Compare & Contrast Essay: iPod Touch vs. ZuneHD

iPod or Zune: Which player is better? The iPod "started it all" with digital music. The Microsoft Zune stepped into the market to give the Apple iPod some competition but was quickly lampooned by those iPod fans who wanted to ward their purchase with their life. The aim of this essay is to compare and contrast the differences of the Microsoft Zune and Apple iPod according to their price, display and battery life to determine which player is better.

There are a lot of similarities between both of the said players. Notably, both are able to play music and videos. Both are also compatible with any computer operating software. The Zune and the iPod commonly have a touch screen interface, that easily helps their users to navigate and explore the said players.

Microsoft may have Apple firmly pommeled in the price department when it lifted the lid on the Zune pricing, but since Apple responded with a price drop on the Touch, the gap has narrowed significantly (Touch-screen Smackdown: iPod Touch vs. ZuneHD, 2009). Although Apple has the cheapest entry-level model, I have to hand the price war victory to Microsoft, for the reason that they have managed to skim just enough of the price to make non-iPod devotees look twice before leaping.

The generous 3.5-inch on Apple's iPod Touch has made it the de facto player of choice, but Microsoft set out to challenge that lead by offering a better screen. The Zune screen uses cutting edge OLED technology which delivers brightness and contrast unlike anything. Technically, Apple has more pixeld but the brilliance of an OLED display makes up for it (Touch-screen Smackdown: iPod Touch vs. ZuneHD, 2009).

No matter how capable or small, a personal media player does no good if you are constantly running back to the wall to charge it. Thus, making battery life as one of the most important specifications that is never truly appreciated until we take the device into the field. Apple boasts 30 hours of music playback and six hours of video playback. But Microsoft has one upped Apple here as well, claiming that Zune will deliver 33 hours of music and 8.5 hours of video. The extra 2.5 hours stands as a significant advantage to consumers — given that OLED displays are much more efficient than LCD counterparts. Microsoft claims that the Zune fills up faster too — two hours when charging from a adapter. While Apple claims that the Touch an charge to 80 percent capacity in two hours, it requires four for a full charge (Zune vs. iPod Comparison, n.d.)

Microsoft has definitely supplied some competition in the digital music player scene since its release. But it has not lived up the hype as it did for the Apple iPod. Nonetheless, the choice of which player is better is still in the hands of the buyer, according to his taste and preference.

Reflection:

I really had fun in writing this essay! :) This essay allowed me to give a "review" about the two players — ZuneHD and Apple iTouch. Being a music lover, it really was interesting for me to know the specifications, differences and similarities of two of the most popular digital music players \:D/

Reference List:

[1] "Touch-screen Smackdown: iPod Touch vs. ZuneHD". ( September 28, 2009). Retrieved on March 12, 2010. From:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0

[2] "Zune vs. iPod Comparison". (n.d.) Retrieved on March 12, 2010. From http://www.zunescene.com/comparison