Ambitious but half-baked, elegantly designed but bulky, the Zune is the most promising iPod 
challenger yet. It boasts a bigger screen, wireless music sharing capability, an FM radio, and even a decent amount of accessories. Most important, the Zune is easy to use and easy to transfer music to, which should come as no surprise, considering Microsoft designed the player, music store, and software. But there’s promise, and then there’s execution.
It’s no secret that the 5.6-ounce Zune is thicker than the iPod; in fact, at 0.6 inches, it’s a bit thicker than the 4G iPod Photo. There’s a reason for that extra girth, however; stuffed inside the Zune is a 802.11 Wi-Fi connection that allows users to send tracks to other nearby Zunes wirelessly. (More on that later.) The other reward for that extra size is a large 3-inch display, versus the iPod’s 2.5 inches, one that automatically switches to landscape mode when you’re playing videos or photos. Too bad the album art is so low-res; it looks really fuzzy on this generously sized screen.
Available in black, white, and a self-consciously hip brown, the Zune’s design is durable and scratch-resistant. It’s also minimalist—in a good way. The controller consists of a four-way D-pad with a select button in the middle, which makes navigating the Zune’s menus a breeze. The navigation control is flanked by a back button on the left and a play/pause button on the right. You adjust the volume by pressing up or down on the D-pad. A hold switch on top is the only other design element.
We actually prefer the Zune’s Twist interface—which lets you switch from genres, to albums, to artists by simply pressing right or left on the D-pad—to the iPod’s, which requires a lot of backing out of menus. Our only complaint is that there is not enough tactile separation between the D-pad and select button; we sometimes clicked on an option when we meant to scroll past it. :: LAPTOP Magazine • Microsoft Zune ::