Microsoft Zune
By Dany Sloan
When I was told that I was getting a Zune to review, my first response was
"No, please don't send it." I am just not a Microsoft person anymore, and
it's not that I preferred them over Mac, it's just that I didn't yet immerse
myself in that world. Now that I am a tried and true Mac user, I do my best
to avoid any PC or Microsoft product at all costs, and when it comes to a
portable music player, it's going to take a lot to pull me away from my
iPod. And the Zune comes nowhere close.
I did come into this with an open mind though, and found some areas where the iPod could improve.
While the iPod works on both PCs and Macs, the Zune is strictly a one-brand affair -- the PC. If you like the Zune and you're a Mac user, you're out of luck, and more than likely a few fries short of a Happy Meal as well.
The latest edition to the Zune family is small yet serviceable, clocking in
at 4GB (1000 songs, 25,000 pictures or 12 hours of video) -- "slim and
ultra-portable" as the brochure says. It's available in red, black, pink
and green with 1.8" color screen. The screen is nice and all, but like
Times Square, bright flashing lights are not always the best thing.
The device comes with all of the expected accessories, like earbuds, a USB
cable and a charger. To use with your PC, just connect to the Zune website
to download the proper program -- all of this is quite simple.
One unique feature the Zune has over the iPod is wi-fi capability. Get
excited because you can "squirt" songs from your player to your friend's
player. After you actually find someone with a Zune (good luck), the songs
you squirt back and forth can be listened to for just three times before
they disappear. Just three times.
The wireless range, which is 30 feet, is impressive because it is a start,
but it's like adding wooden wings to a plane. It's an improvement, but not
much of one at that. Additionally, if the squirted song expires after three
listens and you're within 30 feet of your friend, wouldn't it be easier to
just borrow the CD? And please, come up with something better than
"squirt." There so many dirty jokes that could be made here.
While the Zune's interface may be easy to use, there are still obvious areas
for improvement. There needs to be a better way to organize songs and
playlists and adjust the volume. Also, the only way to get the media onto
the player is through the bundled Zune Marketplace software. It's stupid
that you're locked into this. Maybe Microsoft thinks they're simplifying
things for people, but all they are doing is taking away the right to
choose.
Maybe I will never be able to accept another media player besides iPod, and
I guess that's fine, but I really did go into this experience with an open
mind, but I came away disappointed.
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