Too Zune?

Recently, my iPod went the way of many iPods, and the battery died. I looked at my different options, including sending it away for a refurb (I believe this costs around $80), a new iPod, the Microsoft Zune, other mp3 players.

While sending your iPod away for a refurb is not a bad deal, I am going on a trip in only 2 months, and I just couldn't find the faith to believe that I could get through the process in that time. Also, I wanted to try something new. After looking at various players, a few stood out: The Cowon D2, the Sansa View, and the Microsoft Zune. I downloaded the Zune software, played around with it a bit, and tried it out on my home library (~5000 songs), and it was ultimately a very pleasurable experience. Part of the reason I wanted to move away from the iPod was due to the fact that the iTunes software runs like a hog on my machine (which, granted, is getting old). Ultimately, since the Zune software was such a breeze, and because I had been hearing good things about the Zune, I decided to get it.

Here's a link to the one I got, an 8GB blue!: http://www.zune.net/en-ca/mp3players/zune8/default.htm

The price wasn't too bad. I paid about $146 with tax at the Source. It was nice, not having to brave a Future Shop or Best Buy to get the product. Big box retail stores in Edmonton always scare me a little.

So I'll go through a bit of what I like and don't like about the Zune. I'm a fairly low-tech user, too, so don't expect benchmarks or anything. The iPod/iTunes comparisons are inevitable, so you'll have to live with that. I'll break it down into categories.

Computer Software:
The software sold me. While I kind of hope in the future they integrate it more into the Windows look, it is very pretty. It's easy to navigate and get through your songs in any way you wish. Getting album art and album information is very easy, and you do have control over what information it attaches to your files. You can also set it to create visuals out of what looks like stock photos of the band, and biographies, etc, stored somewhere in the Zune ecosystem. You get quick access to album reviews (although only one per album) and the links to other relevant information and context browsing are pleasurable experiences. I live in Canada, though, and I did have to set my computer region to USA to get this feature. I'm told that this region setting doesn't really affect much on your computer.
The shortcuts are a bit odd. Instead of the usual shortcuts - like hitting space to play/pause - we get weird ones like Ctrl-P and Ctrl-S (for play/pause and stop, respectively). They aren't that bad except that they go against what I'm used to (with Windows Media Player, iTunes, Winamp), which peeved me a bit. Not a huge deal, though.
Zune is a bit of a resource hog, but not nearly as bad as iTunes. Not even bad enough that I even noticed, really, and my computer is getting old and slow.
The other thing that I find a bit awkward in Zune software is the playlists. They are not that bad; I just wish that I had an option to be constantly displaying the playlist I'm playing.
No Linux support :( , at least not with major workarounds. I hope this is forthcoming but I won't be holding my breath. In reality, I'm on Windows 50% of the time, and when I go back to school it will be more like 80-90%, so this is not a big deal to me, but it would have been nice.
One last thing that I am really boggled that iTunes doesn't have: Zune automatically monitors your music directory (or directories) to make sure it always has your whole library. Why don't you have this iTunes?

Hardware:
You could make the argument that the iPod is prettier. Personally, I really like the Zune. It's got a very nice feel to it; it's not quite as curvaceous as the iPod, but I find the buttons to be even more minimalist, which is nice.
The headphones seem much better than the stock iPod headphones. They certainly don't sound as tinny. That being said, I didn't spend a lot of time with them, since I have (expensive) headphones of my own. Honestly, if sound quality is a big deal to you, you will probably still be paying for a nicer pair of headphones. No game-changers here, but it is nice that the stock headphones don't make your ears bleed (figuratively).

Device Software:
I'll confess I don't use playlists all that much; I'm mostly just content to listen to whole CDs at a time, or throw the device on random. These things are very simple, and the Zune software certainly handles them well. The Now Playing list on the device is nice to work with, although it would be nice to have some sort of way to arrange the list (ie change play order). As far as I know, though, the iPod doesn't have this either. Personally, I didn't miss it, but it did seem like something that would be easy enough to implement.
Getting around the device is easy and pleasurable. The look of the software is very nice, if not quite as flashy as the new iPods with cover-flow, etc.
One concern for me was moving away from the click wheel, which I absolutely love. I'm happy to report that the D-pad/touchpad combination used in the Zune is a very worthy substitute. To scroll the list quickly, you just brush your thumb up or down, once or a few times, depending on how quickly and how far you want to go. It feels like something that will get better the more you get used to it, but it is very easy to use even at first. If you're at risk of scrolling past the item you want, you can just tap the touch pad again to stop it. I found it very intuitive. You can also use the input as a d-pad, pressing up down left right and the centre for enter.
The FM tuner is a nice addition, even if I don't see myself using it all that much. It might be interesting when I go to Europe in the summer!
Unfortunately, since none of my nearby friends own a Zune, I can't expand much on the much touted "social." Suffice to say it seems like a nice feature, but watch out for your battery life if you keep wireless on constantly.
One final, niggling point is that the stock games that came with my Zune are way better than the ones that came with the iPod. I got a space-invader type game, a texas hold-em, a Sudoku game, and Hexic, a very nice puzzler similar to Bejewelled. Also, the touch pad is much nicer than the click wheel for controlling games (Well, with the exception of Zuma, which feels like it was made for the click wheel).

Syncing Experience:
Happy to say that syncing is super easy. I got a Zune which was unable to fit my whole library, but the option to try to sync my whole library was available. As it was, I was content to drag and drop, which was very easy. There are settings in there for on-the-fly file conversion, which sounds nice for syncing, but I didn't get to use it as (I think) all of my files are compatible with the Zune (including my iTunes Plus purchased files). You don't need to have your Zune plugged in to set up what you would like to have on there, either, which is nice if you have left your Zune somewhere or simply don't feel like plugging it in yet. The wireless sync, although I can't see myself using it a lot, was simple and intuitive. You just have to go to Wireless on your Zune and hit Sync. It does require some configuration first, but the Zune software takes care of it for you. One very nice thing here is that the software doesn't lock up when you are syncing your Zune, which is a nice change from iTunes.

I know a few things are missing from this review. That's mostly because I haven't had the opportunity to use them much. I did play with the pictures on Zune, and it seemed nice and easy to use, but I never really use this feature, and did not use it on the iPod either. Video, too, is something that I never used on the iPod (mostly because half an episode of South Park drained my battery from full to zero), and I haven't gotten around to using it on Zune, either. They are not important components of the player for me.

To summarize my main concerns:

Pros: Very intuitive and pretty. The touch pad is a great way to navigate a device like this. It's got an 'oooh' factor. Syncing is quick and easy. The device has a great form factor with a few more hard edges than the iPod (I liked this). Zune software is so much quicker than iTunes!
Cons: No marketplace for Canada. No cross-platform (yet). I wish I had the option to always see my playlist on the computer software and I still feel as if device playlists could be done better on both Zune and iPod.

Summary: If you're on a Windows machine, the Zune is a very nice replacement for the iPod, and I totally feel comfortable recommending it to people as such. Competition is a good thing, right? Best buy a Zune or a D2 or Sansa View, so that iPod doesn't become complacent. The Zune is one that you won't be disappointed with.

I welcome any questions about the device, even if it involves me going out of my way to test!