What exactly is Apple selling?
A couple years ago I leased a new car and began getting tired of burning a new CD every time I got tired of listening to the same 15-20 songs. So I decided to embark upon the purchase of an MP3 player. But at the time, I realized that my car only came with an Ipod connector. I later discovered that you could have a generic auxillary audio input jack, or Apple's super duper proprietary connector. Not both. I was pissed, but I figured I'd have an open mind, give Apple a try, and shoot for an Ipod Touch.
But little did I know how well Apple wanted to get to know me.
At first, it was kind of breezy... Dare I say fun. But then they started to get serious. They wanted my First and Last name, they wanted my home address and phone number, and lastly, they wanted me to have credit card information on file just in case I bought anything.
Now I'm an old fashioned kind of guy, and I'm willing to admit that. I like keeping people on a "need to know" basis, so when stuff like this comes up; when a corporation demands I divulge personal information without any substantive basis; I get infuriated.
Keep in mind that I was setting up an MP3 player, not checking in with the department of building and public safety. All I wanted to do was listen to some music, play some free games and drag and drop files onto my MP3 player whenever I felt like it (jail breaking took care of the last bit, thankfully).
And because I never set up an Itunes account, I wasn't allowed to download any Apps (couldn't download cover art either). So basically I had purchased a device that only did half of what it was intended to do. Great.
I used it for a few months, then I accidentally broke it, and I bought a Zune HD.
With a Zune HD things are a bit different. They don't need to know things like, where you live, how many credit cards you have or even your blood type. You just download the Zune software and if you have a hotmail account it's just a matter of putting in your email address and you're off.
While Itunes may run great on a mac, it runs like utter horse manure on a PC. Download the Zune software and, it's literally a breath of fresh air. Everything flows smoothly, and there's none of that initial lag you get like when you boot up Apple's software. Plus the software's GUI looks pretty sexy too.
Ok so we know the software on the Zune's good. But what about the device itself?
Well I'll begin by telling you what you don't get with the Zune HD:
You don't get an external speaker (headphones only folks).
You can't watch streaming online videos (don't tell your friends that).
You don't get a massive Application repository like Apple gets. But the few programs that Zune has, are free to all.
But here's where Microsoft's Zune HD obliterates Apple's Touch:
I can watch video's in HD quality. Apple can't.
Zune uses an OLED display showing incredibly deep blacks and bright whites along with razor sharp color accuracy. Apple's still doing TFT liquid crystal magic tricks.
Zune HD also has a dedicated Nvidia Tegra APX 2600 GPU, so graphical transitions are incredibly smooth and fluid like. Couple this with the Zune HD's OLED display and Apple's manhood seems to be rather questionable.
The Zune's also alot cheaper if you know where to look.
I've tried both, I've owned both and I prefered the Zune HD over the Ipod Touch.Read full review
