Michael Kellough said:
I know nothing about hacks but I'm surprised that you like the Zune best.
Actually I have a Sansa (something) because I wanted to be able to record FM broadcasts.
This has been a fun subject for me, and I have been asked to write up some extensive reviews of various players for a couple of online publications. There are lots of players I still have not tried. But I've tested a 5th-generation iPod and an iPod Touch, two generations of Zunes, three generations of Archos players, and the Insignia Pilot.
In terms of sheer versatility, the
Insignia Pilot wins. It plays pretty much every format you can think of, has simple drag-and-drop, line-in recording, real Bluetooth, and good sound quality. Also, it's relatively inexpensive (about $150 for 8 GB). But it suffers from serious function problems (stalls and freezes up all the time), and its design is kind of flimsy.
The Archos players are amazing, again in terms of what they can do. The current model, the 605, is more like a little media center that can handle audio, video, basic computer files, and uses real Web access. I was using it to record my interviews for my articles. But the company has a nasty habit of dropping support for their players and has one of the most unfriendly customer service systems I've ever encountered. I'm not kidding when I say they act as if they are doing you a favor when you call. The players start off expensive, then Archos charges you another $30, $40, $50, $80 for every little enhancement.
The iPods win for elegance, interface simplicity, and customer support. The device is built with solid construction, and while playing it never freezes up. But of course, you are limited to MP3 format, and you are bound to iTunes forever, unless you install a hack! I used the
Rockbox hack on an older iPod, but you can't get that to run on the newer models. The iPod Touch has a truly groundbreaking interface, with real WIFI connectivity, and I love the way they designed the extras like contacts. I just hate having to do everything through iTunes, and I am dumbfounded that Apple would not provide mass-storage capabilities on their "premium" players. With the iPods, I always get the feeling Apple is strong-arming their customers and forcing them to comply with serious rules, and I'm amazed that Apple continues to command the MP3 market. There are hacks for the iPod Touch ("jailbreaking" --
click here for more), but even they cannot give the Touch some of the features it lacks. Even so, Apple is always releasing "updates" that block the hacks, so you have to actually downgrade your system software to get them to work. Anyway, most of the iPod Touch hacks are diversions like games or fun apps, not basic functionality like drag-and-drop or mass-storage capabilities. For the premium price ($300 for 8GB), you get very little in terms of disk space on an iPod Touch. Also, the sound quality on the iPods, even the latest and greatest models, is not as good as cheaper players like the Insignia Pilot.
The Zune, even though it is made by Microsoft (who also produces Vista) has most of what the iPod Touch has, with a little more versatility. OK, the Zune does not have a touch screen, but opinions vary on whether that's good or bad. One thing the iPod Touch has that the Zune does not have is true WIFI. Yes, the Zune has WIFI, but only for syncing with your home computer and other Zune users (something I've never heard anyone actually do). With the Zune, I can handle both MP3 and WMA files. Of course, it does not come close to the file-format capabilities of the Insignia Pilot. For the price, you get a lot more disk space -- 80GB Zune for about $250; 8GB iPod Touch for about $300!! The construction of the Zune is solid, and it never skips or freezes up while playing. Finally, there are hacks available for the Zune that improve basic functionality like drag-and-drop and mass-storage usage. You can learn about these by
clicking here. Microsoft seems to unofficially allows these hacks to survive by not deliberately altering the Zune system to block them out. On this, Microsoft is much friendlier than Apple. Finally, the sound quality of the Zune is far superior to the iPods. This is immediately apparent the first time you play anything on the Zune. Although you are bound to the Zune software (just as iPods are bound to iTunes) the Zune software is getting better and more friendly, and actually has some functions I like a lot more than iTunes.
Bottom line, it's a close call between the Zune and the iPod Touch. Let's see which company comes out with the better improvements in the next few months. I would not put serious money on this, however my bet is that iPods will continue to be in control of the MP3 market, but the Zune will get more market share. The hacking world will continue to play a bigger role in making the players do what you really want, and I believe that the unofficial software available for the players will be increasingly important as time goes on.
I'll even go out on a limb and say that the way Microsoft and Apple relate to the hacking world will have a lot to do with their success. The way to deal with the hacking world is not always so clear-cut and may not always require simply silencing people. The company that has a more nuanced approach will win here.
In the meantime, if another company, like Archos or Insignia, can come up with a player that does everything the Zune and iPod does, while also offering greater versatility, they could steal away more customers.
The MP3 world is really confusing!
Matthew
