ClicZune: iPod vs. Zune

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.cliczune.com/2006/11/ipod_vs_zune_10.html' target='_blank'>http://www.cliczune.com/2006/11/ipod_vs_zune_10.html</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;When it comes the time to choose between the two competing DAPs (Digital Audio Player), many questions can be raised. There is probably no bad decision, but making the right one for you all depends on what &ldquo;you&rdquo; want from an mp3 player and why you are buying one. We made a short list of tips to help you choose between the iPod vs. Zune. You could eventually apply those to other DAPs currently on the market. This is certainly not an exhaustive list but it can certainly help you. Have fun!&quot;<br /><br /></em> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cliczune.com/2006/11/ipod_vs_zune_10.html">ClicZune</a> has published a helpful iPod vs. Zune purchasing guide for DAP newbies. If you're quite the opposite and know each device inside out, from top to bottom, then this guide probably isn't for you. Some of the questions, such as #5, for example, have been given the &quot;basic solution&quot; treatment. Bought a whole lot of iTunes Store tracks? No problem - it's not the end of the world. You can easily combat it by burning the tracks and ripping them into WMA or MP3, or by using a direct conversion tool. And the same holds for PlaysForSure tunes.

[Aaron Roma]

You know, item number 2 on their list bugs me a bit. Sure, I know there are plenty of PCs out there running ME (eek), 98, or even 95. Heck, I can point a few out to you every day. Maybe I'm just naive, but I can't image the type of person who buys an iPod or Zune actually running anything less than XP. (I'm strickly talking about Windows users here, Mac users excluded.) Am I completely off here?

[conwayau]

Who here thinks that the Zune can seriously challenge the Ipod's dominance? I personally hope it does, im tired of the Apple arrogance...

[tarponfly]

I think the zune is definately going to give the ipod a run for it's money, but, as with the ipod, it's going to take a year or so to really get into circulation with the mainstream, non-gadget-geek community! I'm lusting over the black one soooo bad!

[gshocker]

I think the Zune will do reasonably well. The iPod is going to be hard to take on directly but Zune got me interested with their subscription offering. I will still purchase music and the fact that I can redownload the songs is a nice touch as well.

I think as much as the hardware is important the music store and ease of use is a big factor. After downloading the software and giving it a spin Monday night I knew I had to have a Zune. The store has a nice search and a good catalog of what I want and for me that was just as important as the hardware.

I am looking forward to updates to the hardware functions but for now the store itself and content has me sold.