Zune VS iPod: Which should I buy?
 

Well, since I have a job now, I've been thinking of replacing my 4G iPod Nano because 4G is seriously not enough for me. My music is growing and growing every week. I want to buy either the Zune 80G or the iPod 80G. I'm more interested in the Zune because it's something different from the iPod and I do like the fact that I can customize the wallpaper and such to make it more personal. But there are stuff I'd like to know before purchasing it...

So if you have a Zune, I'm hoping that you could help me with this!

1- Does it display Asian characters?
I know that the Zune player program does, but does it in the mp3 player? Since most of my songs are in Asian characters, it would be important that it does. I don't want to see squares instead of the Asian characters.

2- How are the headphones?
The iPod headphones really sucked and broke within a few months. (Plus really uncomfortable...) I'm hoping that the Zune ones are better. (Although, I could always buy better ones.)

3- Have you had many problems with the Zune?
I know the iPod has many many problems and I see people complain all the time. I hope it's not the case with the Zune...

4- If you had both the iPod and the Zune, which would you say is best?

Also, both pictures and videos don't play a huge factor to me. It's only for the music.


*I'm not sure if this should go in the Music section or in this General section. Mods, feel free to move if it's in the wrong place I posted this thread.

An iPod of course their should be no question about it. The ZUNE was just a way for Microsoft to cash in on Apple's success. The same applies to the Xbox.

1- Does it display Asian characters?
I haven't updated my Zune in almost 6 months. It didn't show Asian characters before, but I'm not sure about recent updates or if the new Zune displays them or not.

2- How are the headphones?
I haven't had any trouble with the headphone's and I've had mine for a year. Great sound quality and durability etc.

3- Have you had many problems with the Zune?
None at all. People complain about it being bulky compared to the iPod, but I think that makes it alot more durable as well. :)

4- If you had both the iPod and the Zune, which would you say is best?
I have not owned an iPod, but my sister has owned both and within 3 months of having the iPod, she switched to Zune lol. I guess it's just opinion, but I personally do prefer Zune over iPod.


I can't help but laugh at how ignorant you sound, sorry.

Ignorant? WTF. It's just my opinion on Microsoft and how they try to cash in on every single market they can even though their products suck.

I can't help but laugh at how ignorant you sound, sorry.




back to the topic, I'd say iPod. The quality of music is better played on an iPod and it's easier to navigate from the iPod menu.
My friend gave me a zune and its quality isnt that great, it doesnt have much function to adjust the quality of sound you want.

I'm definitely not trying to sound like a *****, but the way you are coming off is kind of pushy. Are you speaking from personal experience or from other people's opinions?

ipod. its better :>

very true :laugh only thing microsoft good for is their os. >=D


no idea what zune is like lol. it's not even sold here.

1- Does it display Asian characters?
ipod does display asian characters.(mine does at least)

2- How are the headphones?
I am fine with my original ipod 1 but i prefer deep base thingo. ( the thing plug a rubber into your ear)

one annoying thing about ipod is their damn itune. i hate syncing. and itune library sucks

I never like products that Apple made & I also don't use Zune too lol

I use Creative Zen - http://sg.creative.com/products/prod...=16999&listby=

mine's an 8GB 1 & I purchased a 8GB memory card to store my music videos separately from the songs that I stored inside the hard disk of the player

it's a great investment :D

Im still stickig with iPod tho. Nothing can beat its gigantic storage and sound system.
I found itunes much easier to use than WMP. You can select to sync songs manually and it wouldnt cause much problem.
Creating playlists on itunes is faster too.

If you're looking for something cheap, then ZUNE is definitely the one to get. But I personally haven't tried and I wouldn't buy one either, it's just my personal opinion and preferences. I have an iPod Nano and am looking to change it also, but I'll be going towards the iPod Touch so that's another story.

iPod does show the asian characters, and I've had mine for 1 year and the earphones work just as good as when I bought them, maybe you just got a bad batch?

ZUNE just got on sell in Canada recently, so I haven't met or I don't know anyone that's purchased one. Maybe search for reviews online? It can give you an idea...

If the iPod is still under warranty you can get a new set of earphones free of charge. That's what I did just recently.

I'd say iPod because I own one myself.
But I can't judge about a Zune, so I don't know which one is better.

Well, since none of the replies kinda answered my questions I'll wait a bit and try to gather more info.

