The Microsoft Zune has been the butt end of the joke for a few years running now.  But with the release of the Zune HD MP3 player and the accompanying Zune Marketplace 4.0, everything is going to change.  The Zune, or the reported “iPod killer” was a shocker when it first was released.  Thought of as a brick by most people, it was fairly large for the taste of most consumers.  If you were someone who wanted to exercise, you didn’t want to lug the first generation Zune with you.  With each iteration of the Zune MP3 player, features, style, and affordability got so much better.

The Zune HD is by far one of the coolest MP3 players out today on the market.  With all the bells-and-whistle you could ever want:  HD radio, integrated Nvidia graphics, touch screen, and web browsing capabilities, it’s something everyone will love.   With a redesigned, sleek, sexy body and integration with XBOX live and your computer, you’ll be happy with your decision to buy the this multimedia MP3 super-machine.

With Apple dominating the market, it’s about time that someone put out a strong contender.  With the advanced technologies of the iPod Touch and iPhone, very few companies were able to compete.  Now, with the Zune HD out, the world has an ability to choose.

Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace in itself is a great alternative to iTunes.  I don’t know about you, but I’m not a big fan of looking at a spreadsheet when listening to music.  Anything that looks like Excel reminds me too much of work.  Music should be fun!  And Zune Marketplace version 4.0 simply achieves it–hands down with its sexy interface.  Marketplace also has a technology to help keep your music fresh and interesting.  Smart DJ is able to take artists that you’re interested in and generating a play list with songs incorporating that flair and style.  While Pandora has been around for years doing that, it’s a relief that the big companies like Apple and Microsoft are finally embracing the technology too.

The interface for the Zune HD is beautiful.

So what are the cool things that the Zune has that you can’t find with the Apple iPod Touch?

• ZunePass.  With this you’re able to download an unlimited amount of music.  It’s only $15 a month.  Of those unlimited songs you download, you’re able to keep 10 of them for free, permanently (without DRM protection).
• 720p HDMI output for high definition video.
• Sexiest looking music management software out there.  You can download it for free at the link.
• The operating system on the Zune HD is simply beautiful.  You’ll never want to switch back to anything else.
• OLED screen.  From Wikipedia:  “A significant advantage of OLED displays over traditional liquid crystal displays (LCDs) is that OLEDs do not require a backlight to function. Thus, they can display true black color, draw far less power, and can be much thinner and lighter than an LCD panel. OLED displays also naturally achieve much higher contrast ratio than LCD monitors.”  I can’t explain how awesome OLED technology is.


Zune is also refreshing its free Zune PC software with new discovery and recommendation features, such as Quickplay and Smart DJ, that help users find and play digital content.

• Free HD radio.  With the radio, you can tag songs that you like to be automatically downloaded at home.
• Integrates flawlessly with XBOX Live.
• Built in nVidia graphics card for 3D gaming.
• Listen to music “on demand”.  If you have access to the internet, you can listen to music with your Zune, even if it’s not on the hard drive.

To end, the Zune HD is a great alternative to the Apple iPod Touch.  With the built-in 3D graphics, wireless connectivity, OLED touch screen, and other amazing features, the possibilities for the future with this device knows no bounds.  While it can be a bit pricey, if you’re a techno-nerd, you’ll love this MP3 player.  I can’t more thoroughly recommend the purchase of this multimedia device.  With you have kids, this would make the ultimate Christmas present this season (I guarantee it’ll be sold out by Christmas Eve).  It really is that awesome.

The Creative Zen MP3 player is a great choice for people looking for something small, compact, and powerful. It’s one of the best MP3 players for the price when it comes to its size and multimedia capabilities. With the 32 GB model, you’re able to store just about anything you need for a smooth road trip or a year’s worth of music while exercising. Another awesome feature that the Zen has is its expandable SD card slot. If you happen to run out of room with the built-in 32 GB, you can expand it up to another 16 GB for less than $30.

While not as robust as some of the more expensive Apple or Microsoft products when it comes to advanced multimedia like games, the Creative Zen is definitely a contender in the MP3 arena.  Any person buying this player will certainly enjoy this player for many years to come.

Advantages of the Creative Zen MP3 Player:

• While the screen isn’t the largest, the 2.5 inch screen is decent for watching movies on-the-go.
• The screen has brilliant color and a very wide viewing angle which makes showing that funny clip from Family Guy last night to your colleagues at work much easier.
• The Zen is the size of the credit card which makes it great to use while exercising.
• Uses flash memory which means you won’t have to deal with skipping music while running.
• Expandable memory slot.  Not very many players have this capability (iPod included) which frankly is an awesome feature.
• Supports unprotected AAC format, which means you can listen to all those songs you ripped through iTunes on the Zen.
• It has a built-in FM radio tuner.  If you’re not interested in the thousands of songs you have stored on the player, you can listen to talk radio instead.
• Long lasting battery.  Compared to the competition, the 30 hours of battery life simply leaves them all behind.

Disadvantages of the Creative Zen:

• It has a small screen.  Due to its small size, it can be difficult at times to watch certain videos or movies–especially if they have subtitles.  This issue isn’t important if you’re not going to use it to view movies.
• It’s fairly small which means you can lose it.  If you lose your car keys a lot you may not like this MP3 player.  You don’t want to end up beating yourself up later because it fell out of your pocket and got crushed in the couch.
• Limited choice of sleeves and accessories for the Zen.

For final thoughts, the Creative Zen is definitely a great choice.  If you’re someone that doesn’t want to have to deal with the Apple iPod or Microsoft Zune, you’ll find Creative to be a great alternative brand.  Simply put, for the $50 – $100 savings compared to other MP3 players, plus the SD card expansion slot, you really can’t go wrong with the Zen.