iiBenxD
Newbie
Before we go into the review, I'd like to tell you that this may be a little unfair for me to be reviewing a product while I'm a happy Apple user, but please let me clarify something: being a tech enthusiast, along with the whole team and other tech enthusiasts here on TT, we do not take sides.
Overall Appearance:
The build quality of the MP3 player is flawless. Some say they essentially copied the design from Apple products, but I strongly disagree. Some also say that they wouldn't want to carry such a clunky object in their pocket. If you haven't actually held or seen one of these in real life, then you don't know what you're saying. You'll be surprised when you first see and hold one, seeing as they're very small, but you'll get used to it.
The screen is brilliant, despite the size.
It is far from a fingerprint magnet also, compared to the iPod Touch with it's glossy back. The Zune HD sports a brushed-metal look on the backs of all the colours of the player.
People have complained about "rusting" on the 32GB model of the Zune HD, under the Home button. This isn't actual rusting, but rather dirt and junk from people's fingers rubbing against the material and rubbing away color. You shouldn't worry about this, because if you're careful, you won't abuse your MP3 player that much.
I gave the appearance a 4.5/5, because nothing's ever perfect, but the Zune HD comes pretty darn close to it when it comes to appearance!
Build Quality:
The player is actually quite light, only 2.6 ounces, compared to the iPod Touch's 4.05 ounces. Also, the screen beyond passed my durability test. I took a few good whacks at the screen with a house key, and it looks as good as new. There isn't much to say about the build quality except for the fact that it's absolutely brilliant! Kudos to Microsoft.
The Home button doesn't have any wobbling, which is surprising for one of it's kind. It feels very sturdy and not cheap/plastic-like. The side button also has very little wobbling when touched. It isn't visible, only able to be felt.
The OLED screen is brilliant, perfectly running along with the Tegra chip inside.
Performance:
This is one of the main reasons that I wanted the Zune HD over the iPod Touch. When playing music on the iPod Touch, it slows down the overall device like cold molasses, whereas the Zune HD stays on its game and doesn't back down one bit. After 6 hours of me listening to music (yes, six hours nonstop), the whole OS didn't slow down at all.
3D game rendering is also great because of the Tegra chip inside of it. A side not: I don't notice any heating while playing games that you'd think be hard on the device. 3D rendering for games is smooth and doesn't slow down the device.
I noticed some choppiness in the operating system. I'm only talking about graphics, not speed. For example, you have two main menus on the front screen. One of them consists of the main options (e.g. music, pictures, internet, etc.), the other consisting of pins, history, new items, etc. When you're in the main one with the music, pictures, and internet, the accelerometer moves the History/Pins list which has album art. The edges of the album art is visibly choppy, however this is something that probably can't be fixed and isn't a big deal at all.
All in all, the performance and speed of the device is amazing compared to the iPod Touch.
Ease of Use:
If you're someone who wants to pick up their MP3 player and go without having to look at it, then maybe you would hit a speedbump when thinking about getting the Zune HD. It's hard to say it's as easy to use as a normal iPod or, dare I say it, iPod Touch, however, I wouldn't say it's difficult to use at all. Just take a day and you'll get used to it and you won't have to worry about anything.
On the other hand, the Zune software, needed to sync the Zune isn't the greatest when it comes to ease of use. It's a very powerful piece of software, even more powerful than iTunes, however, some of the huge features are buried in it somewhere. It's one of those types of softwares that you'll notice something that's been there two years after it was added unless you go digging for it. But you don't need those features anyway.
To be honest, I started using the Zune software before I even got my Zune. I love it so much, I'm not ever going to be opening iTunes on this machine again, unless it's for my phone.
Value for Money:
Here's the selling point: the apps. There is nothing to say about it. The iPod Touch/iPhone kicks the pants off of the Zune HD here. The Zune HD app marketplace currently consists of 16 apps (26/12/09), where the Apple App Store consists of over one million apps, with over two billion app downloads. Still, if you're not that ecstatic about the apps, which I'm not (I can easily live without them, when it comes to all of the other features), then the Zune HD would be my pick.
So overall, the Zune HD pretty much kicks the pants off of the iPod Touch unless you're talking about the App Store. And with the new Zune 4.3 OS for the Zune HD, it's running faster than ever.