The questions were for the Zune, lol. I already have the iPod Nano so I know how the iPod works, LOL.

Good Luck finding someone who owns one. haha

I have a Zune,so,I recommend it!

Why are you so against the Zune? Have you ever own one?

Besides, I already found a few review and I learn that I can sync the Zune without plugging it to my computer and there's a radio too!

I'd say iPod. I do not own a Zune, nor have I ever owned a Zune, but from reading customer reviews all over the web and using friends' Zunes, go with iPod. I don't know why, I just like it a LOT better.

iPod is the only cool mp3 playa!

why?

ipods are for people who follow fads. Ive had 3 ipods now and after this one (which im getting rid of) im getting a zune. so much money for really NOTHING. youre paying for design, not functionality. the ipod touch is so flawed, the headphone jack has been known to break (like mines) the wifi is just ****** generic parts. The touch screen is NOT scartchproof. The battery is ****! unless youkeep it on ultra dim, NEVER use youtube and safari, and have magic fingers to find the exact song you want instantly.

yeah it looks nice, yeah its slim, but like i said, you're paying for design, not functionality. Expect to get your ipod broken in 9 or so months. Or if not that, for Apple to release a new one every 6 months :shakehead

Well, I have an iPod and I love it. My brother has a Creative Lab like was mentioned above and he loves it. A friend of mine has the Zune and he loves it, sooo I guess they're all kinda good :]

Please explain? I am giving you the benefit of the doubt here and will assume that you aren't saying this because you are another consumer *****/sheep.

mizu_akira_ayu: You do realise that iPods have been absolutely notorious for their ****** sound quality right? It's something they have always been at the bottom of the table for.

I live in the UK and use a Mac so I couldn't even use a Zune, but the newest generation does look quite nice...I will have to try one when I fly out to NY this August.

Here is an unbiased opinion as i have both.. 4GB Ipod Nano, and 80GB Zune.


1- Does it display Asian characters? The 80GB Zune does not display asian charecters (ATleast not yet)


2- How are the headphones? You get MUCH better quality earphones with the 80GB Zune, Then any othere MP3 Player on the market currently. This is only with the 80GB one though.

3- Have you had many problems with the Zune? Not one single problem, and the back is brushed aluminum so you dont get all those annoying scratches on the back.

4- If you had both the iPod and the Zune, which would you say is best? I prefer the 80GB Zune because you get a larger screen (Better for Watching Ayu videos) and i personally find the 80GB Zunes interface easier to navigate. Though i prefer the 4GB Ipod if im at the gym as there is just better accessories for it.

EDIT: And whoever says Zune sound quality is ******... Well there full of **** LOL. the Zune 80GB is the best sounding MP3 player ive ever heard. Prob due to the earphones though.

Sorry... but your just bashing the Zune becasue your an Ipod Fanboy IMO. Have you even really had a zune? First you dont even use WMP you use Zunes own personal software. Second you can select to sync music manually with zunes software just as easily with itunes. Oh, and about your earlier statement about sound quality... you are probably talking about the first generation of zunes not the new Zune 80GB. As it has the best quality ive ever heard on an MP3 player.

The guy asked for information on the zune NOT misinformaton silly fanboy:P And no if you read my above post i am not a Zune fanboy as i own both... Just the Zune 80GB is far superior to Ipod 80GB, and Ipod nano is far superior to zunes 4GB, and 8GB.

I had two ipods, and they both broke so easy ._.

I have an 80G Zune now, and I'm in L O V E with it. I love the menus so much better than the Ipod, the screens dimensions and LCD are crisp and clean, and I just find it so much better than and Ipod x3 Plus, I love the wireless feature.

I know that it doesn't have asian characters normally, but you can get an update like I did for them x3 If not, there are squares.

And the headphones imo are the best things in the entire world <3 so snug and comfortable, and can be all you need to listen to your music without turning up your volume more than halfway.

The only thing I liked about the Zune was their program to run it...and even in that...I didn't like some of the features that I had on my iTunes, that it didn't have.

Personally I like iPods better, because to me, they look better...and that kind of thing is always important to me...the Zune looks like it was made for the grunge rockers in the eighties or something. I like the fact that it's very slim as well. I dont want something extremely clunky.

