iPod vs Zune

[Myatar_Panwar]

A little background: I've owned a 30G iPod for about 2 years, and appeared to have lost it. I've spent the last 2 months tearing my house apart looking for it, but have come to accept that either, A. My cat has ranks in move silently and pick pocket, stole it and sold it to one of her many fences, or B. Said cat ate it and I would rather not find it now.

So, I need a new MP3, and with the Zune an option now, I have some deciding to do. I don't really know about the Zunes features, but have heard good things about it. As for the iPod, I find how they code their music (the music they sell) very annoying. It becomes extreamly difficult to play iTunes bought songs on my Xbox and using programs such as Audiosurf. It should also be noted that I will probally be getting most of my music through downloading from either iTunes or the Microsoft Store (or whatever the Zune uses). I absolutely despise pirating, and am far too lazy to go to a store to buy a CD.

Opinions?

[Sneak]

I don't know much about Zune, but I would go with the iPod. The classic is always the best choice. Really, though, my iPod has every feature I could possibly want, and more. I mean, I can't really think of a situation in which I would need to use my iPod as a toaster, but it's always there as an option if I'm desperate, thanks to Apple.

Also, why would you ever need to play music on your Xbox?

[Klose_the_Sith]

The best choice is a Samsung MP3, I-Pods are **** and Zunes are worse. Neither Macintosh nor Microsoft are desirable companies, and should be treated as such.

[Myatar_Panwar]

Also, why would you ever need to play music on your Xbox?

The same reason you would listen to music at any time? I don't know, the Xbox has a nice feature of canceling any in-game music when you start to play music from an MP3 player or music youve put on the hard drive. I mostly just play my own stuff when playing competative multiplayer though, it tends to improve my performance.

Edit: ^ Explain please. I find many of microsofts products quite enjoyable, and don't understand why/how people can call them terrible. Same with macintosh.

[Sneak]

The best choice is a Samsung MP3, I-Pods are **** and Zunes are worse. Neither Macintosh nor Microsoft are desirable companies, and should be treated as such.

I hate to break it to you, but most consumers buy the product for the sake of the product, not for the sake of helping/hindering its parent company. It seems to me that you're carrying over your apparent hatred of Apple to its product, which is, quite frankly, fine. And personally, I like Apple. They make quality products. You can't say that a company is bad and all their products are "****" simply because you don't like the company yourself. Making judgement calls and expecting everyone else to agree with you is a no-no.


The same reason you would listen to music at any time? I don't know, the Xbox has a nice feature of canceling any in-game music when you start to play music from an MP3 player or music youve put on the hard drive. I mostly just play my own stuff when playing competative multiplayer though, it tends to improve my performance.

Fair enough.

[Raistlin1040]

Zune, I'd say. They, do video, pictures, music, have FM radio, allow for podcasts, and allow for wireless sharing of songs, videos, pictures ect.

Could be biased though, as I've always hated iPods.

[Rawhide]

Well, we all know that Batman, given enough preparation, could beat them both.

[Nychta]

Well, we all know that Batman, given enough preparation, could beat them both.

The question is, then, what music and what player would he be listening to when he beat them?

[Raistlin1040]

Well, we all know that Batman, given enough preparation, could beat them both.

Game, set, match to Batman.

[Myatar_Panwar]

Zune, I'd say. They, do video, pictures, music, have FM radio, allow for podcasts, and allow for wireless sharing of songs, videos, pictures ect.

I think the iPod does most of that, at least I was doing music, video, and podcasts on it (although I would bet that the Zune has more podcasts that intrest me available than the iPod). Except for the FM radio of course, which the iPod can do, but like most of its current attachments, cost an extrorinary amount of extra money (last time I checked anyway) to get.

And unfortunatly, the Zune 's music sharing doesn't really appeal to me. My friends either have an iPod or listen to little to no music anyway.

Also, as a side note, how is the iPhone? It has a respectable amount of memory, I hope? Just curious because I'm also kind of in the market for a phone, and have been hearing some good things about the iPhone as well.

[Nychta]

*snip*
Also, as a side note, how is the iPhone? It has a respectable amount of memory, I hope? Just curious because I'm also kind of in the market for a phone, and have been hearing some good things about the iPhone as well.

