Zune Review.

[WiFi.com]

Microsoft Zune Review


We had a chance to fiddle around with the Zune this afternoon and wanted to share our thoughts with our WiFi.com readers. The review is a compilation of feelings from the WiFi.com web designer and myself. I say that because we describe the functionality of the Zune similarly but we differed in our opinions of the functionality. We believe it is because she is a die-hard iPod junkie and I feel the iPod was the worst impulse buy I have ever made. So, please expect there to be some bias in our interpretations of the Zune. This is a good thing though because we offset each other rather nicely!

First Impressions:
It was delivered in the mail, so we had to fish it out of a box before getting to the box. The look and feel of the packaging was very much like what you would expect if purchasing an iPod – high quality, smooth feel, and perception of “It must be worth the price.” Once we started to get into the box it was easy to tell they spent a good deal of capital on creating a unique package for the Zune. Personally, it screamed, “We want to be better than Apple.”

The contents of the box were; one Zune media player, one set of ear buds, one Zune USB cable, one product guide, one quick start booklet, and one Zune case. There was also a cardboard “Free Trial” pass with a download code.

Starting with the “Free Trial” pass, we immediately noticed the smaller print which informs you the pass is good for 14 days after activation and “at the conclusion of the trial period, songs will no longer play…” Considering the rumors about Microsoft ponying up free songs to new “Zuners” before launch, I felt winded. What they are saying is, “You can download all the songs you want in 14 days and then we will be taking them back unless you purchase a subscription.” Does this mean I can send the Zune back after 14 days, and get my money returned?

Looking at the Zune and components, lets start with media player. We have a white Zune and unanimously decided we would rather have the black one, followed by the brown one, and lastly the white one. We didn’t have a choice on color when we purchased it, so we ended up with a white Zune. The player is quite heavy. The screen is very nice and bigger than the video iPod. There are pictures and movies pre-installed on the player and we were both satisfied with the quality. I feel very spoiled with a PlayStation Portable (PSP) because the screen is much bigger than the Zune, but the Zune doesn’t disappoint.

Operation:
Hooking up the Zune through your computer USB port(s) was as simple as plugging in the toaster. Only you have one extra step with attaching the cable to the Zune player and the USB port. There is no docking station, like in some cases with the iPod (the 20GB iPod had one but the 30GB video iPod did not), so you just plug the fatter end of the cable right into the bottom of the player. Getting the menu screen to come up was pretty intuitive, just pushed down in the center of the circular pad and she fired right up. We had to do this after plugging in the cable because the battery is not charged when you receive it. The Zune will charge and can be used while plugged into the computer.

Unlike the iPod, moving your finger around it does not operate the circular pad on the Zune. The pad is just shaped like a circle with five buttons which function on the pad. When depressed, the center of the circle turns the Zune on. The other, directional, buttons control scrolling up and down the menu, side to side in the menu, and volume. The one smart thing about the volume control for the Zune is when you are watching video (in the sideways position) raising or lowering the sound is up or down on the pad. This is relative because if you are listening to music the player is oriented vertically, 90 degrees clockwise of watching video. Microsoft was smart enough to have the volume operated in this position using the top and bottom of the circular pad in correlation with the function of the player. In other words, whatever way you are viewing the screen the volume will always be in the up or down positions on the pad. I’m actually pleasantly surprised they did that. You see, consumer research does pay off.

Menus:
There are six options in the main menu; music, videos, pictures, radio, community, and settings. Not unlike the iPod, the Zune has music options to store by; songs, genre, albums, or playlists. For the video section your options are; all videos, music videos, or movies. The pictures section offers two ways to search; view folders or by date. You can also use the slideshow function to have the Zune slowly scroll through a set of pictures in a folder. These options seemed like standards for a decent media device and both the iPod and Zune deliver.

Something we both thought was rather cool was the radio menu on the Zune. It has a built in FM radio tuner and we had no problem dialing in all the local stations. Although we were happy with the radio functionality, we both felt it needs to have the AM band too. I didn’t realize FM was different in Japan, North America, and Europe but the Zune has options for each in the settings menu.

