Five Minutes with the Zune
Actually got to play with a Zune for a few minutes while at a family party. A short side story before we begin… It was a Christmas gift since the gift giver was tired of waiting for the release of the true video iPod. The Zune was purchased from Best Buy, but when the box was opened, it was empty! When explaining the mishap, the Best Buy rep commented, “Employees…” as if employee theft was not uncommon. Now back to the story…
The Zune is about the same size as everyone’s favorite iPod. But the Zune screen is huge! The screen must be about 75% of the front with the controls taking up the remaining 25%. By contrast, the iPod’s screen real estate and click wheel controls are split about 50-50.
The images on the screen look clear and sharp. I like the font used (not sure if you can change the font).
Since the owner only had the Zune for a short time, there were no pictures or videos loaded yet, only music. But the Zune does come pre-loaded with a variety of music though I don’t know if these songs are permanent or are of the Zune’s 3-listens-and-self-destruct variety.
I didn’t know the Zune has a built-in FM radio receiver too. I heard about the (limited) Wi-Fi wireless ability but didn’t try it out since there wasn’t anything else to connect to.
To control the Zune, there are four “buttons” – two regular buttons and two compass-style navigation circles. The two regular buttons are for play/pause and to go back. The navigation circles are like those found on many cell phones to go up, down, left, and right on the menus. The center circle is pushed to select menu choices.
The controls are the biggest thing that differentiate the Zune from the iPod. While the Zune controls work, you have to admire the evolution of the iPod’s touchable click wheel. The click wheel eliminates the need for any other buttons, greatly simplifying the user interface. And by spinning your finger on the click wheel, I think you get a better sense of interacting with your iPod. Clicking up and down on the Zune’s menus felt old-school and boring. Spinning the iPod’s click wheel is more fun.
And once you understand the iPod’s click wheel navigation, you get very used to it. Clicking up to go back a screen took me awhile to get used to when I first got an iPod. But now I appreciate the single button-ness of the click wheel. While the Zune has a dedicated back button, that is an extra button that you have to move your finger to. My fingers are lazy, let them stay in one area.
The Zune is a decent entry into the personal music player market, but MacWorld Expo 2007 is coming up, and now it’s Apple’s chance to counter.
January 2, 2007 @ 9:13 pm
since employee theft is so common, what would prevent someone, say ME, from buying a zune, then coming back the next day and claiming that the box was empty? two for one special!
-evil s
January 2, 2007 @ 11:02 pm
The fact that no one would want 2 Zunes. In fact, I think if someone offered me a Zune, I’d decline.
To me, it’d be like someone offering me a 486 computer. Uh, thanks but no thanks.