Review of Zune HD

(Copied from Crunchgear)
Having used Zune HD for over a month now I thought it would be good to write a review about this unfortunate little device shadowed by market leader iPod. No boring long paragraphs; let me quickly list down the pros and cons.
Cons first:
- Missing features & apps: if you had used any recent generation iPod, there is a chance you would miss the following: Alarm clock, Calendar alert & integration with Outlook, tasks & TODOs, apps & games.
- One touch pause/play: requires a button press and a screen touch to pause/play; could be an issue outdoors.
- Battery life: battery life is really good for music/radio but goes down drastically with Wi-Fi on or apps.
- No USB file support: Yup, you cannot use it as a USB drive.
Pros:
- OLED screen: excellent in bright environment; enhances battery life. The screen is scratch proof. You would still need a scratch-guard as it’s not really oil/dirt proof. Comes with mutli touch too.
- Processor/Graphics: Excellent. Tegra processor has real HPJ. Built-in games would demonstrate this well; no hiccups. Had a chance to compare graphics side by side with an iPod touch; Zune HD wins hands down. As an incidental side-effect you get to watch your HD videos in hyper-quality.
- Radio w/ HD: I know iPod nano 5th generation has brought in radio/FM too. You simply can’t miss the 10+ FM channels if you are in a city like Chennai.
- No iTunes: not sure many would agree with me; I hate iTunes to the core. Zune software has a refreshing new look& feel. On a related note, there is no lock in: yes, you can sync with multiple computers with guest sync support. Wireless sync lets you go cordless.
- Intuitive interface: for a change MS has made Zune HD really usable. Try it once to appreciate it.
- Well built: Well-built and boasts a masculine bold look. I hate the iPod nano esp J.
Other features:
- Zune pass: while not a real treat if you are outside US; it is indeed a great deal for music lovers. For $14 you can listen to unlimited songs; better yet you get to download 10 songs as well.
- Browser: Zune’s browser is good enough to access emails/twitter. The fact that it’s a variant of the windows mobile browser would show up in heavy sites. Lacks flash though.
- Keyboard: Zune’s on-screen touch keyboard is indeed useful. Auto correct feature is really good.
- Power-off: You can “power-off” for real in a Zune HD.
- Not really an advantage, but I do like the fact that I can automatically exclude and “remove” songs I hate/dislike. It’s usual for me to copy a whole album, listen to all the songs and after two or three plays mark a song as “dislike” in one click. It would eventually be removed in the next sync. I love this feature; helps me free up a lot of space without much effort.
Useful reviews:
Crunch gear review: http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/09/18/review-zune-hd/
Zune HD’s UI: the full tour: http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/09/16/zune-hds-ui-the-full-tour/
Review of the 3D games: http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/11/11/video-checking-out-the-zune-hds-new-3d-games/
Engadget review: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/17/zune-hd-review/
CNet review: http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/zune-hd-32gb-platinum/4505-6490_7-33665869.html

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