Ousmane MarikoZune HD Mini Review
Posted by Ousmane Mariko on September 26, 2009
Coming into this review, the main problem was how to exactly approach it. Comparing it to the well-established iPod Touch is the only way to do it, of course. But being the new kid on the block, it will be at a disadvantage., The Zune HD is almost pioneering how Microsoft will do portable media from now on. The Touch is already well integrated into the Apple/iPod/iTunes ecosystem. With the Znne HD comes the introduction of applications, which is already a behemoth force in the Apple App store.
Design/Hardware
Before drilling deep into the features, I have to say how incredibly sexy this device is. You will immediately notice how very sleek, stylish, and extremely light it is. The 3.3” OLED screen is simply meticulous — away from direct sunlight, mind you. Why this isn’t a phone, completely eludes me. I’ve actually had people think I was holding a phone while in use. You hear that, Microsoft? Make it happen.
Powering the Zune HD is Nvidia’s Tegra chipset. Possibly the new Holy Grail of processing power, the chip inside of the Zune HD literally has 8 separate cores for handling tasks — two “regular” cores and 6 dedicated task-specific cores for video encoding, music playback, etc. How about them apples? With such power under the hood, it should be extremely fast. To think that such power will soon hopefully be on cellular devices makes me shiver pleasantly in my office chair.
Like the Touch, the Zune HD is lacking in the button department. That is not necessarily a bad thing. The choice of buttons, perhaps. The Touch has 3 hardware button – a sleep/wake button, a home button and a volume rocker. Fine. The Zune has 3 as well – a sleep/wake button, a home button and a “multi-purpose” button on the left hand side. One would think that it is a volume rocker, but that is not the case. Pressing the button brings up soft keys that change volume, tracks and pause/play. I am undecided as to if this is a bad thing or not. On one hand, that button is genius when you are flipping through menus and you want to change a song. On the other, it makes you touch the screen more. That would be much more enjoyable if the screen wasn’t so prone to smudges and fingerprints. Oleophobic, anyone?
Software
As I alluded to above, with a powerful Tegra chip providing the brains, the Zune HD should be a providing a fast and slick user experience. And it is. Flipping through menus is fluid and extremely slick. The interface has been optimized to accommodate the touch screen. Frankly, they have done a very good job in implementing the change. If you have never in your life touched a Zune product, you will easily get the hang of this device, as the learning curve is not steep at all. For example, while in a menu, you will notice the previous folder you were in is written at the top of the screen. It’s out of your way, very unintrusive, but it is noticeable. Or how the home screen bounces up and down to signal that a swipe upwards is needed to unlock the device. Well done on Microsoft’s part.
Did I mention that it was fast? I don’t believe I did. It does have an accelerometer built in and it flies when rotating the screen. Check out the video below.
Being a touch screen device, one must expect an onscreen keyboard and this is no exception. It’s remarkably good, not optimal. Coming from the standard Windows Mobile keyboard, this is a major improvement. It inexplicably does not rotate if you need to go into landscape. You must first exit the keyboard, go into landscape and then pull it up again. The few times you do use the keyboard is when in the built in browser, which is quite slow and painful to use. Flipping from portrait to landscape is almost instant, the loading of a web page is not at all optimized.
Zune HD vs iPod Touch
Don’t act like you’re surprised. We all knew this was coming. Zune vs iPod. This is the first PMP to actually rival the iPod Touch. Let’s take a look at how they stack up against one another. Thanks to Livbit for an awesome table.
Conclusions drawn from the table seem to be that the main disadvantages of the Zune is the fact that it is a brand new device and not well established. The market for apps, accessories, and market/mind-share is extremely low — for the time being, that is. You can bet your bottom dollar that we’ll be following the Zune HD’s progression rather closely in the upcoming months.
Zune Pass Integration
The main selling point for the Zune HD (any Zune, as a matter of fact), is the ability to use Zune Pass. Basically it’s $15 for 30 days of unlimited DRM-ed music downloads. When the 30 days is up, you can keep 10 of those songs for use on other devices. Quite the deal for $15. With the Zune HD comes 14 free days of Zune Pass for trial. I suggest giving it a go. Unfortunately, this only makes sense if you’re really into music and are constantly looking for new stuff to get into. Or if you’re like me, you’ll end up discovering a lot of new music you probably would have never listened to.
I’m sure you’ve heard all about the iTunes tagging on HD radios on radio commercials. The Zune does that too. It, itself, is an HD radio. You can favorite a song and tag it for later. Here is where Zune Pass comes into play. When you sync your device next, you will be prompted to download that specific track onto your device. You can also get other tracks by that artist as well while you’re at it. Cool, huh? Incredibly.
Conclusions
Is the Zune HD worth the purchase? The answer is a difficult one to answer. More often than not, it will be a “yes.” Pluses include HD radio, song tagging, Zune Pass, the gorgeous OLED screen and its cheaper price tag than the iPod Touch. Unfortunately, you have to pay 90 buckaroos to enjoy HD video on your TV. And accessories are quite scarce. But give it some time, and that will surely change. Nonetheless, this is a absolutely jaw-dropping device and worth a second look. Is it a competitor to the Touch? Yes. Is it better? Not necessarily. But it’s pretty damn close.
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Tommaso M. said
Well done. I really enjoyed the review.
Tatiana.L said
Wow i actually understood what u were talking about i like it!! and yes it should be a phone!!
Sham said
You last statement is a contradiction to your comparison
“Is it better? Not necessarily. But it’s pretty damn close.” However your own chart, an almost pound for pound comparison clearly shows that it is better in it’s contending category.
Don’t skimp on words cause your biased more towards another product. If it’s better (by your own chart it clear is), then say that.
I have neither product, however I hate looking for information based on reviews given by the authors when they themselves add contradiction to what they actually mean.
-Sham