Zune vs iPod

[fox099]

Wondering what everyones thought is. I have an iPod mini I got about 5 years ago, but it is slowly dying. I dont really like iTunes, but done particularly like Windows Media Player either. What does everyone think?

[Mozgus]

The obvious choice is to buy a player that's better than both.

[equalsign]

If you're already set up with iTunes, you may want to stick with that (especially if you've purchased music through iTunes). Also, doesn't the Zune have its own iTunes-like application that works just fine? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Zunes can be kinda spiffy, but buggy in my experience (not that the first run of anything iPod aren't). I've never owned one, but one of my best friends has owned two and I've played around with his alot. The Zune is a bit more of a time investment though. You'll want to look up and acquire high quality artwork for all your music because it places the album artwork as your background when you're listening to a song, I think. It is more customizable, but that can sometimes be a bad thing. It really depends on you.

[GSZX1337]

Creative Zen > both

[lordofduct]

Back when the iPod first came out my buddy Dvan had this weird MP3 player called a Zen (if I recall corretly), but it wasn't the Creative Zen. It was funky with a removable hard drive and RCA outs and shit. It was kinda big, but still small enough to fit in his pocket (well baggy pockets).


Personally the iPod is all I've really used. Aside from the off shit, you know the little tiny 256/512 meg flash mp3 players. They suck, period. Especially the ones that require some really shitty 3rd party software to copy music to it and won't recognize any files if they aren't transfered with said software, and the software is buggy and rarely works. And grrrrrrrr.

The iPod though has treated me... ok. The center button broke on it which pissed me off. It works still, but it's not very responsive.

The thing also crashes ALL THE TIME. If I have it plugged into my stereo in my car everything is fine, I have one of those stereos that has an ipod connector and displays the info all on the stereo dash and everything. It's really nice and totally love it.

But the second I try to listen to it else where shit just screws up left and right.

Or if I try to resync audio files to it, I have sync selected (not manual transfer) and it'll copy repeats of the same exact file over. GRRRRRR.



Everything does have its issues, I know. And I've basically grown to know how to deal with all the little quarks of my iPod and I still like the little bugger. It's extremely useful. But I mean come on, for like 300 bucks (not sure, it was the 80 gigger when the 80 gigger came out) it should be a little more friendly!!!



Another fav of mine was hanging with my friend Lyn. Her husband scoured the Earth for an iPod touch for Christmas just for her. Awww his undieing love... bleh! But, it was an 8 gig drive!???? What the hell!??? You go from 120 gig versions of iPod and then release this TINY little thing!???? What the hell Apple?... I have DVD's that fit more stuff!

But we're walking around downtown Lake Worth when my iPod locks up in its usual fashion... she giggles... and just as she giggles at my inconvenience her iPod touch crashes on her!

GO APPLE!

But seriousily what is with this ever shrinking HDD size Apple has been propogating recently? My music collection is huge, and I like to sync my music collection to my iPod. And also toss some music videos and episodes of "The Daily Show" or "Californication" on there too. But noooo, the new versions can't even hold freakin' a quarter of my music collection.

[Mozgus]

This creative zen is dogshit. Avoid it at all costs:



I had 2 in a row that were worthless. They would either freeze up randomly with a solid color screen, they would turn on with the gamma pemanently set to 500% or some shit, being extremely washed out. And then both of them would eventually get to the point where they would freeze up at the bios screen every single time.

Fuck Creative Zen.

[Unleaded Logic]

I've owned both a Zune and Ipod and in terms of music management Itunes beats the Zune music manager hands down. Machine wise, they both pretty much do the same thing, I'd say go for whatever you can get for cheaper.

[t0yrobo]

There are other brands, cowon and samsung both make good ones and don't stick you with proprietary software.

[Mozgus]

I also want to say that if all you need is a few gigs, and stability is key, go with the Sansa Clip. It's so fucking good for the $50. Turns on real fast, has all the features I want, none that I dont, plays all the core formats, has about 15 hours of battery life, which is shocking given the size of this thing. It charges fully in about 45 minutes too. It works great with MediaMonkey, and I assume any other sync-capable tools. The clip itself is detachable too. I superglued it to the dash of my car, so I can just clip the player on my dash, plug it into my faceplate, and play in the car.

In my experience, the moment you start treading on video-capable players, expect problems. If all you want is a music player, stay with the simple stuff.

[corn619]

I have a iPod Classic 80GB and iPhone and love them. I left the Classic outside in the rain once it was soaked, I let it dry for 3 days and it turned on no problem. Apple knows how to make a music player as its counts for most of their business. As Moz said, most of those flash based MP3 posers suck and will break quickly. The Apple store sells refubs with a 1 yr warranty. And there $100 less than new ones. If you end up getting a Zune, just be nice to it or it might commit suicide next New Years Eve.