Oh, the iPhone. Good for novelty. If you like buttons, don't get it. If you have big fingers, don't get it. The texting is frustrating when you don't know what you're pressing.

[reorith]

get a zune. if you lose a new ipod, apple will make you kill yourself. read the eula. sad but true

[Zakama]

Oh, the iPhone. Good for novelty. If you like buttons, don't get it. If you have big fingers, don't get it. The texting is frustrating when you don't know what you're pressing.

If you have an Xbox, don't get an iPhone. My friend has an Xbox and an iPod touch, and you can't play music from the touch on the Xbox, so I assume it's the same for an iPhone. I would recommend a Zune, I have the 80g model and I'm quite happy with it. Mostly the only complaint is that there's no clock, but I have a watch so I don't really mind. And the Zune can hook up to the XBL marketplace, though as I don't have an Xbox, I don't know much about that feature.

About getting music, the Zune marketplace has an all-you-can-eat setup where you pay $15 a month and download to your hearts content. I don't normally get more then 15 songs in a month though, plus I'm not a fan of DRM in any way, shape, or form, so I get my music from Amazon MP3s or CDs. Go check out Amazon, they actually have a lot of songs, all DRM free.


Well, we all know that Batman, given enough preparation, could beat them both.

You win the thread.

[Archonic Energy]

can i Vote Creative Zen?

please?

[Dumbledore lives]

As far as I know the Zune is apparently better in terms of memory, features, and cost, but almost no one has them. It's basically the Ipod but better. As my friend said," No one has a Zune, they're so uncool. Though they have more space and other stuff, no one has one. They're just uncool." So you should probably get a Zune.

[Athaniar]

I don't know much (well, anything) about those other devices, but I am satisfied with my 2GB iPod Nano (I hate it when people spell it "Ipod", for some reason) as it is. It has more space than I ever could fill, it can store pictures, too, and you can play little fun games on it! Yay! Ehh, and iTunes is also good to work with. But, since I don't know anything about the others, I can't say the iPod is better than them. Just that I like it.

[Nychta]

I don't know much (well, anything) about those other devices, but I am satisfied with my 2GB iPod Nano (I hate it when people spell it "Ipod", for some reason) as it is. It has more space than I ever could fill, it can store pictures, too, and you can play little fun games on it! Yay! Ehh, and iTunes is also good to work with. But, since I don't know anything about the others, I can't say the iPod is better than them. Just that I like it.

This is what I have, it's 2nd Gen. However, I recently got a phone that can play music, but of course some of the songs that are on my iPod cannot be transferred anywhere else. :smallfurious: *stabs Apple*

[Klose_the_Sith]

I don't know much (well, anything) about those other devices, but I am satisfied with my 2GB iPod Nano (I hate it when people spell it "Ipod", for some reason) as it is. It has more space than I ever could fill, it can store pictures, too, and you can play little fun games on it! Yay! Ehh, and iTunes is also good to work with. But, since I don't know anything about the others, I can't say the iPod is better than them. Just that I like it.

iTunes is not good to work with in the slightest. It's evil, evil!

I seriously suggest a Samsung, the only actual advantage of an iPod/Ipod is the occasional model which refuses to run out of battery, and those are too rare to hope for.

Samsung MP3's basically let you get as fancy as you want, as big as you want in varying degrees, with good support on all sides. Drag and drop if thats your style, buy music from a Samsung Media Studio shop, the list goes on.

I am serious here! No-one wants an olympic swimming pool built in anyway!

[Bookman]

The question is, then, what music and what player would he be listening to when he beat them?

The BatPod.

Obviously. It runs mp3000 files. Since Batman is too cool for just the number 3.

[Glawackus]

Well, given the choice between Zune and iPod, I'd say either one is pretty good. I have a Touch, which is really a nice piece of tech (although I wish that it had more memory--but, hey, free's free), but I've played around with my friend's Zune, and have also found that pretty desirable.

If you don't want something from one of the Big, uh, Two, I'd look into Creative's Zen line or Sandisk's...something-something. I forget the name.

