7

Zune – 4

Does that mean the iPod is your best buy this holiday season?

That depends. If the social aspects of Zune are appealing to you, and you’re a Windows user and you’re already using the Xbox 360 Marketplace, then Zune is probably worth looking at. If you’re not interested in the Wifi features, you will definetly want to look at the iPod, but in several important areas (screen size, download choice, price…). At least, that’s how it looked until the Zune actually came out, and just about everyone that’s reviewed it said it can’t hold a candle to the iPod. You can find links to CNNs review of the Zune, and others here.

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