Monday, June 18, 2007

Congratulations! It's a...

... Zune. It's what I picked as my new MP3 player. And here is why...

After doing my research there were only two players I was really interested in: iPod and Zune. The rest just had too many questions about them. I went to Best Buy and they were completely useless as usual. The people at Best Buy knew very little about the MP3 players (calling them all iPods). They were just not helpful at all. When I discovered that I could return my purchase within 30 days if I did not like it I had to go with the Zune. I liked my iPod, and I am sure the new iPods are just dandy. But I could buy a Zune ($50 cheaper) and if I was not into it I could return it and get an iPod instead... which I know I will probably like.

So far... I dig the Zune. The video screen is bigger than iPod, and the picture is really nice. It is just as easy to use as an iPod, just different. I am not a music downloader... so I have little to say about the Zune Marketplace (their version of iTunes).

The only downsides I've noticed: They are a little bigger than the iPod. They don't seem to play with seamless gaps which is annoying on some albums (my old iPod did the same thing). Loading CDs to the Zune is very simple, but loading a CD-R full of mp3 is a litte tricky and a tad annoying. Also most of the accessories out there are made for iPods, not Zunes.

Right now I am sticking with my Zune, I really do like it... but we'll see after 29 days. I am sure the next version of Zune will be fantastic... but with the glitches of Microsoft I would not tell impatient people to go buy. But at least for now I am not drinking the Apple Kool-Aid... for now.