Consumers in the US will be able to get their hands on Microsoft’s soon to be made available Zune by Christmas 2006. The portable media player is set to rival the king of the portable music / video player market, Apple’s iPod. With the secrecy and speculation surrounding this already highly anticipated gadget, Microsoft’s latest announcements to the press have shed some light into what seems to be the next big thing on your local electronics store.
Join me as I investigate what the Zune is really going to be like, and whether it can challenge the dominance of the iPod.
What is it like?
According to Microsoft’s press release, the first version of the Zune to hit the stores will be a 30GB portable media player, available in stylish white, black, and brown with “a distinctive double-shot finish”. It will feature a 3-inch wide color LCD screen (half an inch larger than the 30GB Video iPod), which will be able to display content both in portrait and landscape mode, with landscape mode obviously being best for watching video. Navigation controls are via a circular click-pad with additional menu and play / pause buttons.
The 30GB hard disk of the device means it can carry a whole lot of songs, photos and videos. You can squeeze up to 7,500 songs, 25,000 pictures or 100 hours of video into your Zune!
Among the added bonuses is the built in FM tuner, allowing you to listen to local radio stations and (if the station broadcasts these) see the title of the songs played on the screen. A screen which can be easily customized with your own wallpaper photos to give the device that personal touch.
Sharing and Connectivity
Wireless capabilities (Wi-Fi) will be built in the device as well. That is a big step, and a vital one for Microsoft’s marketing campaign. “The Zune experience centers around connection - connection to your library, connection to friends, connection to community and connection to other devices”, the company says.
What this will essentially allow is for users to share music and other files, Zune-to-Zune! Share full length tracks, which you will be able to listen to 3 times over a period of 3 days. If you decide you like and would want to buy a track, then you can easily flag it as a prospective purchase, connect your Zune to your PC and access Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace.
Zune Marketplace, besides being the official store for Zune (what iTunes is to iPod) aims to become the music service for an online community of artists, and audiences who’ll be able to share, and discover new content.
A bit of DJing and social networking is also made possible since according to Wikipedia, “The device will allow users to stream music to four other Zune users, and in addition users can add other users as friends to create a social network”.
Software & Importing Music
Microsoft has long been a world leader in software, and this is probably going to be one of the strongest points of Zune. The player’s software will be able to receive automatic software updates and new features over the Internet as these are made available, via your PC.
The supported media file formats you can import include unprotected WMA, MP3, AAC for music, photos in JPEG, and videos in WMV, MPEG-4, H.264 directly from your Windows Media Player or iTunes.
What more?
Microsoft says Zune will be ready to play with, the minute you take it out of the box. Preloaded music content from labels such as DTS and Virgin Records!
If you want to buy music, you can do so in individual downloads or get a “Zune Pass” subscription which will give you unlimited access to the entire Zune Marketplace.
If you’re wandering what kind of accessories will be made available, 3 accessory packs for Car, Home and Travel will be made available right away, with components of each being individually sold as well. These include the Zune Dock and AV Output Cable which is part of connecting your Zune to your TV or music speakers.
What Next?
Well, the folks over at Microsoft are overwhelming about what the future of Zune will be. They promise among other things, greater sharing and connectivity features, all part of their “digital music entertainment revolution”. Later versions of Zune will feature larger storage capacity and reportedly even a camera such as those found in popular mobile phones.
Meanwhile, manufacturers such as Altec Lansing and Belkin Corp. are working with Microsoft to produce a full array of accessories for Zune.
Zune vs iPod
iPod is undoubtedly the king of style and quality when it comes to portable digital media players. It currently holds an estimated 75% share of the market, and has recently announced a new range of 5th-generation iPods, including new video iPods which feature portable video games as well! So it is apparent Apple is not just going to hand over the scepter to the kingdom. However increased competition can only mean added benefits to consumers, as rival companies make their products better and better.
Since Zune is only available at 30GBs at first, and Apple has an entire range of products, I will be attempt a comparison between Zune and the Apple 30 GB iPod with Video Playback. Keep in mind this is not an exhaustive comparison, and the Zune is not yet out to know all for certain.
Microsoft 30 GB Zune
Storage: 30GB hard drive
Screen: 3 inches
Wireless: Yes
Games: No
Podcasts: Unknown
Built-in FM tuner: Yes
Supported Audio: WMA, MP3, AAC
Supported Video: WMV, MPEG-4, H.264
Supporting Music Service: Yes, Zune Marketplace
Apple 30 GB iPod with Video Playback
Storage: 30 GB hard drive
Screen: 2.5 inches
Wireless: No
Games: Yes
Podcasts: Yes
Built-in FM tuner: No
Supported Audio: AAC, Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store), MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, WAV, & AIFF
Supported Images: JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PSD (Mac only), and PNG
Supported Video: MOV, MPEG-4, H.264
Supporting Music Service: Yes, iTunes
Well, if you’ve managed to read so far - you’re probably interested to find out even more. Try the following online resources.
September 14th, 2006 at 7:27 pm
Who needs an iPod when you can have Zune? WiFi looks kool.
September 14th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
I agree that Wi Fi is a cool feature.
However a LOT of people are still going to need - want iPod, no matter how good Zune turns out to be.
Those include people who already own a lot of DRM protected or Apple format music, Zune cannot play.
Also, among others, there’s people who for whatever reason simply don’t like Microsoft, or those who think iPod has a better design / features. You never know…
In any case, it will take some time for Zune to claim a big market share.