Edit: Are you running Windows or OS X? I've found iTunes is a hundred times easier to deal with on OS X, for some reason. If you're going to be using an iPod with Windows, I suggest looking into foobar2000 and the foo_dop plugin, or Floola.

[Mauve Shirt]

The sad thing about this battle, is once you choose one you can never change the brand you buy.
Well, I don't know about Zune, but I'm pretty sure I can't use it with itunes, and since I got an ipod all of my music is in itunes. I'm going to need a new ipod soon, actually. I've acquired too much music for my ancient nano.
But I absolutely despise Apple.

[randman22222]

My opinion: Ask yourself if you absolutely must have music playing in your ears on demand.

I just use CD's and my computer. And this is more than enough for me. Of course, I wonder if this might not have something to do with my being a musician...

EDIT: What I mean is I buy CDs. As opposed to downloading songs. And not burn 'em. I don't take my CDs with me, either, typically.

[Mauve Shirt]

I always lose the CDs I burn, or forget to label them and they end up lost in piles of unlabeled or blank CDs. Or they end up in the basement in the shelves with a bazillion other CDs. It's easier for me, and I guess for a lot of people, to have them organized on my laptop instead of hunting for them in various places around my house.

[Mr. Mud]

I don't know much about Zune, but I would go with the iPod. The classic is always the best choice. Really, though, my iPod has every feature I could possibly want, and more. I mean, I can't really think of a situation in which I would need to use my iPod as a toaster, but it's always there as an option if I'm desperate, thanks to Apple.

Also, why would you ever need to play music on your Xbox?

Eh, my brand name japanesse, "idunno what'its called" v 2.0 (:smallwink:), Is the swiss army knife of MP3, can record, get FM radio, and sorta of a walkie talkie function that doesn't really work... I'll try and find its real name.

(oh yea, and it palys music :biggrin: 30gig)

[Mando Knight]

My opinion: Ask yourself if you absolutely must have music playing in your ears on demand.

I just use CD's and my computer. And this is more than enough for me. Of course, I wonder if this might not have something to do with my being a musician...

EDIT: What I mean is I buy CDs. As opposed to downloading songs. And not burn 'em. I don't take my CDs with me, either, typically.

Of course you shouldn't download songs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz-grdpKVqg). First you're stealing songs, then you're robbing liquor stores... and selling crack and running over school kids with your car!

Batman's BatPod would be loaded with his own theme songs... like the classic '60s one. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXvXz7OqgbY)

I don't really use MP3 players... my car has a CD player, so I just burn custom discs, and my Lappy (http://homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html) has all my tunes anyway...

[Athaniar]

iTunes is not good to work with in the slightest. It's evil, evil!

I seriously suggest a Samsung, the only actual advantage of an iPod/Ipod is the occasional model which refuses to run out of battery, and those are too rare to hope for.

Samsung MP3's basically let you get as fancy as you want, as big as you want in varying degrees, with good support on all sides. Drag and drop if thats your style, buy music from a Samsung Media Studio shop, the list goes on.

I am serious here! No-one wants an olympic swimming pool built in anyway!

I respect your opinion, but can you come up with any examples as to why iTunes and the iPod are so much worse than the Samsung?

[Pyro]

can i Vote Creative Zen?

please?

O me too! I love those things, but I just like buying alternative products for some reason. I think they also happen to be a lot cheaper than ipod too. They can also do radio and record if you're looking for cool features.

[Castaras]

I respect your opinion, but can you come up with any examples as to why iTunes and the iPod are so much worse than the Samsung?

I looked up on Amazon, and ipods cost from about £110 to £140 for a desirable size memory (8 - 80gig, ignored the ones which had less memory which cost considerably less). Samsung was quite a bit cheaper (although there's some quite expensive samsung there).

I can't really give an opinion - all I can say is if you decide to go for a normal MP3 player, go for a more expensive one. The cheaper ones are more likely to break on you. *looks at her mp3 player that broke in 4 months* *looks at her mp3 player that doesn't work properly, but works well enough for her to use anyway* *looks at their cheap price tags* *sighs*

[nothingclever]

Although I think iTunes is trash when it comes to transferring of music to and from your iPod that problem can easily be solved by using a program such as Sharepod to simulate the same functions as iTunes which will allow you to import/export anything easily.

iTunes is just annoying if you accidentally set it as your default music player or whatever I did once and it messes up various settings. I find I can drag songs onto my iPod just fine using it but exporting them back to my computer I'd use Sharepod.