The community options are; inbox, me, and nearby. Although I’m not exactly sure about the inbox, it appears people (other “Zuners”) or Zune can leave you messages (email) via the software package needed to download media. I only went in and setup an account. Immediately following the setup my mind gravitated back to the “Free Trial” card, I got irritated and shut it down. The “me” option displays your Zune community username and what you are currently using; i.e. radio, movies, music. The last option, “nearby,” sets the Zune into WiFi mode. It will start searching for other Zunes in the area. In essence, the Zune has an option to move music wirelessly. Although we don’t have a second Zune to try this out we both feel this is one of the Zunes better functions.

The settings menu is pretty straightforward. It basically allows you to make changes to the other parts of the menu, to include; turning wireless mode on and off, changing your Zune display (backlighting, themes, etc.), set the equalizer for music, and much more.

We had heard through the grapevine the menu for the Zune was not very easy to navigate. I disagree slightly with this thought. Granted, I don’t have much experience with the iPod, but being an avid gamer the Zune menu came naturally. I can understand someone having trouble if they are a first timer, but they would likely have issues with the iPod too. One thing I now agree with (after playing with the Zune a couple days) is the menu is easy to navigate through but getting back to the original menu is not flexible. In essence, if you get three pages deep in the Zune you have to reverse three pages to get back to where you started. I would think being an Internet software giant that Microsoft would have figured out we need a “back” or “home” button. I’m guessing we will see a lot of patches with this unit (It’s Microsoft), so perhaps they can consider adding that little bit of functionality. It would go a long way.

Overall:
I had a chance to show it off to some friends yesterday, a couple of which are iPodders. I would consider one friend fairly rabid about Apple products; he has never owned a PC and has a name for his iPod. He is married and I wonder if his wife knows he is cheating on her. Anyhow, I let them play around with the Zune for awhile and in both cases the things that popped for them were; 1) the size of the screen, 2) the case, 3) the circular operations pad, and 4) the lack of .mpeg support.

Number four is a pretty big deal to me too. Ok, so it is a Microsoft product (built by Toshiba), but restricting us to Windows Media Video (.wmv) is plain silly. Apple did the same thing when they initially launched iTunes and it turned me away with a quickness. If your product is robust and flexible then I will continue to purchase from you. Just don’t bulldog me, et al, into your format for the purposes of leeching the consumer. Zune does support .mp3.

Not much to say about the screen, it is better than the iPod and nowhere near as good as the PSP. Speaking of which, the PSP is an incredible product but where the iPod and Zune trump it is the memory size. The first Zune has 30GB of memory and the iPod comes in versions with much greater. The PSP uses memory stick technology and the largest available at this time is 2GB. That could be a lot of memory sticks if you have a sizable music or video library. Anyhow, the Zune screen is better than the iPod.

The case is very interesting. When looking at pictures of the Zune online it appears to be a flat white, black, or brown color. What you can’t see very well is the clear protective cover, which is built around the unit. It is basically a scratch-resistant material, which I assume, helps protect the color and the rest of the unit as a whole. It doesn’t look cheesy though, it appears to just be a part of the product design – which it is. I will try and post some pictures later to show you.

Lastly, the circular operations pad. This probably will not bother first time users of the Zune. However, if you have an iPod or have used one frequently enough to get used to the sliding pressure wheel, you will probably detest the Zune. The Zune operations pad looks very similar to the iPod and when I first tried to operate it I found myself trying to scroll around the outside of the pad in a circular motion – which of course did not work. I feel Microsoft did themselves a disservice by making the pad look so similar to the iPod but built in alternative operation. I don’t know this for sure, but I suspect Apple has a patent on the technology and Microsoft could not use it. However, instead of trying to look like the competition come up with something more creative. Apple did.

I know much of this “review” sounds like I am going out of my way to bash Microsoft. Based upon my experience with many other Microsoft products I feel it is somewhat justified. However; I have not used the Zune extensively since first taking it out of the box, in general I am not a huge fan of these types of portable media devices, and I get what I need from the PSP. That said, I don’t feel the Zune is a bad product. It definitely does offer some functionality the iPod does not; wireless transfers to another Zune and the larger screen are good. Is it worth $250? Not to me. However, if they actually let you keep the music you download over the course of the two week “Free Trial” I might buy one.