The Microsoft Zune is the most anticipated MP3 player to hit the market this year. With its clever Wi-Fi music sharing, large LCD screen and great audio and video playback quality, the Zune offers a distinct alternative to the ubiquitous iPod, but it may not be for everyone.

The Zune comes with a 30GB hard drive, and it is available in scratch- and fingerprint-resistant finishes of black, white and a love-it-or-hate-it brown. The bright 3-inch LCD display tops the full-size iPod's 2-1/2-inch screen, and you can rotate the screen from portrait to landscape mode for more natural viewing of movies and photos. On the negative side, the Zune is noticeably larger than the iPod. We wouldn't call it huge, but if you are expecting an MP3 player the size of an iPod or Creative's Zen Vision:M, you may be disappointed. Adding a protective cover only exacerbates this issue.

Perhaps the most innovative feature is the Zune-to-Zune sharing. Engaging the Wi-Fi allows you see what other Zune users within the approximately 30-foot range are listening to, and you can transfer one of your songs or pictures to any other Zune. Song transfers take up to 15 seconds, and then a transferred song can be played three times during the following 3-day period (pictures don't have this limitation). If you enjoy a song that was transferred to you, you can flag it, and the next time you are connected to the online Zune Marketplace, you will be prompted to buy the song for yourself. Keep in mind that you can't raid another Zune and grab its music, as the music owner must initiate all transfers.

The Zune's audio and video playback performance is very good to excellent. As with all portables, the bass is a bit lacking, but a good set of aftermarket headphones will make a big difference. The built-in equalizer presets are all too similar to do much good, but the overall sound of the Zune is very satisfying. Photos and videos appear clear, although darker areas of videos showed some pixelation. Microsoft preloads the Zune with a selection of songs, music videos and movies, so you're ready to go right out of the box. Granted, we didn't recognize many of the songs or artists, but this is still a nice bonus.

Unlike the iPod, the Zune has a built-in FM tuner with RDS (Radio Data Service), which displays station and song information if available. The navigation wheel is actually a four-way directional pad like those on video game controllers, and after a little practice, it makes the intuitive menu system even easier to navigate. The Zune has a USB-rechargeable battery that provides up to 13 hours of audio playback (14 hours with the Wi-Fi off) and up to 4 hours for video playback, depending on the screen brightness level. It is nice to see that unlike an iPod, the Zune continues to operate even when connected to a computer.

A major gripe with the Zune is its limited format compatibility for both audio and video. On the audio side, the Zune is compatible with MP3, unprotected AAC (i.e., those not purchased from iTunes) and WMA-DMR9.1, which is the format available for purchase from the Zune Marketplace. All other formats must be converted before you can play them, so if you have a long list of songs purchased from other subscription services, you may have some work ahead of you. In addition, the Zune doesn't handle PlaysForSure content that, oddly enough, was developed by Microsoft.

For video, the Zune is compatible with WMV, and the included software will convert MPEG-4 and H.264/AVC for playback. However, it won't play video from Unbox, Vongo, Tivo To Go or other similar sites, and there is no support for DivX. It can only display JPEG pictures.

The online Zune Marketplace makes browsing and purchasing songs easy, which is a good thing, because this is the only subscription service with which the Zune is compatible. Likewise, other digital audio players aren't compatible with the Marketplace. You can purchase a ZunePass subscription for unlimited access to the store, or you can buy Microsoft points (similar to the Xbox Live service) and trade these for content. There have been some complaints about trouble installing the Zune software, but we found the installation and start-up process to be smooth and free of problems.

With the Zune, Microsoft offers a digital audio player that less-experienced users will find very uncomplicated and easy to use, and new features and functionality will no doubt become available as time goes by. However, the effort to keep things simple, such as the limited format compatibility and the single subscription site option (Zune Marketplace), may be a turn-off if you are a seasoned user looking for more flexibility. Nevertheless, the Microsoft Zune is an attractive MP3 player that looks and sounds great, and its Wi-Fi sharing makes it unlike any other digital audio player out there.


Pros:  Zune-to-Zune sharing is an industry first, big and bright screen, great audio and video performance, FM tuner with RDS
Cons:  Limited format compatibility, only works with Zune Marketplace subscription service, relatively large chassis

Warranty
1 year