Battle of the MP3 Players: which is 'better', Zune or iPod?

The market has spoken, and I have voted with my dollars, so I don’t need to debate this issue on Fluther.

the iPod.

I have spoken with my dollars too, but regret my purchase of the iPod…

iPod wins for many with Wi-Fi. I believe the Zune does not have true Wi-Fi.

you need to specify which ipod you are referring to to have an accurate answer. i would say that the zune beats the ipod classic, nano, and shuffle, while the ipod touch is a far superior product than the zune. the features in the zune are comparable if not superior to all the ipods except the touch. the touch is the future of mp3 players.

i would vote the zune personally.
solely for the fact that i don’t consider the touch a mp3 player. its too imba. :P
also, the fact that microsoft will upgrade the past versions when releasing new versions is quite nice… it’ll keep me within the zune market for quite some time, since as a first generation zune owner, i haven’t been forsaken.

I’d say the sales records speak for themselves. And yes, the iPod has alot of hype, but that will only get your foot in the door. The fact that people continue to buy it over and over again certainly says something. I personally think the Zune is really bloated and doesn’t have any real advantages over the iPod.

In terms of features,the zune has the upper hand. But in terms of over-all usability it is definitely the iPod. The zune has a lot of useless features that you don’t need (e.g. the wifi in the zune does nothing but kill the battery life) . With the iPod it is just so easy to manage your music and the biggest reason why I would always use the iPod is just the User Interface. it’s so easy to navigate across thousands of songs on your iPod and the not-so-popular search feature just blows you away. Plus there is alot more content available for the iPod then the Zune.

And here’s another reason why I would recommend an iPod: my friend’s zune broke a few months ago. He had to ship it back to microsoft (for which he had to pay) and wait 15 days to get it back. With the iPod , you never have that problem. If your iPod breaks , you bring it to the apple store and for the most part, apple will instantly replace your iPod. Also you can get free headphones when your old headphones die ( you can do this even if you are apple warranty is over as long as you be nice)

And one more thing, never get the zune nano—it looks ridiculously big for a mini-player. And I know a lot of people who have complained that it freezes while updating it.

@mirza – sorry, but there’s no Apple store around. In fact, I believe there’s no Apple store in my entire country. My earbuds broke so I had to buy myself new ones.

By the way, what do you mean with “content” available for iPods and Zunes?

If I’d buy a new music-player now, I’d go for a player that is supported by Rockbox. Rockbox has a lot more features than both the iPod and Zune OSes have, and though the user interface might be a bit more complicated because of that, I prefer spending some more time getting to know the interface if that means I can do more.

the iPod set(s) the standard for all MP3 competitors to catch up to. Always being a step ahead. Always adding new features that users will actually use. Apple makes products that are “all show & all go”. Zune is the best attempt yet to oust the iPod. The iPhone is another example of Apples stronghold on keeping up to date with the users needs & not some fluff added by a suit.

@vincent: i was just talking about Apple Stores in America. Rockbox is actually supported on iPods too (except the latest models). I totally respect your decision to use a more complicated but powerful user-interface, but for the average consumer with minimal tech skills, don’t you think the iPod is more user friendly ?

@mirza – I agree – its way too complicated for the vast majority of MP3 owners. It really comes down to iPod & Zune. Rockbox, though its a real custom OS, is not practical for many. So buying a MP3 player based on that install is a whole different subject.

The Zune simply doesn’t even hit the radar compared to an iPod. Too little, far far too late. Besides, my iPod has been almost completely replaced by my iPhone anyway, and again there is nothing remotely close to it worth considering. I expect MS to release a competitor to the iPhone that I have in my hand – in about 5 years.

(sent from my iPhone)

@mirza – let my iPod be the first model not to be supported because of some encryption Apple built in :(

But yeah, for Joe Average the iPod’s interface is probably best (just like OS X’s, yet that hasn’t become popular…), I was just pointing out why it isn’t my thing. Still, I won’t judge which is “better” overall ;-)

Buddy of mine has the Zune and yes it has some nice features but i’ve owned a few iPods (currently own iPhone) and user interface is much better to me. Zune is a first generation product so it will definitely get better with time but for me Apple has the upper hand.

its all about taste. theyre both generally the same: they both play music. i had an ipod and i found little things about it annoying like i always like to put it in my pocket and just change the song with it in my pocket by hitting the button while still in my pocket. but the touch sensitive wheel made it difficult. and also i do not like skinny little things, it feels like its not worth much and it breaks easily and easy to forget so i actually enjoyed the zunes bigger size. thats why i own a zune 30gb white one =D