I originally had a 60gig iPod video which I think is referred to as the classic and it never died on me the way some people claim theirs did and I used it constantly. The only time I replaced it was when it ended up in my washing machine because someone decided to distract me with some extremely pointless conversation. Since then I got an 80gig video which is basically the same and I enjoy it. I'll probably use it for several years before I bother getting anything new.

[Catch]

I respect your opinion, but can you come up with any examples as to why iTunes and the iPod are so much worse than the Samsung?

That would defeat the purpose of the unsubstantiated opinion. It loses all potency if you have to actually back up your claims.

As far as I'm concerned, I have a 2 GB iPod nano--which cost me nothing--and I've run it through the washing machine about two or three times now. The little thing still works just fine, which is pretty impressive, all things considered. I wouldn't call myself an Apple loyalist, as I'm just not solvent enough to shell out for a Mac, but for the most part, the products are quality, reliable, easy to use and, regrettably, expensive.

I also know several people who own a Zune, likely the only few who actually do, but from what I've heard, the product is comparable to the iPod, whatever the flavor, and performs as well as could be expected. Since the Zune was created with the intention of mirroring the functionality and (hopefully) the success of Apple's player, I'm relatively certain that it delivers a similar, if barely-indistinguishable experience.

Either way, I've yet to meet a person who was wholly dissatisfied with their iPod or Zune, and the differences as I have noticed them are mostly cosmetic and tactile, with the exception of coding, which I understand to be a bone of contention among the tech crowd. Since I favor iTunes as my default music player and CD burning software, I've yet to have an issue with the AAC format and am generally satisfied, with the exception that the player does tend to hog system resources.

Still, if you're frequently using your Xbox to play music and the .m4a filetype doesn't agree with it, you might be better off using a Zune instead. That would likely be a better remedy than wasting time converting and migrating songs, and since the Zune products are comparable to the iPod line, the change would probably be negligible. Save yourself the hassle and choose a device that works with everything, I say.

[valadil]

I have an iPod. My GF has a Zune. As far as I can tell (and I'm trying to be unbiased), the best reason to get a Zune over an iPod is the FM radio. If you're not interested in the radio the iPod is probably a better choice. I got a kit for my car that let's me hook up the iPod to it and control it through the car's sound system. It's wonderful. As far as I know Zunes don't have that option, while plenty of car manufacturers are adding iPod docks. This is a killer feature for me, so I'm sticking with iPod until we can get hard drives in our cars.

[Zakama]

I have an iPod. My GF has a Zune. As far as I can tell (and I'm trying to be unbiased), the best reason to get a Zune over an iPod is the FM radio. If you're not interested in the radio the iPod is probably a better choice. I got a kit for my car that let's me hook up the iPod to it and control it through the car's sound system. It's wonderful. As far as I know Zunes don't have that option, while plenty of car manufacturers are adding iPod docks. This is a killer feature for me, so I'm sticking with iPod until we can get hard drives in our cars.

If you have an aux in port in your car, it doesn't matter what player you have as long as you have an aux cable. I agree though, there's going to be more cars with either iPod docks, (and no aux ports) but you're not gonna see many cars with Zune docks. I think the real clincher here though is that he has an Xbox, cause I doubt Myatar's gonna buy a new car based on his mp3 player choice. :smalltongue:

[Myatar_Panwar]

If you have an aux in port in your car, it doesn't matter what player you have as long as you have an aux cable. I agree though, there's going to be more cars with either iPod docks, (and no aux ports) but you're not gonna see many cars with Zune docks. I think the real clincher here though is that he has an Xbox, cause I doubt Myatar's gonna buy a new car based on his mp3 player choice. :smalltongue:

Funny enough, I would probally just use CD's with my car (don't have one) if it had the option, rather than an MP3 player.

