Ipod vs. Zune

The battle between Mac and PC is not just fought on the Computer side of things. Both brands (Apple and Microsoft) battle in the world of MP3s as well. Apple has the Ipod and the Ipod Touch, the Mac of MP3 players; and Microsoft has the Zune and the Zune HD, the PC version of the MP3 world. With both pieces of technology they both offer downloading sites that directly integrate with their MP3 products. But which is better?

Apple first introduced the Ipod in 2001 with its first generation, black and grey screen version of the device. Microsoft, 5 years later brought the Zune into the market. By 2006 the Apple Ipod was playing movies and could handle around 30-60gbs of memory. The Microsoft Zune did pretty much the same thing, but was a lot bulkier and didn’t have the convenience of the patented Ipod “wheel”, the easy way to navigate on the device. Skipping over to present day, things between the 2 devices have remained the same. The Apple Ipod has advanced much farther than the Zune. "More than 75,000 easily downloadable apps can transform Apple's player into a full-fledged mini-computer. The Zune Marketplace, on the other hand, only offers a handful of add-on programs" (Gideon). Although it finally has a web browser it still does not meet up with same standards Mac and Ipod users are used to. These products also tie in with the Mac vs PC argument in another way: integration. The Iphone/Ipod has the ability to integrate, update, sync and be controlled by an owner if they have a Mac computer through a program called MobileMe. The PC does not offer this with their Zune device.

I know this not only through research, but as a past and present user of both products. I started out using the 1^st generation Zune with PC and recently switched to the Ipod/Mac combo and have never been happier.

Gideon, Tim, and Sheehon Donnell. "Touch-Screen Smackdown: iPod touch vs. Zune HD." PCMAG.COM. ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA, 18 Sept 2009. Web. 08 Apr 2010. .