And I actually really like iTunes, and now so many new and old artists are signing on, and I can buy stuff outside the US, and it's really nice.

I put all of my music into iTunes, and on my iPod, so I started using it as my default media player, and I like how everything is very nicely labeled and organized.

The only thing I really don't like, is converting videos with an outside program. But I mean, I don't really mind at all. I'm not really watching movies on my iPod or anything.


Anyway...the only reason why I would get a zune, would be for the screensize.

But the newer zunes seem to be better, lots of people here seem to like them a lot. Maybe you should consider it.

edit...why does everyone else's iPod break so easily? I've never had a single problem, back when I had my 30G and now with my 80G...I don't understand. But whatever.

oh yeah, and iPod headphones do suck. badly. I always buy my own though, because headphones kinda hurt my ears so...yeah

Well, right now I want the Zune the most. I like the bigger screen, the radio, the Zune program is really cool, I also like the red color and the changeable wallpaper. The only thing that is stopping me from buying it is the fact that there's no display of Asian characters. I checked the Zune website and a lot of people complained about this too, but the Zune people haven't done anything about it...

How exactly do you do that?

If I could have the Asian characters, I would buy it right away.

It takes a few hours to do, but it works ._. I find it worth it <3

Guide

You need to register to view the thread though.
Hope I'm being helpful ._.

Both are good and bad in a way. I suggest you randomly choose one. :D

Ditto. I had two ipods (the old 20GB black and white) and the new Ipod nano (8GB) and I probably lost count of how many times I dropped them. My old one lasted for three years (mainly because I don't want the black and white anymore) and the new one's still good as new. Although I do agree about the crappy ipod earphones. But then again, I just get the cheap colored ones from bestbuy that seems to have superb sound quality.

Plus I love Itunes. It's so easy to organize stuff and buying music is great.

Zune...I like the screen and the fact that it's cheaper, but I dunno, maybe I'm just the type of person who really cares about the design, but I don't like how clunky zune looks. But then again, each to their own.

Though I do agree about the itouch, but I tend to stay away from touchscreens all together. :shrug

I do agree, Itunes is Better than ZUNE software ._.

I've never had a Zune but I will give you my opinion on the iPod.

I have dropped my iPod lots of times and it hasn't broken so I guess that really depends on the person. Anyways, with the battery life, I notice mine doesn't last as long as it says it does. I can charge mine for 2 days straight but when I listen to my iPod, by the end of the day the battery is less than half, and I don't even have to watch videos or listen to music consecutively to get it that way. This is a new Classic too. I just got it for Xmas.

The battery gripe is the only gripe I have about my iPod, and also probably Apple Customer Service. Other than that, I have thought about getting the Zune but I don't like the design and since I am not having serious problems with my iPod, I probably won't be replacing it anytime soon.

All those of you who have problems with your iPod it's probably because you take very poor care of it and treat it like a piece of **** when your dealing with some really crafty audio player here. I've had three so far and not one has broken on me, and before iPods I was using a Creative player and guess what it broke, so go figure. The iPods sound quality comes down to the earphones you use. By reading a lot this some of you are real noobs when it comes to understanding iPods and how they work.

PS. The 160GB iPod Classic Rocks! =]

For the price you pay, it better withstand a whole hell of alot of stuff and that it dont. I take EXTREMELY good care of my electronics, and i also use my electronics ALOT. Maybe the people who's ipods dont break just dont use it alot. I use mines every day, for hours at work, walking home, riding the bus, at school and on my breaks, then i use it at home on my sound system. So obvioulsy it's just weak.

I rather like my iPod - it's good enough that I don't have to consider other brands. It's definitely expensive, but I think it's a good investment.

The iPod 80G and the Zune 80G are the same price in Canada. Well actually, I think the iPod is cheaper now. Since the Zune is brand new in Canada.

I don't think the Zune software is that bad. It looks really nice and the design is better, but it's less "organized" I guess.

As for the breaking thing, I think that it depends which iPod it is. Apparently, the classics are easier to break than the nanos. Because it's hard drive vs. flash. My nano has been dropped more than a 100 times, been in the winter cold too but it's fine. Sort of. Except that the cover art are wrong in some songs. XD

Geez! That is one hell of a guide! It works on the Zune 2?

