Road Test: Microsoft Zune

I took the Microsoft Zune and its associated services out with me for 15 days just to see how truly user friendly it is.  We'll look at all the functionality of the device but being movie fans I'm paying specific attention to video playback.  Of course I’ll cover the music, but many other sites have already done that.  I’m looking for a good PMP, and that’s the approach I’m taking with this coverage.

Installation

First things first, we cracked open the box and ran the installation software on our system.  We decided to install the device with its defaults and then go back and sign up for the “all you can eat” service because we assumed many of you would do the same.  The installation wasn’t as difficult as we’ve read but it did take an overwhelmingly long time, and I found myself having to log into the service way to much just to set up my new toy.  You’ll click next, then wait, then wait some more, then have to type in your life’s history, name, date of birth, blood type, favorite food and color, and your favorite TV show.  Well, ok I’m exaggerating but you will have to enter a good bit of data to get through the installation.

Now the problem came after the installation when I decided to subscribe to the service.  First thing is it’s a little tough to surf through the menu items and find the right place to go.  Once you do find it you’ll be stuck logging into the service a bunch more.  The whole process needs to be streamlined and it probably will be in future updates.

5.5/10

Take it on the Road

This is what it’s all about, how does it work in the real world!  We took the Zune out with us for two weeks, to the grocery store, to the office, to the coffee shop, and everywhere else we normally go on a routine basis.  The device is well constructed feeling very solid without being too heavy.  In fact this device is the lightest of any comparable device we’ve looked at, yet it doesn’t feel cheap.  The case has a nice textured gadgety feel to it that’s satisfying to gadget fanatics and to those looking to get their money’s worth from a new electronic device both in features and aesthetics.  I actually checked out a brown one, which I thought I’d hate but once I had it in front of me I was quite impressed with.  The colored molding around the edge of the device is also iconic and defines the device as a Zune and not another IPod clone.  Speaking of that while I was out I did pick up an iPod and compare the feel, I was surprised at how much nicer the overall feel of the Zune was compared to the iPod Video.

The menu system is quick and easy to use.  I was able to jump in and click through different playlists, videos, and pictures, with no hassle.  The round interface on the front is more for decoration than use, obviously to compete with the design established by the iPod.  It actually clicks up, down, left, and right.  The opening menu offers the main options; clicking music takes you to choices to sort by album, artist, songs, or playlists.  You can simply play all, or shuffle all within any of these menus and then get back to what you’re doing.  Within a few minutes of use the device became a part of my routine rather than a distraction or extra work just to hear some music or see a video.

Using the Marketplace is quick and easy with a few search options and a smart search engine.  I'll get more into that later but I want to mention that I had my own music, videos, and images to put on the device and it was a simple process to get them there.  All I had to do is place them in the folders that the Zune was set up to monitor for new content.  The next time I synced the new stuff was added, nothing to it.  If you want the Zune to monitor folders other than the defaults it's a simple matter to switch to your choices or add other folders.

The one big complaint I have is that there’s no removable battery.  I know this is common with these devices regardless of brand it’s still something to be concerned about.  I’d love to have a backup battery and be able to swap around if a battery dies.  On that note though, I’ve heard complaints about battery life on the Zune but it wasn’t an issue for me.  I played music continuously for 10 hours with no hiccups.  Now obviously video is much harder on the battery life but I could check out videos on the way to my office and back with no problems.  The one complaint I have is that I'd like a Quick Play Button right on the main menu of the device in case I'm in a hurry and jsut want to play some music.  As it stand you have to clikc Music then choose how you want to hear your music from there.  Once here you do have a quick play option but I've already clicked once to get there.  It's not like it takes that long to click into the menu so this is really a pretty minor complaint but it's worth noting.

9/10

Now that I've covered my general usability experience with Zune I'll get more specific about different experiences including listening to music, buying music from Zune Marketplace, and watching videos.

Image is Everything

We’ll get to the music more specifically soon enough, but we are into TV and film so I wanted to start off covering the device’s video capabilities.  The first thing that grabbed my attention compared to other popular devices is the size of the screen.  The screen on the Zune is a whopping 3 inches and super bright at 320X240 resolution.  We looked at the screen in a darker setting like our local coffee shop and then took it outside with us in the bright sunlight and in both places the screen looked great and was very usable in both situations. 

We compared it to our previous PMP, the PSP and saw only one advantage the PSP has over the Zune.  The screen is obviously much larger than the PSP.  That’s it though.  The Zune’s 3 inch screen was just as bright in our comparison and the refresh rate of the Zune was much higher not having as much of an issue with the hazing in action scenes that plagues the PSP.  The PSP is also a monster of a device due to having all the controls needed for gaming.  The Zune is much more pocket friendly.

Unfortunately there were no videos to download from the Zune Marketplace.  This was surprising with Microsoft’s focus on the video capabilities of their little device.  I can see that I’d use this device for television programs and movies all the time if they were integrated into the Zune Marketplace experience.  As it stands though you can put your own videos on the device as easily as putting music on the device as long as the videos are of one of the file types, WMA, MPEG-4 and H.264 supported by the Zune software.  The Zune software will convert these files to WMA for play on the Zune device without any hassle.  When watching your videos they are automatically oriented to widescreen and play vertically on the device.  So, when you flip the device to watch the video all of the controls are also reoriented so that you won’t have to relearn how to use the them.  You can use the selector to push up and down for volume or left and right for rewind and fast forward. 

