Zune não bate iPod

conclusões de uma análise comparada feita por Walter Mossberg, o especialista do WSJ:

«Zune has several nice features the iPod lacks: a larger screen, the ability to exchange songs with other Zunes wirelessly and a built-in FM radio. It solves the worst problem that plagued earlier Microsoft-based music players -- frequent failures to synchronize properly music and videos between the players and personal computers. Synchronization on the Zune is smooth and sure.Also, the Zune player and software have a very good user interface, different from, but in some cases easier to use than, the iPod's. While it lacks the famous iPod scroll wheel, instead using a common four-way navigation pad, I found song lists easy to navigate on the Zune. It has only a few buttons and is quite intuitive to use. To my ears, it sounded as good as the iPod.

But, this first Zune has too many compromises and missing features to be as good a choice as the iPod for most users. The hardware feels rushed and incomplete. It is 60% larger and 17% heavier than the comparable iPod. It has much worse battery life for music than the iPod or than Microsoft claims -- at least two hours less than the iPod's, in my tests. Despite the larger screen, many album covers look worse than they do on the iPod. And you can't share music libraries between computers like you can with iTunes. Zune's online store offers far fewer songs, just over two million, compared with 3.5 million for the iTunes store. In fact, as of this writing, songs from one of the big labels, Universal, were missing from Zune Marketplace, though Microsoft says it is confident it will have all the major labels when it launches Zune on Tuesday. Also, despite the player's capability, Zune Marketplace offers none of the TV shows, movies or music videos that iTunes does, and has no audiobooks or podcasts. Even worse, to buy even a single 99-cent song from the Zune store, you have to purchase blocks of "points" from Microsoft, in increments of at least $5. You can't just click and have the 99 cents deducted from a credit card, as you can with iTunes. You must first add points to your account, then buy songs with these points. So, even if you are buying only one song, you have to allow Microsoft, one of the world's richest companies, to hold on to at least $4.01 of your money until you buy another. And the point system is deceptive. Songs are priced at 79 points, which some people might think means 79 cents. But 79 points actually cost 99 cents.»

fonte: «Microsoft's Zune Challenges iPod» By Walter S. Mossberg, 9/11/06

«Para David Pogue, do jornal americano The New York Times, “o Zune é excelente. Não pode competir com o design do iPod, mas é mais prático”.“O que é realmente louco no sistema é que as restrições também impedem você de compartilhar as suas próprias criações musicais”, disse Pogue, descrevendo o sistema como “draconiano” e rigoroso como “uma professora do século 19”. (...) Os jornalistas dos dois jornais americanos também criticaram a falta de recursos do Zune. “Não tem nenhum dos recursos do iPod, como jogos, alarmes, cronômetro, equalizador, calendário”, disse Pogue. “Esse Zunes ainda tem muitas restrições e sente falta de muitos recursos para se comparar ao iPod como uma opção”, disse Mossberg, que adiciona: “O hardware parece ter sido lançado às pressas e incompleto”.Outra crítica dos dois jornais diz respeito ao fato de o Zune não permitir que usuários diferentes possam compartilhar seus arquivos entre computadores de uma mesma rede, um dos recursos do iTunes, o programa da Apple para gerenciar os arquivos do iPod.De qualquer modo, mesmo com a supremacia do iPod ainda garantida, as duas avaliações acreditam que o Zune deve melhorar com o tempo e que a concorrência proposta pela Microsoft é saudável para os consumidores» (Microsoft lança concorrente para o iPod, BBC Brasil)