| There are many folks that hate both Apple and | | | | |
| Microsoft portable media products. Apple | | | | There are advantages that Zune has over iPod. |
| makes iPod and Microsoft makes Zune. | | | | Approximately 60 hours more video can be |
| Fortunately for the consumer, there are other | | | | stored in the 30GB version. Zune has a |
| good portable media players out there now but | | | | larger screen size and is capable of portrait |
| do not have the same visibility as Apple and | | | | mode display. Zune has wallpaper, FM radio, |
| Microsoft products. Discussion about these | | | | wireless connectivity, and faster battery |
| other portable media players like SanDisk's | | | | charge. Zune Plays WMA audio formats and WMV |
| Sansa series and Creative's Zen series | | | | video formats. It has one more standard case |
| devices are beyond the scope of this article. | | | | color: brown! |
| This article is about basic iPod and Zune | | | | |
| similarities and differences. In addition, | | | | There are advantages that iPod has over Zune. |
| sources for purchasing music online for iPod | | | | iPod plays games, is compatible with the |
| and Zune will be briefly discussed. | | | | Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV audio |
| | | | formats. It plays H.264, M4V, MP4, MOV, |
| The iPod is a portable media players designed | | | | MPEG-4 video formats. It is slightly smaller |
| and marketed by Apple and released to the | | | | and lighter than Zune. The iPod software |
| public in 2001. Currently, as a digital | | | | works on PC and Mac. Zune only works with |
| audio player, the iPod is the best-selling | | | | PCs. |
| music player in history. Zune is Microsoft's | | | | |
| digital audio player, released in 2006, | | | | The primary websites for music downloads are |
| directly competing with Apple's iPod. Each | | | | iTunes Store for iPod and Zune Marketplace |
| of these portable media players deliver what | | | | for Zune. Both sites offer music downloads |
| it was intended to do which is to play music | | | | of 0.99 cents per song. With Zune |
| or audio, display images, and play video. | | | | Marketplace, you can buy a monthly |
| Each has their pros and cons. | | | | subscription for $14.99 a month for unlimited |
| | | | downloads as long as you have a subscription. |
| There are many Zune and IPod similarities and | | | | |
| I will list major ones. They each have the | | | | But there are other online music stores out |
| same starting price of around $249, disk | | | | there so you are not limited to Apple and |
| storage, picture capacity, screen resolution, | | | | Microsoft. Do an online search for "online |
| and aspect ratio. They play audio, pictures, | | | | music stores" and determine what works for |
| and video. They have USB connection (to | | | | you. |
| another device, typically a computer), | | | | |
| battery, and similar battery life. | | | | The stores that I recommend are offered here |
| | | | and have one time fees: |
| Both devices support MP3, MP4, M4A, M4B (for | | | | |
| audio), and MOV (for video) file formats. The | | | | For iPod music and video downloads, click on |
| Zune favors Windows Media Audio (WMA) while | | | | |
| iPod has its protected AAC format. When it | | | | For Zune music and video downloads, click on |
| comes to exchanging files, you will need | | | | |
| software tools to convert your iTunes files | | | | |
| to MP3 or convert Zune WMA files to MP3. Both | | | | Have fun with what ever portable media player |
| systems support JPGs (for still images) and | | | | you choose! |
| MPGs (for video). | | | | |