Zune HD 32 GB Video MP3 Player (Platinum) Review

I've owned a different mp3 player almost every year since 2002, and I can sincerely say this is the most blown away I've ever been with a mp3 player (or pmp, whatever you want to call it). I'm not saying it's better than iPod, but it really is it's own unique experience.

Physical Design:
Beautiful light-yet-not-cheap feeling industrial look to it, and feels just as fancy. Not better or worse than iPod design, but definitely unique. Love the 4 aesthetically pleasing placed screws in the back. I'd say the iPod is more "star trek" and the zuneHD more "star wars"...if that makes any sense in terms of aesthetics. Nerd enough for you? :)

UI:
Love it, love it, love it. You still have your standard menu from past zunes, but now you can do a simple swipe and BAM, you're have this beautiful interface with "Pins" (which are essentially bookmarks to anything on your player) and "History". With a large collection or a Zune Pass, they're invaluable new additions to the front menu, and a reminder of stuff you wanted to watch/listen to.


Sound Quality:
I use them with my $300 Pioneer studio headphones, blows me away and I don't hear a single artifact with my 320k encoded mp3s...or my 192k ones for that matter. But that's probably more the mp3s..still does say at least something about the quality of the hardware though.


Music Integration:
Probably what really sets this apart from other players. Somehow, possibly with a force of magic, when you sync your music with the zune software, it connects all this metadata to each artist. So, for example, if you put a song by Coldplay into the software and sync it to your zune, when you go to the artist Coldplay on your zune, you get this cool image of them in the background, and the option to view more photos, read a 5 page bio, or click "related", in which you get a menu where you can see a few artists that sound like Coldplay. If you have wifi, you can click on ANY album from ANY of these artists and sample ANY song. If you have the Zune Pass, you can just stream any song entirely, whenever! It's kind of music overload, but really cool, and see it useful for some people.

OLED Screen:
Crystal clear, you'll probably say "wow" when you first see it, like when you first saw an iPod Touch screen, but I'd have to say I this screen pops a bit brighter and the interface flows more seamlessly. There are complaints there it's difficult to see the screen in broad daylight...well hey what artificially lit screen IS easy to use in direct sunlight? I see it darn fine on an overcast day, but of course it's best used indoors or in the shade.


I'll stop the review here, but I'll say these final words. IT IS NOT BETTER OR WORSE THAN THE IPOD TOUCH. It's a different experience with (right now) different goals. There are no real apps (yet). The goal of the zuneHD is to be a portable media device, and it does it exceptionally. IT IS NOT A COMPUTER IN A POCKET. If that's what you're looking for, go iPod. If you're looking for an awesome way to enjoy your media, this is it. That is what this device focuses on, and due to that it's better than the iPod at it. I'm not even bringing up the Zune Pass nor the HD output to the TV, but I'm sure you can read around and find how seamless those are as well.Get more detail about Zune HD 32 GB Video MP3 Player (Platinum).