Today Microsoft finally took the wraps off of its next generation Zune hardware. The Zune HD is bigger, better and more impressive in every way than any Zune before it. In fact, some might say that it’s the most attractive music/media player yet with its HD radio and HD video output.
With an accelerometer and web browser via Wi-Fi, it’s providing serious competition for anyone in the market for an iPod Touch. Music players are now becoming so much more than just things that serve your MP3s, providing yet more deciding factors on which one will get your dollars.
The Question of the Day is: Which portable media player is most likely to be your next purchase?
It doesn’t have to be limited to a Zune or iPod, as clearly spending hundreds of dollars on a music player may not be music to everyone’s ears. Hah.
Marcus: I’ve never owned an iPod or a Zune. For my portable music needs, I’ve been using a very modest and trusty Sony NW-E99 (with only 1 GB!) for years as it does what I need it to do – play music. But if I had take a leap into the modern era of PMPs, the Zune HD intrigues me the most. It’s not the music aspect of it (though the ZunePass does sound like a very sensible option) but rather the HD video out and possible integration with the Xbox.
Jane: I've said it twice before (and I'll probably keep saying it), if Microsoft added a phone to the mix, I'd be all over the Zune HD like a wet towel. At the moment I use an iPod Nano because it pairs with Nike+, which I'd be completely lost without. Unfortunately that means I have to stick with either the iPod Nano or the iTouch for my PMP needs. Unless of course, someone wants to buy me another PMP, in which case I'd go for the Zune HD, just for the sake of it. I'm always interested in trying out new gadgets.
Tuan: I don't have an iPod or Zune either. I have an iPhone but I don't even use it for music listening. I never find myself listening to music while walking around somewhere. And when I'm in my car I have the car stereo playing. At home, I have the home audio system playing. I remember owning the Diamond Rio, which was basically the first mainstream portable MP3 player. It was pretty crappy in terms of quality, but it was cutting edge for its day. I didn't buy anymore portable media players after that one!
The most important thing for me is long battery life.
And it will be even more awesome if it can play games from Xbox Live Arcade.
The only concern I have is that the resolution might be too small. Oh and the price of course, heh.
My next player will also allow expansion and will play FLAC.
I have a Creative Zen:M Vision 60GB for the car and an O2 XDA Orbit 2 phone with 32GB for when I'm out and about. Once I get the BT enabled head unit for the car I'll get rid of the Zen and just use the phone.
Used Apple products before and I won't do that again. You pay too much for too few features and they artificially restrict the way you use them. iTunes sucks too.