Kurt Shintaku's Blog

CNet ran their head-to-head challenge this week iPod Classic vs Zune 120.

REVIEW: 
http://reviews.cnet.com/4370-6490_7-706-101.html

Well, whaddya know about that.  We won.

WINDOWS USERS:  GO ZUNE
The major dings that made the evaluation even close were around “compatibility” because we don’t support the Mac.  But if you’re a Windows user, and don’t care about Mac compatibility, all of a sudden you can disregard two of the judges’ deductions for the lack of Mac compatibility and tack on almost an entire extra point to Zune’s final score.

…suddenly, there’s no contest:  Zune comes out the clear winner.

The highlighted benefits Zune 120 has over iPod Classic according to CNet include:

• A la carte music purchases or subscription to all-you-can-eat music
  Judge’s quote:  “I definitely prefer subscription to a la carte”
• Large video screen for viewing TV, Movies, and Downloadable content
  Judge’s quote:  “It blows the iPod out of the water for videos.” “Almost twice the size of the iPod”
• Intuitive, easy-to-use click/touchpad user interface
  Judge’s quote:  “Possibly my favorite navigation experience ever” “The Zune’s large screen and Twist menu system feels more natural to me. Audio and video podcast organization is more logical and attractive on the Zune. The Zune pad also makes for a better game controller.” 
• Rich set of advanced features such as WiFi support & multiplayer games
  Judge’s quote:  “…features such as video output, Wi-Fi music downloads, tagable RBDS FM radio, subscription music support, and multiplayer games should make iPod owners jealous.” “Zune gets the edge with sound, but its FM Radio, Wi-Fi features, and the capability to download music directly from the device give it the edge…”
• Consistent, reliable value with frequent updates of firmware
  Judge’s quote: “Unlike Apple, Microsoft has been very cool about offering new features and firmware updates to all Zune models, year after year. There’s some comfort knowing that the Zune you buy this year will get all the new features of next year’s Zune.” “It’s packed with features galore that make the Classic look a bit aged.”