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PC World Tests and Compares Leading Portable Media Players


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Old 01-31-2007, 05:44 PM
Aaron Roma
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Default PC World Tests and Compares Leading Portable Media Players
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128157/article.html

"With video features, new ways to connect to music services, and more, the latest audio players do a lot more than just play MP3s. Our lab tests of 21 models reveal today's best buys... We point out differences in features and performance to help you weigh which is the right player for you."

PCWorld offers up a fairly extensive comparison, including audio quality tests, for many of today's leading digital media players.  They group the players into three categories:  flash, hard-drive, and large-screen video players.  This is one of the more extensive comparisons I've seen, even if they do have some items just plain wrong.  (Apparently you can't connect Zune via USB.)     According to PC World's audio tests, Zune does slightly nudge out iPod in audio quality, receiving a "superior" ranking.  Zune's lowest mark was in the features category, receiving only a "fair" mark, bringing Zune in at fifth overall behind the 30 GB iPod, Zen VisionM, Gigabeat S30, and 80 GB iPod, respectively.   I do take issue with their statement that none of the other players can match the elegance of iPods user interface.  On the contrary, having used iPods for some time, and now using a Zune, I think Zune's interface is much more elegant than iPod's.
 
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Old 01-31-2007, 07:38 PM
David Tucker
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"Lacks Plays For Sure compatibility"

What? Huh? Is this considered an iPod drawback too? No? Oh, so so you're saying your ratings are worthless PC World? Thanks for clearing that up!
 
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Old 01-31-2007, 08:20 PM
NPrtmn4evr
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Originally Posted by Codefox View Post
"Lacks Plays For Sure compatibility"

What? Huh? Is this considered an iPod drawback too? No? Oh, so so you're saying your ratings are worthless PC World? Thanks for clearing that up!
I think the reason it's a drawback for the Zune is because Microsoft previously supported PFS, but their Zune lacks PFS compatibility. No one had ever believed there was a chance the iPod would support PFS (if you did you need to admit yourself to a mental hospital ASAP ), but it was a surprise when the Zune didn't support it.

I didn't read all the reviews, but it seems like a pretty fair comparison.
 
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Old 01-31-2007, 09:30 PM
David Tucker
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I guess I've just gotten impatient lately with these big media outlets and their "reviews". When I got my iRiver T10, they took points off for a color screen. And gave the Nano points for having one. I don't buy the whole thing of people expected the Zune to be PFS compatible. Noone did. Unless you lived under a rock that was contained inside a bubble

If ANYONE other than MS came out with the exact same set up that the Zune has, noone would care if it was PFS compatible. That says it all right there. A review should be an impartial look at a device.
 
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Old 01-31-2007, 11:47 PM
Macguy59
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Originally Posted by Codefox View Post
I guess I've just gotten impatient lately with these big media outlets and their "reviews". When I got my iRiver T10, they took points off for a color screen. And gave the Nano points for having one. I don't buy the whole thing of people expected the Zune to be PFS compatible. Noone did. Unless you lived under a rock that was contained inside a bubble

If ANYONE other than MS came out with the exact same set up that the Zune has, noone would care if it was PFS compatible. That says it all right there. A review should be an impartial look at a device.
It's ok. Everyone wants to feel like they made the right choice
 
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Old 02-01-2007, 12:38 AM
djosephs
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Default Zune DRM files compatible with PFS devices
An interesting feature, as you may know, is Zune DRM subscription files can be synchorized to PFS devices. Therefore, I guess I don't care if the Zune is not a PFS device. I have successfully loaded Zune files on my PFS Treo 700W and listened to them over a network using Windows Media Player 11 on a laptop. I guess this makes the most sense for Microsoft in that what is going on is that MS is, essentially, subtly forcing people to gravitate to its Zune Marketplace for subcriptions rather than those of other vendors like Urge and Yahoo. So, now Zune Marketplace is my service not Urge which is basically the same content. I can sync subscription files to my Zune, Zen Vision:M; Treo 700w, etc. The only pain was that I had to re-download all of my Urge files that went dead when I switched to Zune Marketplace.
Last edited by djosephs; 02-01-2007 at 12:41 AM..
 
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Old 02-01-2007, 02:43 PM
David Tucker
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Quote:
Originally Posted by byteme View Post
It's ok. Everyone wants to feel like they made the right choice
Oh, I think I did The iPod would be worthless to me because I absolutely need subscription music. The only other player on the market that interests me is the Creative series and I wouldn't have gone wrong if I'd gone with that either.

But I like the potential the WiFi has with the Zune!
 
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