Digital Trends

Microsoft Zune November 27th, 2006 | by Ian Bell

Conclusion

The Microsoft Zune is one of those products that you will want to avoid at all costs; at least this first generation. In comparison to other media players on the market, the Zune offers no clear advantage. It has an audio and video library with less depth than iTunes while the player itself has fewer features than offerings from Apple, Samsung or Creative.

Most importantly though is the lack of a promise from Microsoft to show future support for the Zune in years to come. PlaysForSure, a standard created by Microsoft in conjunction with hardware vendors has been forgotten in favor of a proprietary DRM solution available only for the Zune. With consumers left out in the cold, this is one player you will want to forget ever happened.

Pros:

• Attractive packaging
• Competitive price
• Large display


Cons:

• Boring aesthetics
• Poor quality ear buds
• Closed system
• Not compatible with PlaysForSure songs
• Credit purchasing system is a joke