But yeah, I will probally go for the Zune at this point, if only for the 15/month deal. As long as you can cancel it at any time, I see it as a great deal, as my purchases of music are rare, but when they happen they come in huge packages. Now I just need to figure out how to transition my Gigs of music from iTunes to whatever the Zune uses (Windows media player I'm assuming?), unless its all already there. I'll check out sharepod, see what that is about.

[valadil]

If you have an aux in port in your car, it doesn't matter what player you have as long as you have an aux cable. I agree though, there's going to be more cars with either iPod docks, (and no aux ports) but you're not gonna see many cars with Zune docks. I think the real clincher here though is that he has an Xbox, cause I doubt Myatar's gonna buy a new car based on his mp3 player choice. :smalltongue:

I have an aux port and still prefer the iPod dock. I got into a lot of near accidents trying to control the iPod while driving back when it was connected to the aux port.

Anyway, the point is that the iPod is the default mp3 player and will connect with more random devices.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

I second Klose_the_Sith on the Samsung idea. I got mine two years ago for Christmas, and really like it. It has picture and video capability as well as FM radio, and only had to charge it about once a week. mine is a little on the small side for pictures and video, but that's what I have a laptop for.

As for Ipod, I'm not a fan. I personally think they're overpriced junk, as the ones I've used has less battery life and poorer sound quality than other mp3 players. Also, I've had Best buy and other Ipod retailers flat out tell me you're paying for the Apple name, and they're really not better than comparable items. So if price is an issue, Ipod is probably not the way to go. As for Zune, as of this past Christmas, it was still rather new, and Best Buy said that they still had bugs to work out, so I'd inquire at your electronics shop of choice as to whether or not they've worked them out.

[Thanatos 51-50]

For the record, I use a little Sony contraption about the size (and shape) of a Sharpie mini that charges when you plug it into your computer with a USB cord. Music storage is "enough" for me, I don't remeber the number. Bells and Whistle include a "workout" mode, which changes music based on tempos and your running cadence, a step counter/calorie burning thing, FM radio, and some sort of voice recorder.
I just use the music, honestly.

If I was forced to choose between Zune or iPod, I'd probably go Zune. This may be part of my personal distaste with iPod and "MP3 Player" becoming practically synonymous, and with iPod being so elitist. (Am I the only one who rembers smaller MP3 players existed BEFORE iPod existed?)
If I wanted to choose based on what has all the bloody accessories, I'd go iPod.
If I wanted to choose based on ANYTHING ELSE, I'd pick up a Zune.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

My sister has a Zen MP3 player, and it's awesome. Get it. It holds much more than I-Pod of equivalent price, and is awesome.

[Vaynor]

I prefer iPods, because I have a Mac and it syncs quite nicely.

[Nychta]

So it looks like it depends on what else you want/have.

If you have a mac, and want easy and cheap accessories, go for the iPod.
If not, go for the Zune.
If you want something that's value for money, get a samsung/creative zen/unbranded.

EDIT: and because I seem to remember someone wanting a phone that played music, has that person looked at the Nokia 5300 XpressMusic? That's the model that I have, it's brilliant. The bigger version is the 5600 but it's a slider. You get a USB cable when you buy the phone so you just plug it into your PC and drag and drop into a memory card in the phone, or use the phone's memory (which is sadly small).

[Zakama]

Funny enough, I would probally just use CD's with my car (don't have one) if it had the option, rather than an MP3 player.

But yeah, I will probally go for the Zune at this point, if only for the 15/month deal. As long as you can cancel it at any time, I see it as a great deal, as my purchases of music are rare, but when they happen they come in huge packages. Now I just need to figure out how to transition my Gigs of music from iTunes to whatever the Zune uses (Windows media player I'm assuming?), unless its all already there. I'll check out sharepod, see what that is about.

iTunes makes a folder for itself in the My Music folder on Windows, and the Zune has the really cool feature of syncing everything it can in your My Music, My Pictures, (jpg's only) and My Videos folder. You can turn syncing subfolders on and off, but I'm pretty sure My Music has that turned on, so it'll all sync.

[Klose_the_Sith]

I respect your opinion, but can you come up with any examples as to why iTunes and the iPod are so much worse than the Samsung?

iTunes in general has an awkward interface, it's not quite "Windows Media Player" awkward but after a while you really get sick of all the pointless waiting andway it has to be used.

