Apple Inc. introduced its fifth generation iPod called iPod 5G on October 12, 2005. The product is also known as iPod video. iPod 5G has gained massive popularity in the consumer market, the product has become a symbol of quality video and music and playback.
It has been quite a time since Zune, also known as the "iPod killer", has been on the shelves. Zune has some nice feature like magnetic headphones, WiFi and portrait mode etc. User interface is similar to Toshiba Gigabeat S and other media players in the market. Despite of all these bells and whistles Zune has been unable to compete with iPod. In this article we will see if Zune really had guts to take out iPod or was its failure just a bad luck?
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Apple iPod 5G | Score | MS Zune | Score |
| Weight | 4.8 ounces |  |
5.6 ounces |  |
| Size | Width: 2.5", Height: 4.1", Depth: 0.43" | |
Width: 2.4", Height: 4.4", Depth: 0.58" | |
| Available Colors | Black, White | |
Black, White, Brown (some other color could have been better) | |
| Video Formats | MPEG-4, H.264, .AA, BMP, JPEG | |
MPEG-4, WMV, H.264, JPEG | |
| Audio Formats | MP3, ACC, WAV, Apple Lossless, Audible, AIFF | |
MP3, ACC, WMA | |
| Screen Size | 2.5" | |
3" | |
| Resolution | 320x240 (more crisp, due to higher pixel density) | |
320x240 | |
| Hard Drive Options | 30, 80 GB | |
30 GB | |
| Connectivity | USB 2.0 | |
WiFi, USB 2.0, 802.11 b/g | |
| Wireless File Sharing | No | |
Wireless Zune-to-Zune sharing of pictures and audio files (days restriction in audio files) | |
| FM Radio | No | |
Yes | |
| Portrait/Landscape Video options | No | |
Yes | |
| Battery Life | Video: 2 hours, Audio: 14 hours, Images: 6 hours | |
Video: 3.5 hours, Audio: 12 hours, Images: 4.5 hours | |
| Extras | Audio books, games, podcasting, calendar, contacts, notes, Nike+, sound recorder etc | |
No | |
| Score | - |
9 |
- |
7 |
Score
In our scoring scheme iPod earned 9 points whereas Zune got 7 points. Although the difference is not that large, iPod has much to offer at the same price. If Zune had extra features like that of iPod's games, audio book and variable storage options, things could have been different. Maybe Microsoft will address these issues in next version of the player.
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