AnandTech did a review of iPod vs. Zune<br><br>This is their conclusion:<br><br>"Audio Player<br><br>If you're looking at a device for playing audio, then look no further than the iPod Classic. Apple has had 6 product generations to refine the original iPod and it shows in every way. The battery life of the Classic is unmatched by anything else we've looked at, even the iPod Touch can't close to within 75% of the battery life of the Classic. Meanwhile the combination of the legendary click wheel and the iPod UI is effectively as close to perfection as anyone is going to get for usability; the wheel is sensitive enough to allow for minor adjustments while still allowing for anything to be done in one complete motion. Our only problem with the Classic are the earbuds: they're terrible, if you're buying a Classic make sure to buy some real earbuds to go with them.<br><br>Beyond the Classic we have the Touch. The Touch isn't a bad audio player, but if the Classic is perfection for an audio player then the Touch is the result of the compromises you have to reach in breaking away from perfection to do something new. The touch screen just can't make up for the click wheel, the flash memory is just too small for the price, the battery life is more than acceptable but the Classic does better. It's a good audio player, but we're looking for the best.<br><br>And finally there's the Zune. The Zune has the UI and the audio fidelity it needs to be a winner, it just doesn't have much else. The battery life is just acceptable and could stand to be a lot more. The Zune pad is an interesting concept but when it screws up it's frustrating. The Zune marketplace's payment scheme is awful should you need to purchase something you can't get DRM-free. It's never a bad audio player if you stay away from the Zune Marketplace, but in either case the Classic clearly surpasses it.<br><br>Video Player<br><br>When it comes to videos, we find ourselves favoring the iPod Touch above all else. The touch screen interface allows for the biggest screen among all of the devices we're reviewing today and the payoff is a high resolution screen with greater clarity than the Zune can offer. Furthermore the iTunes store is effectively the only game in town for TV shows and movies, so there's plenty of content to work with. The Touch isn't perfect, besides the earbuds (again) the 8GB/16GB limits of the device are problematic: although the battery life means you'll never be able to watch 8GB worth of video anyhow, you won't be able to carry a large selection of video. And the viewing angles are extremely harsh.<br><br>This is followed very closely by the Zune. Microsoft went in the right direction with the general Zune design (a hard drive based device with a large screen) but came up short in too many areas. The bright, vivid screen is fantastic but the resolution of the screen should have been greater; the screen door effect is there and you will probably notice it. The hard drive means there's plenty of space for video content, but the battery drain from powering the vivid screen and the hard drive means you won't even get in two movies on a single charge. And the Zune marketplace doesn't have any video content beyond music videos, so you don't have many legal options for filling your Zune. Ultimately if we had the higher resolution screen or a longer battery life, we'd be talking about the Zune being the best video player"<br><br>

Well, yes, this is something we've ALL known here for a long time! <br><br><br>My Wii: 5721 8516 7937 9434 (PM me if you Wii)

Yes, but I had heard that the new Zune was new and improved.<br>The good news is not improved enough.<br>And I'm happy if Apple is happy <br><br><br>

GREAT NEWS ! <br><br> My Ultimate Amazing Crap !

That is an ugly looking sucker to boot.<br><br><br>

Think of the Zune as a weapon like a brick that you can throw to protect your iPod <br><br> My Ultimate Amazing Crap !

I have some problems with these Zune -vs- iPod, PC centric idiots.<br><br>1 - [color:blue]Our only problem with the Classic are the earbuds: they're terrible,</font color=blue> <--- Now correct me if I am wrong - does the Zune come with some sort of listening device??????? if so was that compared as well ??? I have seem many reviews and they all pick on the ear buds BUT none have compared all the other mp3s players pre=packaged headphones or ear buds <-- what gives?<br><br>2 - [color:blue]The Zune has the UI and the audio fidelity it needs to be a winner</font color=blue> -- Is this even possible???? - I guess if I was a PC power user a MS UI would be like --- ahh coming home to mama, really the UI is subjective and the iPod sales is the true measure. As for the audio fidelity again???? did they test that Zune with the pre-package headphones??<br><br>All in all a good review - did someone ever review just the headphone/ear buds??<br><br><br>

[color:blue]"did someone ever review just the headphone/ear buds?"</font color=blue><br><br>I don't think the Apple earbuds have been reviewed separately.<br>Consumer Reports, for example, reviews MP3 players and gives a simple assessment of the headphone quality within the review.<br><br>Some individual earbud headphones that have very good reviews are V-moda, Shure, Sony, and Etymotic.<br><br><br><br>

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/V5ENLm0JsQw&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/V5ENLm0JsQw&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br><br><br>Salus populi suprema lex

That guy is animated.<br><br>"This Zune has all the features of the iPod except it's not as good." <br><br><br>