Zune vs iPod
iPod has dominated the mobile market for decades, well about five years, and Microsoft has jumped into a world ruled by Apple so Zune would have to offer free popcorn and reclining seats to compete. The iPod with its latest version being 5G, can handle photos, music, podcasts, video and any file type in its portable-hard-drive mode. Zune does the basics also but offers a larger screen, built in WiFi for sharing files and a FM radio tuner. Although the tuner is not a big deal, it is one thing the iPod doesn’t have. Screens compare as 3-inch diagonal of Zune to 2.5 on iPOd and that half inch can be a big deal when watching a movie. Horizontal video orientation is an advantage Microsoft took so you can turn the device 90 degrees while movie watching to optimize the wide aspect ratio. Falling short on utility is the built-in WiFi. If you are within 30 FT of another Zune player you can send a file and that’s it. Zune also does not use the wireless connection to computers and so it does not sync. Under the digital rights management restrictions, any podcast or song that your send to another Zune will disappear after three plays or in three days, whichever comes first. This is part of the DRM architecture of the Zune. Different files have different restrictions so the rules and not quickly understood which leaves you with finding them out as you go along.
