In my Zune HD review, reader Paul Johnson asked how the Zune HD handled direct sunlight and I realized that that was a very good question, and in fact I simply didn’t know the answer, as I tend to avoid the sunlight like a slug avoids salt. What’s more, that question seems to have become a point of conflict between iPod Fanboiz and Neo Maxi Zune Dweebies around the web. How does each device cope in the brutal glare of daylight?

Therefore, my dear readers, I actually travelled outside to find out (I do it all for you, readers). Before embarking on this treacherous trek into nature (intending to journey as far as the untamed and primeval parking lot of my office building, god help me) I took plenty of drinking water and ammunition, plus the Zune HD, an Apple iPod Touch, a Zune 80 and a Cowon Q5W. Once I made my way out into the wilderness near the recycling dumpsters and a few ferns without being detected by any desert carnivores, I put the four devices out in the sun and let them fight it out for the camera. Now keep in mind, gentle readers, this is not some namby pamby temperate sunlight. Oh no, this is middle of the day Mediterranean sunlight, the kind that will bleach your teeth when you smile too much or light your hair on fire faster than an IPod left on the car seat.

So how did they do? Check the evidence after the jump…

First of all here are the quartet in partial sunlight. From left to right we have the Cowon Q5W. the Zune 80, the Zune HD and the iPod Touch. In this light the advantages of the OLED screen on the Zune HD are clear. The blacks are deep and rich, the colors razor sharp. In this light, the Zune HD has the best screen in my opinion, closely followed by the iPod.

Next…full sunlight.

In direct sunlight, the Cowon Q5W and the Zune 80 simply surrender completely and go off to find a beach umbrella and a pina colada. Both are more or less unusable. The Zune HD and the iPod Touch struggle bravely against the elements however, bloodied but unbowed…

Looking at the Zune HD and the iPod Touch in isolation, we see that in sunlight the advantage goes to the iPod. Both are badly washed out, but the iPod is still quite legible. The blue rectangles show areas slightly blocked by my shadow, while the red rectangles are unshadowed at all, just nature, baby. In both the red and the blue areas, the iPod handles the sun better. Still nothing to write home about, but it is a noticeable difference.

What about using video on the Zune HD in the sunlight, you ask (yes, I heard you)?

Well, here is the Zune HD running video in partial sunlight.

Not bad at all. Any color banding seen here is due to the camera, not the Zune. I can honestly say that partial sunlight did not detract from the viewing experience at all, which is uniformly exceptional.

What about video in direct sunlight? To find out I showed the exact same scene back out in blistering sun…

Ummm…yeah.

There may be some people on the screen, or an elephant or two…tough to tell.

OK, so video in full sunlight on the Zune HD is pure fail. I admit that. So if you have a need to watch video in full sunlight with no shade at all, this could be a dealbreaker. You’re completely insane, but hey, some people like getting roasted and want to watch handheld video while doing so. Somebody, somewhere…I’ll bet ya.

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Reader wixostrix commented that it was unfair that I did not test the iPod Touch video capabilities under the same conditions and I agreed…so here is the iPod Touch doing it’s video thing in the same partial sunlight as the Zune HD above…

Video quality in this light was generally a bit below that of the Zune HD. The colors are a good deal less vivid.

Now what about in full, merciless sunlight?

A bit better then the Zune HD. At least we can see the Doctor in this shot. Still not watchable, but not as complete a wash as the Zune HD in direct sun…so out original findings hold!

Once again, the final tally is shade or partial sunlight, advantage Zune HD. Direct sunlight, advantage iPod Touch, in both screen quality and video capabilities. Now if you will excuse me, I need to get back inside before I get eaten by a Grue.

Zealot (469 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook

By day a department manager and writer for a major network device vendor...by night Zealot stalks the mean magnetic streets, striking fear into the hearts of bandwidth abusers and theme park mascots. Zealot has been involved with mobile devices for more than a decade now, starting off with dumb phones, moving to PDAs and then to smartphones, notebooks and netbooks with the odd PMP thrown in. Most of his mobile time currently is spent on a Treo Pro, Zune HD, Thinkpad T61, Gigabyte M912M or a Hackintoshed Compaq Mini 704. He proudly groks the Geek community and considers himself a Neo Maxi Zune Dweebie (thanks Will Wheaton!).