Images are grabbed and formatted by the Zune from the folders set up by the Zune software for monitoring.  You can view slideshows and share your images with other Zunes.  Another neat customization allows you within a couple of clicks make one of your images the wallpaper of your device.  I advise using a simple image so as not to make the menus hard to read.  The only complaint I have about the video playback is that the Marketplace doesn't offer any video for download, but Microsoft tells me that video is on the way for the Marketplace.  Once that happens, and if the price is right this will be the video device to beat.

8.5/10

Listening to Music

Music sounds great in the included ear buds, which are magnetized to make them easier to put away by the way.  Within the Zune software you can quickly build Playlists and name them and the music will be organized accordingly the next time you sync.  All you do is create a new Playlist and drag music to it, fairly simple and straightforward.  Music can be sorted right on the Zune by Song, Album, or Artist, along with Playlists.  The interface is simple on the Zune, click music on the main menu slide the menu left and right to find your desired sort.  If you choose Playlists, slide down under Playlists and choose the one you want.  From there you can play all, or shuffle them.  The interface is sleek and elegant and is typical of what you expect of a modern MP3 player.  As I mentioned earlier, a quick play for music on the Zune's main menu would be an appreciated addition for those instances when you don't have time to click to the next menu.

One thing the Zune has that isn’t available on the iPod’s is an FM receiver.  I can’t understand why this feature isn’t available on all MP3 players.  The FM receiver is easy to use and it picks up local radio crisp and clear, even when I went inside my office where my cell phone sometimes has trouble keeping a signal.  Many of the stations I sampled also utilize a new feature that allows portable devices to show the name of the station, the format, and the name of the song currently playing as well as the name of the artist.  Even with 30 gigs of space for content, taking a break and listening to the radio is still a plus for more variety and local news.

9/10

Getting the Goods: Buying Music

So I have the all you can eat service which means I can download as much music as I want for $14.95 a month.  Now, I had much better luck searching by artist.  I grabbed a variety of tunes from Tori Amos, to Midlake, to AC/DC and Stevie Ray Vaughn.  The coolest thing is when I brought up an album I could choose to play individual songs or the entire CD right there without downloading anything.  Once I did download some tunes the syncing was quick and simple.  Finding music was quick and easy too.  I had certain tunes and artists I wanted for which I used the context sensitive search.  As I typed words into the search box the search was already working.  By the time I had typed the entire band name or song results were listed at the bottom of the screen.  When I just wanted to browse I clicked the “Genre” button and lists appeared at the bottom of the screen.  Another issue I have to mention is the quantity of music that’s not available through the service.  When I searched for AC/DC 10 albums were returned in that search and many of the albums had song lists but all the songs were unavailable.  Now, I can understand this with some smaller bands but this music has been around for up to 30 years.  If some of it is available, all of it should be.  I didn't find it to be a huge problem because most of the music I searched for was all there, but the fact that I ran into this issue at all says that MS has some work to do.

Overall, I found getting music through Microsoft’s service an addictive experience and the “all you can eat” service absolutely crucial.  You can buy songs for around a buck each if you want but why not get the all you can eat service.  Also, I was able to listen to music on my PC, on the Zune, and on my XBOX 360, giving me three options, two more than most other devices offer with there standard plans.  Yahoo's music service does offer an option for listening to your purchased music on multiple devices.  Two things need to be done right away; more music must be added to the library in order to compete with other services, and video must be added.  If you’re going to make a device that plays video so expertly then you need to offer video through your service.  As I said previously MS has said that video is on the way and new music is constantly being added.

8/10

Overall Experience

I’m not going to get into the sharing abilities of the device to much because I wasn’t able to actually road test this feature.  I will say that the limitations placed on the sharing of music makes the feature more of a gimmick than a real innovation.  I took the Zune out with me everywhere, to the office, to my local coffee shop, on errands, and anywhere else I needed to go.  I’d like to see video available from the Microsoft service as part of the all you can eat account.  I'd also like to use my large capacity mp3 player as a portable hard drive to move big files from one computer to another.  The Zune, like the iPod feels, and is heavily locked down.  Like the iPod there are unsupported applications and hacks that will allow you to use the Zune as a portable hard drive but I can’t comment on how they may or may not work because I didn't check them out.  I must say that I really want to see this feature as an option on the Zune.  Adding a microphone to future versions so it can be used as a voice recorder would also be a plus.  Overall though, I have to say I'm impressed with the elegance of the device.  It has a nice feel, it's easy to use, and the screen is big and bright.  After having access to the all you can eat package for music I'll never be able to buy music one song at a time. 

Overall Road Test (Not an Average) 8.5/10

Review

Installation 5.5/10

On the Road 9/10

Image 8.5/10

Listening to Music 9/10

Buying Music 8/10

Overall Road Test (Not an Average) 8.5/10

-Stephen Lackey