Zune 120 vs. iPod Classic

If you're looking for an MP3 player with a plethora of storage space you have two strong choices to pick from: the impressive Zune by Microsoft or the mighty iPod classic by Apple.

Zune 120 vs. iPod classic? They both achieve their main reason for existence, letting you listen to your own music anywhere you go, very well. Boasting excellent audio quality when heard through high end monitors, both models, with 120 GB's of storage space each, allow you to take all or at least a significant part of your music collection with you anywhere you may travel. In addition, both Microsoft and Apple offer pay services with which you can sample and get fresh music. Zune offers the very flexible Zune Pass. Basically a music rental program, for a $14.99 monthly fee Zune Pass gives you the key to an enormous array of tunes. Apple, in contrast to Microsoft, does not offer a subscription service; however, Apple's iTunes lets you buy and own individual tracks or entire albums for your iPod.

Both models tend to last about a day on a full charge under typical use; the Zune has a max thirty hours of battery life and the iPod is capable of providing up to thirty-six hours of listening time. Those times are, of course, derived from ideal battery life prolonging usage. You can expect to get a bit over twenty hours battery life under normal usage from both models. If, however, you tend to plug in your charger as little as possible then long battery life is likely of great importance to you and the iPod, with six hours over the Zune, is the clear victor. For those who like their eye candy, the Zune boasts a larger (by 0.7") screen than the iPod classic; however, they both operate at the same resolution (320x240 pixels) so the greater screen real estate may come at the expense of some sharpness and clarity. Both MP3 players have very natural and refined interfaces. The iPod has the classic click wheel and the Zune has a touch pad in a squircle design. After getting used to either method of browsing, you'll be moving through your music collection like a virtuoso.

Given their close price points and overall excellence for MP3 listening, the decision between a Zune and an iPod classic will often fall along partisan lines. Those who are Apple fans may decide to stay with Apple and those who are not could go either direction. In the end, that's not a fatuous way to choose given the high quality of both the Zune and the iPod classic.