Photo courtesy Amazon.com
Zune (pictured left), Microsoft's answer to the iPod. See more iPod pictures.
For decades, iPod has dominated the mobile media market. Okay, it's actually only been about five years, but Microsoft has stepped into a world so completely ruled by Apple that Zune would pretty much have to unfold into a portable movie theater with reclining seats and free popcorn to really compete. It doesn't do that.
If you've read How iPods Work, you know all about the device. In short, the latest version (5G) is a digital media player that can handle music, photos, podcasts, video and, with the flip of a setting, any file type at all in its portable-hard-drive mode. Its form factor is unfathomably compact, third-party programmers have developed all sorts of sweet hacks to expand and change its functionality, it's seamlessly integrated with the most popular media-download store in the world, and it works with Mac OS X and Windows XP/2000.
So how does Zune stack up? The general opinion is that Microsoft did all right.
Zune handles all of the basics -- music, video, podcasts and photos. The big things Zune has to offer are a larger screen, built-in WiFi for file sharing, and an FM radio tuner. Okay, the FM tuner isn't that big, but it's something the iPod is lacking.
The Zune screen is a 3-inch diagonal, compared with 2.5 inches for iPod. That half-inch difference is a huge deal when you're watching a movie on such a small screen. Plus, Microsoft has taken nice advantage of the screen size by implementing horizontal video orientation -- you can turn the device 90 degrees when watching a movie in order to take advantage of the wide aspect ratio. The built-in WiFi is a very nice touch, but it falls short on utility. You can send a file to another Zune player within 30 feet (10 meters). That's it. You can't use the wireless connection with a PC or any other device for syncing or the like.
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Also, under DRM (digital rights management) restrictions, any song or podcast you transfer to another Zune disappears from the receiving Zune after three days or three plays, whichever comes first, no matter what. It's part of the Zune DRM architecture, which is somewhat unpleasant. It's hard to figure out because there are different restrictions for different files, and the rules are not immediately apparent, so you pretty much find out what you are and are not allowed to do when you try to do it. See the next page to learn more about Zune music.
