Zune proves to be an iPod killer nuisance

Great for ignoring friends at parties

THE LOT OF YOU have probably heard of Vole's iPod iPretender the iZune, unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, or perhaps had the outside world blocked out from the deafening sound of your iPod headphones.

We know it's not so new anymore, but we thought perhaps you'd like a smarmy Brit's opinion on the player since it's not out in Blighty just yet.

First thing's first. It's pretty big, likely desgined by the same folk who conjured up the original Xbox. So, you'll need deep pockets in both the literal and metaphorical sense if you're to splash out on one. However, the chunky design gives enough room for a lovely sized screen, perfect for watching an episode or two of South Park on while you chug away on a train, though you probably won't want to watch films on it. Quality's acceptable too, but unfortunately at the moment DivX and XviD codecs are not accepted, so you'll need to convert all your videos over to a Vole-accepted standard before you plonk 'em on your iPod er, Zune.

A nice little thing about the Zune is that, despite looking like it has a scroll wheel, it has buttons which makes for a far less frustrating song-choosing experience. This means that when the bugger's stuck in yer pocket, you needn't faff around with wheels, which I have found looks rather dodgy when your hand's in your trousers, but instead just click away.

The song sharing feature is, of course, pretty useless to me at the moment seeing as I'm yet to come across any fellow zune owners. Radio is a nice addition though, and I'm currently using it as I type to listen to an endless stream of indie tosh from myspacer's favourite XFM.

Two Zunes battle it out with a riveting game of Giant Checkers

Picture quality is acceptable and a nice feature for sticking tacky wallpapers onto your Zune, though a feature I could easily do without.

I have two main gripes about the Vole's much hyped gadget: the software that comes shipped with the machine is clunky and occasionaly confusing to use. It may be my Amish blood, but it took me a fair while to figure out the whole interface. Secondly, the player only came shipped with a USB cable for charging, with nothing to stick into me mains - not much of a gripe for tech savvy dorks like myself who are always at the computer, but it could prove an annoyance for travelling lest you feel like bringing a laptop along with you.

Thinking about it, the included headphones are not so bad at all for an included pair, but the black fuzzy stuff on mine fell off and got lost after a few days of use. Not so much a design error, but rather my own clumsiness, it could be argued. Still, if any Seattle readers find some fuzzy black wax-stained headphone patches at the airport, they're probably mine so send 'em along, will you?

In Short
All in all it's a decent effort from Microsoft, but I wouldn't say it's the iPod killer that they had hoped for, but instead another contender. I'm a fan of the Zune, but apart from its larger screen, I wouldn't say there is much that particularly sets the bugger apart from the competition. Still, it's got a decent enough battery life and sure as hell beats my PSP for those tiresome train journeys.

The Good
There's plenty of space for all your tunes and the lack of a scroll wheel is very much welcome after years of iPod use, and a lovely big screen.

The Bad
The Zune doesn't accept those more popular video codecs like pirate's favourites XviD and DivX. Auto-synchronising is default with the software which means on your first synch you could well have "stuff" on your Zune you'd rather not watch in public.

The Ugly
Not nearly as trendy as the competition and too clunky to fit into smaller pockets. And, there's no mains charger included. µ