I'm now a happy Zune user, leaving my iPod days behind. Sorry for being a little biased here in the review
Happy holidays
Images will be added in a day or two.
Overall Appearance:
The build quality of the MP3 player is flawless. Some say they essentially copied the design from Apple products, but I strongly disagree. Some also say that they wouldn't want to carry such a clunky object in their pocket. If you haven't actually held or seen one of these in real life, then you don't know what you're saying. You'll be surprised when you first see and hold one, seeing as they're very small, but you'll get used to it.
The screen is brilliant, despite the size.
It is far from a fingerprint magnet also, compared to the iPod Touch with it's glossy back. The Zune HD sports a brushed-metal look on the backs of all the colours of the player.
People have complained about "rusting" on the 32GB model of the Zune HD, under the Home button. This isn't actual rusting, but rather dirt and junk from people's fingers rubbing against the material and rubbing away color. You shouldn't worry about this, because if you're careful, you won't abuse your MP3 player that much.
I gave the appearance a 4.5/5, because nothing's ever perfect, but the Zune HD comes pretty darn close to it when it comes to appearance!
Build Quality:
The player is actually quite light, only 2.6 ounces, compared to the iPod Touch's 4.05 ounces. Also, the screen beyond passed my durability test. I took a few good whacks at the screen with a house key, and it looks as good as new. There isn't much to say about the build quality except for the fact that it's absolutely brilliant! Kudos to Microsoft.
The Home button doesn't have any wobbling, which is surprising for one of it's kind. It feels very sturdy and not cheap/plastic-like. The side button also has very little wobbling when touched. It isn't visible, only able to be felt.
The OLED screen is brilliant, perfectly running along with the Tegra chip inside.
Performance:
This is one of the main reasons that I wanted the Zune HD over the iPod Touch. When playing music on the iPod Touch, it slows down the overall device like cold molasses, whereas the Zune HD stays on its game and doesn't back down one bit. After 6 hours of me listening to music (yes, six hours nonstop), the whole OS didn't slow down at all.
3D game rendering is also great because of the Tegra chip inside of it. A side not: I don't notice any heating while playing games that you'd think be hard on the device. 3D rendering for games is smooth and doesn't slow down the device.
I noticed some choppiness in the operating system. I'm only talking about graphics, not speed. For example, you have two main menus on the front screen. One of them consists of the main options (e.g. music, pictures, internet, etc.), the other consisting of pins, history, new items, etc. When you're in the main one with the music, pictures, and internet, the accelerometer moves the History/Pins list which has album art. The edges of the album art is visibly choppy, however this is something that probably can't be fixed and isn't a big deal at all.
All in all, the performance and speed of the device is amazing compared to the iPod Touch.
Ease of Use:
If you're someone who wants to pick up their MP3 player and go without having to look at it, then maybe you would hit a speedbump when thinking about getting the Zune HD. It's hard to say it's as easy to use as a normal iPod or, dare I say it, iPod Touch, however, I wouldn't say it's difficult to use at all. Just take a day and you'll get used to it and you won't have to worry about anything.
On the other hand, the Zune software, needed to sync the Zune isn't the greatest when it comes to ease of use. It's a very powerful piece of software, even more powerful than iTunes, however, some of the huge features are buried in it somewhere. It's one of those types of softwares that you'll notice something that's been there two years after it was added unless you go digging for it. But you don't need those features anyway.
To be honest, I started using the Zune software before I even got my Zune. I love it so much, I'm not ever going to be opening iTunes on this machine again, unless it's for my phone.
Value for Money:
Here's the selling point: the apps. There is nothing to say about it. The iPod Touch/iPhone kicks the pants off of the Zune HD here. The Zune HD app marketplace currently consists of 16 apps (26/12/09), where the Apple App Store consists of over one million apps, with over two billion app downloads. Still, if you're not that ecstatic about the apps, which I'm not (I can easily live without them, when it comes to all of the other features), then the Zune HD would be my pick.
So overall, the Zune HD pretty much kicks the pants off of the iPod Touch unless you're talking about the App Store. And with the new Zune 4.3 OS for the Zune HD, it's running faster than ever.
I'm now a happy Zune user, leaving my iPod days behind. Sorry for being a little biased here in the review
Happy holidays
Images will be added in a day or two.
Last edited:
