Well, if you have all seen on Xbox 360 Dashboard, there is a special edition Zune that is going to be released in next Friday (November 7th). It is a 120GB Zune that has some actual special things about it.
1) Engraved Crimson Omen
2) Preloaded with Making of Videos
3) 244 images of Game Art/Concept Art
4) Complete Gears of War Soundtrack
I own a Zune (30GB) and there is so much to love about it. I know, I know, iPod is more popular. But you have to remember Microsoft owns Zune, and has publishing rights to Gears of War. Lets take a run down on what features are available STANDARD on a Zune compared to an iPod:
|
Category
|
120gb Zune
|
120gb iPod
|
8/16 gb Zune
|
8/16 gb Nano
|
|
Price
|
$249
|
$249
|
$149 / $199
|
$149 / $199
|
|
Storage
|
120 GB
|
120 GB
|
8gb / 16gb
|
8gb / 16gb
|
|
Wi-Fi
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
|
Wireless File Sharing
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
|
Wireless MP3 Shop
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
|
Wireless Sync
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
|
Landscape Mode
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
YES
|
|
Portrait Mode
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
|
FM Tuner
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
|
Buy Song from FM
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
|
Preloaded Games
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
|
Max Battery Life
|
36 hr
|
36 hr
|
24 hr
|
24hr
|
|
Preloaded Virus
|
none
|
none
|
||
|
Custom Background
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
|
Manufacturer
|
Flextronics
|
Foxconn
|
Flextronics
|
Foxconn
|
|
Screen Size
|
3.2″
|
2.5″
|
1.8″
|
2.0″
|
|
LCD Resolution
|
320×240
|
320×240
|
320×240
|
320×240
|
|
Video out (TV)
|
720×576
|
640×480
|
none
|
640×480
|
|
USB
|
2.0
|
2.0
|
2.0
|
2.0
|
|
Colors
|
black
|
silver, Black
|
black, blue, red, pink, green
|
silver, black, purple,
blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink |
|
Click Wheel
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
|
Tactile + Touch Control
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
|
Online Service
|
Zune Marketplace
|
iTunes
|
Zune Marketplace
|
iTunes
|
|
Unlimited Downloads
|
$14.99/month
|
none
|
$14.99/month
|
none
|
|
Podcast Service
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
|
Accelerometer
|
none
|
none
|
none
|
YES
|
|
Battery
|
Li-Ion
|
Li-Ion
|
Li-Ion
|
Li-Ion
|
|
XBOX Marketplace Integration
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
|
Online Card
|
Zune Card
|
none
|
Zune Card
|
none
|
|
3rd Party Accessories
|
YES
|
YES
|
||
|
Social Networking
|
YES
|
none
|
YES
|
none
|
|
Weight
|
4.5 ounces
|
4.9 ounces
|
1.7 ounces
|
1.74 ounces
|
|
Width
|
2.4″
|
2.4″
|
1.6″
|
1.5″
|
|
Height
|
4.25″
|
4.1″
|
3.6″
|
3.6″
|
|
Thickness
|
0.5″
|
0.41″
|
.33
|
.24
|
|
Tattoo Freak
|
none
|
none
|
||
|
User Forum
|
Zune Scene
|
iLounge
|
Zune Scene
|
iLounge
|
|
Compatibility
|
PC
|
Mac, PC
|
PC
|
Mac, PC
|
|
Replaceable Batteries
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
|
User made games
|
XNA toolkit
|
none
|
XNA toolkit
|
none
|
|
Special Edition
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
|
|
Vendor
|
Microsoft
|
Apple
|
Microsoft
|
Apple
|
|
Other “Brand Family” Products
|
none
|
Shuffle , iPhone,
iPod Touch |
none
|
Shuffle , iPhone,
iPod Touch |
|
Headphones
|
earbud
|
earbud
|
earbud
|
earbud
|
File Compatibility
|
Format
|
Zune
|
iPod
|
|
MP3
|
YES
|
YES
|
|
DIVX
|
NO
|
|
|
iTunes (Protected)
|
NO
|
YES
|
|
Zune Marketplace (Protected)
|
YES
|
NO
|
|
Plays For Sure (Protected)
|
NO
|
NO
|
|
AAC
|
YES
|
YES
|
|
WMA
|
YES
|
NO
|
|
AIFF
|
NO
|
YES
|
|
WAV (uncompressed)
|
NO
|
YES
|
|
.aa (Audible)
|
YES
|
YES
|
|
JPEG (Photos)
|
YES
|
YES
|
|
BMP (Photos)
|
NO
|
YES
|
|
WMV (Video)
|
YES
|
NO
|
|
MPEG-4 (Video)
|
YES
|
YES
|
|
H.264 (Video)
|
YES
|
YES
|
Lets be honest. Zune has better features, and yes, I know… it seems like I’m a M$ fanboy, but I’m not. Just to let you all know I run Fedora Core 9 and Ubuntu Linux running WINE so that I can sync my music and movies (it took some frustration and time to get it to install correctly)
One more thing to note that is you can use the sync cable in your HugeBox 360 and listen to your music while you game, or heck you can view/listen to anything on the Zune that is connected.
There are a few downside to my Zune. It is difficult to find Zune compatible products in a retail store (i.e. dockable speakers, cases, syncing cables) unless I do find them and want to pay an arm and a leg for them due to their rarity.
As for the Special Edition Zune you can check out the official website here:
http://www.zune.net/en-us/products/zuneplayers/gearsofwar2/default.htm
and you can pre-order at Zune Originals, Amazon.com, or Walmart.com.
I love my Zune and if you can find someone with one, test drive it, you will love it!