Apple iPod Touch 3G vs Microsoft Zune HD

Apple iPod Touch 3G vs Microsoft Zune HD
Pt. 1

This will be a running post as I will be testing these two media player head to head to see how I feel about each at the end of a roughly two week period.

Initial impressions:

I like both for different reasons;

The Microsoft Zune HD feels solid and slick in my hand and while I might be imagining it, the Zune HD sounds better and delivers what sounds like a richer sound.

The Apple iPod Touch 3rd generation feels good in the hand too, but for some reason I have trouble holding on to it given its glossy surfaces.The form and function is undeniably friendly especially with its side mounted volume buttons.Further,the ease of application installation and navigation is mostly better than the Zune HD and it feels like a gadget which will provide long term owner satisfaction given the expandability factor that the apps provide.

"So whats the problem? Call it for the Apple Touch and we can put this issue to bed!" I would love to present a final answer on this but I am genuinely on the fence about which one will get my money. (I.e. which one won't get returned).

On the one hand I'm a gadget hound and so the Apple Touch appeals to me.With it I get one device that could morph over time into another depending on what app I use. Add to that the fact that I can turn my Touch Pro into a mobile wifi router and send wireless internet to the Touch means that I've got an iPhone light without the hassle and cost of the AT&T network. In terms of multi-use gadget factor, the Apple Touch wins over the Zune HD hands down.

I came to these conclusions after only a few minutes with the 3rd Gen Apple Touch and as this was my first Apple Touch experience, I was impressed. It incorporated the apps superbly , the keypad, while not light years ahead of the Zune HD was better. The Touch recognized my finger taps with more precision and finesse although I didn't notice a significant difference in page loading.

Still, as I mentioned in previous posts, I find that most of the features on the Apple Touch are redundant and already present and functional on my Sprint HTC Touch Pro. I like to carry as little as needed to be prepared for my day and therefore, carrying both devices is somewhat impractical for me. Hence, I would choose only one device and given that the Touch Pro has the cell connection, I'd take it with me and not burden myself with two devices. Further, when I'm in need of heavy computing I'd be using my laptop not a hand held.

Hence, despite my love of multifaceted gadgets, in the end the device I would use as a music player would in fact be used as a music player %98 of the time and video player the remaining %2. That means music at the gym and podcasts in the car and I'd be using the laptop when I get to school or the office.

In light of this approach to my musical desires, I would therefore choose the device with the best musical capability. This doesn't necessarily mean the Zune HD wins, although as I mentioned, the Zune HD does sound better to my ears.

The Zune HD crew decided to do away with the side mounted volume rocker and I've got to say this has irked me a bit as it is the simplest method of adjusting volume without looking. Further, the Zune HD allows you fast forward through a portion of a song or podcast, but it shows only your numerical position in the track and provides no visual indicator of where you are in the song.

The Apple Touch does provide the visual indicator and the volume button but you've got to tap the upper portion of the screen to access the visual indicator and its quite small and occasionally finicky in terms of finger placement.

Both players shuffle well, but they do it in different ways. With the Apple Touch, a nice feature is the ability to see what songs are coming up next in the shuffle list. I found this interesting, but, then again, if I'm on shuffle, the idea is for the player to surprise me. If I wanted a specific song/album, I'd just choose it.

Speaking of specific songs and albums, the Apple Touch does offer a more familiar method of selecting a song. I.e. a list of song/artist names with a thin bar on the left showing letters for quick selection. The Zune HD offers no such bar, but it is very easy to quickly flick through the song/artist names to get to where you want to go. With the Apple Touch I found that it was relatively easy to jump to my song of choice, but it wasn't perfect. In my experiences, the software wouldn't fully recognize my finger tap and so I would usually end up one letter above or below the one I wanted. Causing me to have to flick through the list, just as I did with the Zune HD.

Both players lock their screens after a few seconds of inactivity and both utilize some type of "Swipe" gesture to unlock. The Apple Touch requires a horizontal swipe along the lock bar section on the lower screen whereas the Zune HD allows for a swipe vertically with a bit more flexibility in finger placement. (Envision a closed window shade being lifted upwards.) This meant for me that with the Apple Touch, I needed to unlock the player to skip to another song. On the Zune HD, I could simply hit the "media" button and then tap the next button. This feature was nice to have especially when I'm on the treadmill but it won't work if the screen lock has been in place for more than a short time. (I've not yet figured out what amount of time precisely).

So there you have it, a relative dead heat as far as music player capability goes.
I've not yet decided which device will win my $ and it will be several more days before I decide. So far I've been able to use the Zune HD with ease in the car for all my listening needs. Ditto for the gym and aside from the lack of case options, I've been able to get by with no problem. The virtual volume/fastforward buttons have been surprisingly usable without directly looking and as I said the sound quality is better.

Yet I can't help but wonder if I'd end up wishing for some of the Cupertino pizzod goodness when I find myself with a bit of free time and nothing by my player handy...we shall see...

Konrad