Well, I've dropped my Classic a few times on to hard tiles and it's still as good as when I bought it. This is all thanks to my Invisible Shield which I applied when I got it in September. =D

Well,I say iPod.
The sound quality is great,but still I never had ZUNE,so I can't judge.
(but still somehow I think you should go for iPod xD)

Oh, well I Have a Zune 2 x3 I bought mine on the first day oh June as a graduation gift to myself ahaha.

You can probably just install that version of zune media before you buy your zune and not even have to go through all the first steps actually ._.

Most people get iPods... if you're looking at a popularity point of view... But I think Zune is the better one. Firstly because iPod doesn't have ALL the memory Apple promised. For example, my mom has a, iPod nano and it can with 1.76 GB instead of 2 GB. And I had an iPod 60GB and it came with 55.68 GB.

LOL...You obviously haven't got a clue of what your talking about. Firstly, the HDD size thing is nothing that's limited to just iPods, it's something all HDDs have including Zune's and PC HDDs. It's due to the way a PC reads the bytes on a HDD. If you wanna read about it, then search on the wiki.

So as long as I have the first version of the Zune software, I can have the Asian characters? Do I just need to have that or I have to do something else too to get the characters?

Oh yeah, when listening to a song, does it only display the artist, song title and album title? Can we check the comments, lyrics or something like that.

hard question

1&2. As long as you have the zune software that I showed you before <33
3. Yes, it shows the Artist, the Album, Song Title, and Album Art x3
4. I'm not sure about lyrics or comments ._. I'm sure that there is a firmware edit that can let you do it though ._.

I'm all about the hacks lawlz.

Thanks again koda♥! Well, I might get myself the Zune instead of the iPod after all! :D

iPods look cooler than Zunes, therefore, you should get an iPod!

That's a lame reason, LOL. And I think the Zune looks cooler.

That's true!

Zune doesn't display asian characters, also zune's earphones suck, and their customer service sucks. I had the same problem as one of my friends and my zune screen cracked after only having it for about 5 months and after some research online I found that it could be because that the lithium ion battery is located directly behind the screen and if you charge it or have it plugged in for long periods of time that the battery overheats and cause the screen.to crack. I can buy a new zune for the price of replacing the screen. Also the battery dies quickly. I had zune version 1

^ I completely disagree with you about the earphones, ask anyone else and they will tell you Zune earphones are the best. And all of your other problems that you mention when Zune 2 was made. =/

Okay ZUNE!!!

Although it doesn't display asian characters on the zune itself, it does show them on the program.

Headphones or bleh!...so I bought Skullcandy earbuds, they're just amazing with the zune.

I've had my Zune for almost a year now and have dropped it numerous times and it is still looking good with 2 little chips on the edge.

Also I heard when you connect iPod's to other computers besides your own the content on yours is erased, on zune, the program asks you to connect as a guest which leaves the content on your zune and allows you to add new content from another computer.

I've had no problems what so ever with my Zune, imo it's 10x better than and iPod which are irritating to me, and although I have to edit all my japanese music and such for character display, I don't really care, cause it's not that big of a problem.

That can't be true about the screen and battery, I leave my zune plugged in for almost days on end on the dock and it hasn't cracked at all...that's kinda odd, this is the first I've heard of this, and I have the 1st Gen of Zune.

I can't think of a better reason, personally. I like things like that based mostly on looks. Plus, you just look cooler with an iPod than a Zune... most people don't even know what that is.

A Zune looks like a brick. So ugly...

I agree, the Zune looks more ancient and ugly than the first generation iPods:

I'm yet again not sure which one I want! Urgh. I'm so complicated! XD Looking at the guide to obtain the Asian characters to display gave me a headache. And I'm kind scared that after I buy the Zune, I can't manage to get it.

I'll go to Best Buy today and we'll see... XD

I seriously don't care about looking cool. :shrug

Well I've used a Zune briefly and what I've heard from my friends, I think you should get the device over the Ipod. I definitely like the interface and big screen display over the Ipod (I have a Ipod Touch, not a Zune, but whatever) and correct me if I'm wrong, but the Zune is cheaper than the Ipod.

Ah come on, bashing the console is completely irrelevant and shows how biased you are against Microsoft. Last time I checked, its doing pretty successful now (as in the 360). Microsoft realized that the market for the music industry is outrageously huge and they went for it. Zune is not a Godly feat, but I think its a worthy competitor to the Ipod.