Frankly as of late I have been frusterated by iTunes and its sluggish performance on a top of the line computer. I welcomed the arrival of a new Zune 8 to see if I was just in the same sheep type rut of 95% of mp3 player users who use an iPod. I currently have a Nano and Touch.
Out of the box things that impressed me about the Zune is the ability to listen to FM (I dont really like the radio outside NPR but the ability is cool), this is paired with the ability to play videos (not possible on my current Nano) and display images. Other features that are promising are the ability to share files wirelessly with other Zunes and via USB with Xbox 360s, and can sync wirelessly with Windows PCs. I don't know anyone with a Zune or XBox but the idea again is a cool one.
Wikipedia currently has a nice table comparing portable media players. One critisim of the Zune that I have observed so far is its inability to work with other software. It is only compatible with the Zune software which is provided by Microsoft. No Winamp and not even Windows Media Player. I have looked and you can get third party modifications which allow Zunes to sync with Windows Media Player or iTunes but such compatability would be nice right out of the box. The ability to browse the internet makes my Touch remain the king but with improvements that Zune (and Microsoft) is making and hopefully with a bit of competition, Apple will make improvements to iTunes instead of just sitting on its tired software that they keep rolling out time and again because they were first to mainstream the idea.
One of the newest features Zune is set to roll out is an interesting one. The "Buy from FM" feature will allow users to tag and buy music directly from their device from virtually anywhere. If using the radio waves, you can tag the track to buy later when connected online. If you're in a wi-fi hot spot, buy the track directly to the device. The "Buy from FM" feature will allow users to tag and buy music directly from their device from virtually anywhere. If using the radio waves, you can tag the track to buy later when connected online. If you're in a wi-fi hot spot, buy the track directly to the device. This is incredibly cool if you are close to stations like KEXP, KCRW, or MPR. Pretty damn cool. Pretty damn cool.
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