Apple's Ipod first made its appearance in October of 2001. Microsoft's Zune made its appearance in November of 2006. Already we see that Apple has a big advantage over Microsoft in the MP3 player category. I myself have owned two Ipod's and one Zune. I am a Zune enthusiast, so I am going to be a little bit biased. But I will try and give the best I can.
Ipod pros:
Apple has a huge variety of products and colors and sizes. This is one thing that the Ipod has, and the Zune does not. The Zune does have similar variety, but not to the extent of the Ipod. The Ipod came out a whole lot earlier than the Zune, so they have the advantage of what people want in a good MP3 player and have had the time to revise and learn from there mistakes. Zune has tried to copy, or make their own versions of what the ipod already has. Ipod's have every accessory you can think of and more. The Zune is still trying to catch up and has no where near the variety of accessories the Ipod does. Although that doesn't mean that the ipod's accessories are better quality. Ipod's have itunes, one of the most popular online music marketplaces in the world. Zune has their own version of a marketplace, but it is not as popular. But it does however have some features that itunes does not have. Ipods also have itunes for one of the most popular used media players. Zune has their version, the Zune program. Apple does have something that Microsoft has yet to come out with, and that is a touch MP3 player. The Ipod touch and Iphone dominate any other touch device out there. That is one thing that no other company or device has been able to top. The Iphone came out before any other touch device and has stayed on top ever since. The touch software is unmatched in any other device including touch phones and touch pad anythings. However, Microsoft has announced that they will enter into the touch MP3 player battle, with their Zune HD.
Zune pros:
Now, the Zune is catching up to the Ipod in variety of products and colors and sizes. Zune has a bigger screen than the ipod and you can view your pictures or movies in portrait or landscape view. This is one feature that the normal ipod does not support. Zune's have an FM transmitter that none of the Ipod's have. However Ipod enthusiasts say that the Iphone and Itouch can get internet radio stations such as Pandora, which are better in their opinion. Zune's also have wireless sync and can access their marketplace wirelessly through any WiFi connection. I would have to say one of the best things that the Zune has over the Ipod is that it doesn't have a click wheel. But that is just my preference. The click wheel on Ipod's are so annoying. And you can never get to exactly where you want to go on your Ipod. I much prefer the normal left, right, up, down arrows of the Zune. Another plus that I have experienced with the zune, is that they are more durable. They are thicker and just by looking at them look more durable. I had my Ipod for not to long when the click wheel started to go out and eventually my play button completely broke. And then my hard drive got completely fried and corrupted. My Zune broke because I tried to open it and manually reset it by unplugging the battery (not recommended and voids the warranty).
Another huge plus in my book, is the Zune program. It supports a whole lot more file types and organizes the music much better than Itunes. Another huge thing that the Zune program does automatically is get your album artwork. To get Itunes to get your album artwork, you have to create an account and that means you have to have a credit card. And then it doesn't even get all of your album artwork. I have used both programs and would much prefer to use the zune program over itunes. One bad thing about the Zune program is that it uses a lot of your system processes. The main plus for me is that the Zune program will support many more file types, which means you can have more types of music or movies without converting them.
Overall, they are both great devices. The Ipod touch and Iphone are unmatched in quality right now. I am looking forward to the Zune HD and see what that brings. But in my book, the Zune is better.