Samsung Media Studio can be used to auto scan and add all the music on your computer instantly (sadly not an option if you have games because the sfx get added) or to auto scan folders and sub folders (very useful, one click and its added all your old iTunes stuff). It can run a Gracenote scan at any time, to get song info for mistitled songs etc.

The players interface is much better to work with, and more intuitive. On an iPod they always seem to convolute things and waste precious seconds, because I don't know about you but I'd rather just listen to my music. I worked out how to do everything with my Samsung by picking it up and looking through the menus for about half a minute.

I could go on but I have breakfast to eat.

[Zakama]

Oh yeah, also with a Zune, if you have wifi, you can sync wirelessly. :smallbiggrin:

[Athaniar]

iTunes in general has an awkward interface, it's not quite "Windows Media Player" awkward but after a while you really get sick of all the pointless waiting andway it has to be used.


Really? I find it most practical.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

It's not exactly on topic here, but here's a link that's kind of interesting and does somewhat pertain to the discussion. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080810051102.njhra1ru&show_article=1

[Mr. Mud]

Eh, my brand name japanesse, "idunno what'its called" v 2.0 (:smallwink:), Is the swiss army knife of MP3, can record, get FM radio, and sorta of a walkie talkie function that doesn't really work... I'll try and find its real name.

(oh yea, and it plays music :biggrin: 30gig)

I can't find it anywhere :smallfrown:. But I'm going with Zune... And thats not because I feel moreally obligated to since I own a PC... It's got a ton better features than iPods, and iTunes has only given me trouble...

Okay, now I gotta go look for a iMac :smalltongue::smallbiggrin:

[Klose_the_Sith]

Really? I find it most practical.

Ewwww ...

Are you serious? Because iTunes is awkward and clunky ...

[Pocketa]

There's a music section that has long since been quiet that this could be moved to...

[Mc. Lovin']

Ewwww ...

Are you serious? Because iTunes is awkward and clunky ...

I also use Windows Media Player and I find it OK, which audio player do you use?

[randman22222]

I use Winamp (which has been revised recently), and it's wonderful. It even connects with most mp3 players. (iPod, Zune, etc.)

[Klose_the_Sith]

I also use Windows Media Player and I find it OK, which audio player do you use?

Samsung Media Studio ATM, because it's the best one I've encountered thus far.

[Athaniar]

Ewwww ...

Are you serious? Because iTunes is awkward and clunky ...

Most serious. Can you please tell me why you think it is awkward and clunky? Remember, I don't have much experience with these kinds of programs, so I can't really compare them, but I find iTunes most effective.

[valadil]

iTunes is pretty damn clunky on Windows. I haven't been bothered by this because I tend to update my iPod once every 6 months and then forget about it. If you're the type of person who adds music once a week, iTunes is more likely to be a problem if you don't get along with it.

iTunes on Mac is fine, but most Mac users wouldn't even consider buying a non Mac mp3 player.

[randman22222]

Again, Winamp works beautifully for me, and connects with iPods... There's a possibility if you want an iPod, but not iTunes.

[Crispy Dave]

personaly im gonna recomend a zen (http://us.creative.com/products/welcome.asp?category=213&subcategory=214) becasue they have all the features you want plus they are sd exspandibvle witch is a huge plus. and I also recomend buying music from amazon (http://www.amazon.com/) becasue they will never screw you or code thier songs plus you can use pepsistuff (http://pepsistuff.amazon.com/gp/pepsistuff/home.html) to pay for your songs

[Klose_the_Sith]

personaly im gonna recomend a zen (http://us.creative.com/products/welcome.asp?category=213&subcategory=214) becasue they have all the features you want plus they are sd exspandibvle witch is a huge plus. and I also recomend buying music from amazon (http://www.amazon.com/) becasue they will never screw you or code thier songs plus you can use pepsistuff (http://pepsistuff.amazon.com/gp/pepsistuff/home.html) to pay for your songs

One of my friends bought a brand new Creative Zen, it fell apart in a week. She bought another one and it fell apart in a month. She now uses an iRiver, and laments it constantly.