The Zune HD vs. the iPod Touch (Part 2)
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In which your humble blogger, a longtime iPod user, continues to test the capabilities of Microsoft's new Zune HD against the iPod Touch. The Zune HD represents Microsoft's attempt to develop a mobile media-player ecosystem that can compete with Apple's own offerings; Redmond is hoping that the multitouch device can earn a few more points' worth of market share heading into the holiday season. Onwards... Screen I've been hearing rumors that a certain subset of Zune HD users experience technical glitches with the device's 3.3-inch, glass-covered OLED display screen--which, just by the way, displays video and images with an impressively crystal-clear fashion. I personally experienced no issues during my three days of near-constant operation. During that same three-day period, I subjected the Zune HD to a highly unscientific battery of stress tests also known as My Morning Commute, and the device proved no shrinking violet in the sturdiness department: after being inadvertently bashed in train doors, smacked against a subway turnstile, and accidentally whacked repeatedly by a 2-pound, 14-ounce copy of Jonathan Franzen's 2001 whiny-magnum-opus "The Corrections," I can report the Zune HD's screen and body in fine working form. Those who use their mobile media-player primarily to play movies or TV shows will find sharp image and sound quality. However, the Zune HD's display measures 0.2 inches smaller than that of the iPod Touch--a negligible difference on paper, but one you can see when the devices are placed beside each other with video running. On the other hand, 0.2 inches isn't quite enough to be a deal-breaker in that department. Apps According to an analysis by Rapid Repair, which took the Zune HD apart to examine its innermost workings in September, the device's power comes courtesy of an Nvidia Tegra APX2600-HM-A3 processor with a 600MHz core, two Toshiba NAND flash memory chips, and an Atheros AR6002 for the mobile Wi-Fi. Video is displayed at 720p. That's enough power to run any number of mobile applications, but the Zune's App ecosystem is rather barren at the moment: Microsoft offers Calculator, Chess, Goo Splat, Hexic, Shell Game, Space Battle 2, Sudoku, Texas Hold 'Em, and Weather. Compare that to Apple's App Store and its tens of thousands of Apps, and there's a clear disparity in offerings. Yes, I know the majority of Apple's Apps are either poor imitations of better ones, or else utterly useless--but nonetheless Microsoft needs to figure out a way to port a similar variety into the Zune ecosystem. The upcoming integration with Xbox Live has been much-reported, and may help Microsoft find a way to further brand the Zune HD as a viable alternative for video and games. Music The differences between the iPod Touch and the Zune HD in their music-playing is primarily a matter of taste. Both their multitouch interfaces are intuitive, with a bit of practice. Battery life between the two devices seemed roughly equal. The Zune HD does have one area of clear advantage over the iPod Touch, at least for the moment: FM radio. (Apple's catching up in that department, the fifth-generation iPod Nano will come radio-equipped, and a future iPod Touch will probably feature one as well.) The Zune HD radio's scanner interface is easy to navigate, and the sound is clear. If you hear a song you like on the local station, you can put it in a Marketplace shopping cart with one finger-tap--a useful feature, to say the least. Internet Both the Zune HD and the iPod Touch have a Wi-Fi connection, and both work with the inconsistency you'd expect given the spottiness of local networks. The mobile version of Bing on the Zune HD is supple, searching very quickly. If you need a device to surf the Web, though, you're still better suited with a smartphone. Tomorrow: Final Verdict |
Comments (5)
I think people fail to see that, for most movies and a lot of tv shows and music videos that 0.2 in size difference isn't that noticabable because of the ratio of the videos. You just get less black bars on the Zune HD than on the iPod Touch.
Posted by WixosTrix | October 9, 2009 4:47 AM
Video is displayed at 720p.
...just not actually on the Zune HD, which doesn't have 720 lines of resolution in any direction.
Posted by Walt French | October 9, 2009 9:05 PM
WixosTrix, that screen size issue is a biggie. The Zune screen has 20% less screen area and a significantly lower resolution (85% the number of pixels) compared to the iPod Touch which means playing games, looking at photos, browsing the web, reading email (oops wait, the Zune doesn't have email does it?), watching SD video, reading PDFs or editing Word or Excel docs with Quick Office are all that much harder if not impossible on the Zune HD. Likewise playing multi-touch musical instruments also needs as larger not smaller screen etc.
Then there is the problem of no microphone, so no Skype or voice memos, or voice chat in games.
Without a speaker on the Zune HD, playing games, sharing music or funny video clips with friends all requires the ol’ headphone untangle and plug in routine and again makes Voice over IP apps even less possible.
Then there is the problem of half the storage (32GB vs 64GB) at the top end for all those HD videos on the Zune HD which you can’t even see at high res without carrying around a 40” plasma screen in your back pocket and no cheaper 8GB option that puts the iPod Touch below the important $200 barrier.
And of course, the elephant in the closet, the lack of 85,000 apps – and no, they are not all crap what with apps like SimCity, QuickOffice, VNC, Google Earth, Need for Speed, Oracle Business Apps, etc etc etc.
-Mart
Posted by Martin Hill | October 11, 2009 10:24 PM
the zune is good and will soon be better than the damn ipods!!! and yes, half the apps for the ipod touch suck crap! the zune hd just needs time to get some apps going in! I meen HELLO! Microsoft has Microsoft word, Microsoft office, Microsoft powerpoint, Microsoft outlook, Microsoft Microsoft MICROSOFT!!! ohh.....and the games they already have like the very famous...HALO bebe!! theres many more games out there that microsoft just about owns that they could make smaller versions of it and destroy the ipod in apps, and they can get good apps! come on microsoft! just turn every program you have and make it smaller to fit in the zune hd!DUH! as for me, im sticking with my new zune hd till it gets better!
Posted by microsoft lover! | October 12, 2009 1:25 PM
microsoft is only good with programming. and apple doesnt make most of the apps for ipod touch. but who ever made them will just make the same thing for the zune HD. im sure you havent used the divice your complaining about. it all depends on what you are into. they both have things the other doesnt. if you ask me. they both suck because some MP3s are starting to take pictures and video. the last thing to say is that microsoft has been know for using cheap hardware on the xbox 360 and the programming in vista chewed up and spit out alot of computers for having so much usless crap on it.
Posted by meow meow moew | November 4, 2009 9:35 PM