This post was published 2 months 22 days ago. This info might have changed or might have become outdated.

It is now a week to the day since I received my 32GB Zune HD via the friendly goblins at FedEx (see the details of that little adventure HERE) and in that time I have done my best to run it through it’s paces quite ruthlessly. Over the last week I have put in a good 40 hours of listening to MP3s and the radio, used the video quite extensively and tinkered  with every menu and feature I could with out risking myself, my dignity or the device.

By now everyone who is remotely interested in such things know all the key talking points for and against the Zune HD. No applications to speak of, kludgy initial setup, OLED touch screen, sharp physical design, yadda yadda yadda. In addition to all of that most everyone has read at least a couple comprehensive reviews of the device already so we don’t really need another of those. Therefore in this look at the Zune HD I am going to focus a bit on the features I have used most over this week, what I loved and what I didn’t like as much. Mainly however I intend to come to grips with the most common talking point about the Zune HD right off the top, which is it’s competition with the iPod Touch.

So is it an “iPod Killer”?

In my estimation, it isn’t even a contest…

It isn’t a contest because there literally IS NO CONTEST between the two. The devices are so totally different in my eyes after using both that I see no way to create a useful comparison. I feel it is a fundamental error for everyone from Microsoft on down to continue describing the Zune HD as a direct challenge to the iPod Touch. Apples and oranges, mate.

Think for a moment about the origins of the iPod Touch. For those of us who can remember back that far, you will recall that soon after the release of the iPhone, there were a growing number of people who were buying iPhones not as a phone, but as a touch screen iPod. Even more people were saying they were going to abandon their iPods in favor of the music capabilities of their iPhones. This was clearly a hole in Apple’s product line that they needed to plug and exploit.

Just look at the iPod Touch, it has almost nothing in common with the other lines of iPods. It is an iPhone with a different antenna (and no camera….burrrnnnnnn) not an iPod with a touchscreen. The user experience is nothing like other iPods, it is exactly like the iPhone. Can the other iPods use the AppStore? No, just iPod Touch and iPhone devices get to enter Apple’s Holy of Holies. The iPod Touch, like the iPhone, is built around applications. It is what you see when you start the device, it is the focus of the home screens, it is where Apple makes it’s money on the device.

Therefore I say what I have been saying for a while, the iPod Touch is not really a PMP. It has music and video capabilities sure, but it is really a platform for applications. Face it, it is a MID (Mobile Internet Device, like the OQO, the Archos 9 or the Nokia N900). Even Apple admits it. Look at the recent iPod event. Where was the music? The focus in the new iTunes was about how to organize your applications. Steve Jobs made clear that the new Touch models were first and foremost MOBILE GAME CONSOLES. He made points that it was a handheld computer to compete with Netbooks, not PMPs. The only musical thing about the event was Norah Jones. Apple has said the MP3 player is dying, so they have made the Touch a MID for the funeral.

Now look at the user experience of the Zune HD.

The focus is on the media…music and video all the way. Those are what dominate the menu and the Quickstart screen. The apps are a nice touch but an afterthought, they are nowhere near the main purpose of the device and are buried in the main menu. The HD is a true PMP, first and foremost a music player with powerful video capabilities. There is no experience break between the other Zunes and the HD the way there is between the Nano or the Classic and the Touch. The main menu of the HD is pretty much the menu of the Zune 80 and 120. The experience is the same, a smooth organic  transition between the two devices.

If the iPod Touch is the first mass market MID, then the Zune HD is likely the last true MP3 player, and in my opinion the pinnacle of MP3 players. There is no way to compare them. You may as well compare a Lear jet and a falcon. They are both things of beauty, both fly…beyond that, each is in a class of their own.

So what do I think the Zune HD has going for it that makes it the “Pinnacle of MP3 Players”?

Well, most of all I love the user experience. The menus are easy to use and incredibly responsive and intuitive. The OLED touchscreen is gorgeous and does a fine job on video, but it really shines as a pure control device. Flipping between the menu and the excellent Quickplay screen I love the way one recedes back behind the other. The 3D effect is truly exceptional. Music is easy to find, easy to select, the menus flowing one to the other quite effortlessly.

The sound quality is excellent and I tested it with several different sets of headphones, and I am very happy to see an Equalizer added to give the user a little more control over the sound. It is still very basic and I fear my tin ear can’t detect much difference between Rock and Pop and Classical but it is nice to have. One of my only petty requests for the next version of the Zune would be to include a more powerful equalizer, such as Cowon’s JetAudio software.

As everyone has commented, the hardware feels great in your hand. Light but sturdy, graceful and really quite beautiful to look at. I have already had several people on busses as me about the device admiringly, especially when they sit behind me and watch my other favorite element of the Zune HD, the now playing screen. Not only is it visually interesting, but it is also educational. Once you are listening to the music there is a wealth of additional information available to you. You can access biographies for many artists, pictures, information on related artists, all with a touch of your finger as you listen.

I have had no trouble playing about with the Marketplace, through I have not bought anything so I cannot refute the charge that the process is overly complex. However I have been using the Wireless features a good deal and they are a treat. Accessing a WiFi network is effortless as is performing a Wireless sync. The web browser worked well, but like all mobile browsers I would only use it in emergencies or for textual information. That said, I felt it was just as good as the Safari implementation on the iPod Touch for casual use.

Lastly I would like to comment on the device’s battery life. Microsoft has stated it can manage 33 hours of music and I believe it. This week I have yet to see the battery indicator drop below three quarters full. The OLED screen and Tegra chip have really improved the battery life, which is essential when you depend on your MP3 player for a full day of distraction and may not be able to easily charge it. Thus far the Zune HD gets better battery life then any of my handheld devices (including the Zune 80 and the power guzzling iPod Touch) with the exception of the Sansa Clip which can go like a month and a half without a charge.

All in all, I am extremely pleased with the Zune HD. In fact I feel it is the MP3 player perfected. The only features it is missing in my opinion are a speaker and a removable battery, but both are very minor gripes and could easily be more trouble than they were worth.

All things considered the Zune HD is easily the finest MP3 player and small screen PMP on the market and I hope it will enjoy all the success it so richly deserves.