Zune Review

Well I finally decided I wanted the Zune instead of an iPod. My wife called santa and had it delivered it a couple days early. The deciding factors in choosing the Zune over the iPod were

1) FM radio - I gotta have my morning show fix so why not buy a device with FM built in
2) The bigger screen - Although it's the same resolution as the iPod, I figure on using the video feature a lot when traveling so the bigger screen would be nice.
3) Video output - I thought it'd be nice to output video to the tv. I could load Hayleys movies on it and not have to worry about bringing dvds everywhere we go.
4) Ben said so

I was pretty excited until I started using it. I really can't add much more then Ben already said in his Zune review. But here's a few items that stick out to me.

- It really bugs me that there's a lack of support for podcasts. If I have to fire up iTunes to download my podcasts then I might as well buy an iPod in the first place.
- I don't like the hookiness of having to let the Zune software scan my computer for songs. I'm not saying it's bad for all users but I'd rather save the time and just drag the music/vids/images onto the device. The software took forever to scan my computer and everytime I sync it scans for changes again.
- I can't remove songs from the Zune. I have to manage everything through the computer. Hello, I don't want to depend on the friggen computer to manage my device.
- I have .avi files I want to transfer to the Zune. Microsoft developed the avi format, they could at least support it on the Zune. The Zune media player should be able to do everything x-box media player does. Either that or the software should convert the videos as it does images. I don't mind converting videos but I don't want to pay another $40 bucks for the software. There's a ton of Freeware that does this for the iPod.
- My thumb is ready to fall off from pushing so many buttons trying to create play lists. Apple got it right with the click wheel. Again I'm in Little Falls away from my computer which is why I was using the Zune to create play lists and not using the computer.

I think Microsoft should put Ben on the Zune team. I feel like the current Zune team hasn't used a portable mp3 player before.

So you may be asking yourself "why not return the Zune if you're so unhappy with it?" Well I was planning on it but Jens brother loves it, so I sold it to him at a discount as part of his x-mas gift. He didn't really like the Command & Conquer box set I got him.

Now I'm back in the market for a media player. I'm going to wait until after Macworld next week to get one. Maybe Apple has something new up their sleeve.