Slowly but surely, Microsoft’s Zune is staking its claim as a legitimate alternative to Apple’s iPod line of MP3 players. Last year, Microsoft focused its efforts on overhauling the Zune’s hardware and public image. This year, Microsoft has turned its attention to improving the Zune firmware and desktop software, while updating the storage capacity and pricing of new models to stay competitive.
Design
The design of the Zune 120 is almost entirely unchanged from the Zune 80 we reviewed last year. The back of the Zune is now black instead of silver and the face of the player is covered with a glossy plastic that, although pretty, is more prone to smudges and scratches than the metal finish on last year’s model. We’re happy to see that the increase in the Zune’s hard-drive capacity doesn’t translate into a thicker design. The Zune 120 measures the same 4.3 inches high by 2.4 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep as the Zune 80. Also, no changes have been made to the Zune’s navigation controls, headphone jack, hold switch, dock connection, and 3.2-inch glass-covered LCD.
Considering Apple’s strategy of altering its iPod design every fall (for better or for worse), it’s a little unnerving to see the Zune’s hardware design at a standstill. The upshot of the Zune’s lack of design tinkering is that it maintains the product’s compatibility with the handful of accessories designed for the player.
Gone are the high-quality in-ear headphones that were included with the Zune 80.
Features
The bulk of the third-generation Zune’s improvements are found by flicking through its main menu. New menu items for Games and Marketplace have been added alongside existing selections for Music, Videos, Pictures, Social, Radio, Podcasts, and Settings. The Zune’s primary purpose as a high-quality portable music player hasn’t changed. If anything, the enhancements offered by the third-generation firmware have bolstered the unique music-discovery and sharing features that have differentiated the Zune from the very beginning.
One of the more notable new features on the Zune is a Marketplace selection in the main menu that allows you to browse, preview, and download music directly from Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace online store. Within the Marketplace submenu you can choose between browsing Top Songs, Top Albums, and New Releases, or search for specific music by keying in a few letters. Songs can be previewed for 30 seconds with the option to add them to your virtual cart or purchase and download immediately. By signing up for Microsoft’s Zune Pass music-subscription service (a free 14-day trial is available), you can download unlimited music to your Zune for a flat fee of $15 a month. Otherwise, you’ll need to purchase songs a la carte by setting up a payment account in the Zune desktop software.
Your Zune needs to be connected to a Wi-Fi hot spot in order to take advantage of the Marketplace feature. Fortunately, Microsoft has improved the Zune’s ability to step through public Wi-Fi hot spots, and it’s even struck a deal with fast-food giant McDonald’s to have the Zune supported by the Wayport Wi-Fi hot spots found in many McDonald’s restaurants. If your local Wi-Fi requires you to enter a password, you can enter it manually using the Zunepad. The Zune will remember and associate your Wi-Fi passwords so that you’ll only need to enter them once.
Compared with the iPod Classic, the Zune 120 runs a little taller and wider and can’t match Apple’s battery life. The Zune’s screen is much better for videos, however, and its Wi-Fi and radio features have improved from last year.
The Zune already had one of the best FM-radio tuners available on an MP3 player, including support for detailed station and song information by way of the Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS). With the third-generation Zune, Microsoft has taken the RBDS-enhanced FM radio even further, by allowing users to tag the songs they hear so they can download them later.
The radio-tagging feature only works with FM-radio stations that broadcast artist and song information over RBDS (we found five compatible stations in San Francisco). Tagged songs are added to your Zune shopping cart, just as songs added using the Marketplace feature are, and can be downloaded directly to your Zune over Wi-Fi or previewed and purchased using the Zune desktop software. The radio-tagging feature is fun to use, but in our experience, the stations that were compatible with RBDS were typically mainstream radio outlets with a limited amount of new music in rotation. Still, we’re happy to see Zune giving users as many ways as possible to discover and acquire new music.
The addition of games for the Zune helps keep the device competitive against the iPod, but it doesn’t compare with the quality of games we’re seeing for the iPod Touch. Two games, Hexic and Texas Hold ‘Em, are included with the Version 3.0 Zune firmware, with new games soon to come for the Zune Marketplace.
General
- Width 2.4 in
- Depth 0.5 in
- Product type Digital player / radio
- Height 4.3 in
- PC interface(s) supported Hi-Speed USB, Wi-Fi
- Weight 4.5 oz
- Color Black
- Digital storage Built-in 120 GB Hard disk drive
- Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.4 in x 0.5 in x 4.3 in
- Included accessories 6 ear tips
- Packaged quantity 1
- Digital storage media capacity 120 GB
- Digital storage media type Hard disk drive
- Digital storage media form factor Built-in
Radio
- Tuner type Radio tuner
- Tuner bands FM
- Station memo display Yes
Digital Player / Recorder
- Digital player supported digital audio standards WMA, WMAPro, Audible, MP3, AAC
- Digital player playback modes Random play / shuffle
- Digital player ID3 tags support Yes
- External hard drive function Yes
- Digital player additional features Variable bit-rate compatible, JPEG photo playback, MPEG-4 playback
Battery
- Rechargeable Battery Rechargeable
- Battery Enclosure Type Integrated
- Technology Lithium ion
- Recharge Time 3 hour(s)
- Battery Lithium ion Rechargeable Player batteryIntegrated
- Mfr estimated battery life 30 hour(s)
- Battery Life Details Music playback (wireless off) 30 hour(s), Video playback 4 hour(s)
Audio System
- Sound output mode Stereo
- Additional features Built-in games
Cable(s) / Peripheral(s)
- Cable(s) included 1 x Data cable - External
Connections
- Connector type 1 x Headphones / composite video, 1 x Docking station
- Slot(s) provided None
- Slot(s) Required None
Built-in Display
- Audio system built-in display LCD
- Diagonal size 3.2 in
- Resolution 320 x 240
- Display menu language Spanish, English, French
Audio Features
- Built-in clock Digital clock
CD System
Remote Control
Headphones
- Headphones type Binaural
- Sound output mode Stereo
- Connectivity technology Wired
