After I promised to look at the new iPods way back, probably a few months ago now, here’s a post checking out the new iPod Nano against some of its competitors.
I’ve been looking to upgrade my first generation iPod Shuffle for some time, and after using my Sony Ericsson Walkman phone (with 4Gb memory stick) as my default personal music player for a while now, I think its time I caught up again to the rest of the market.
What I’ve shortlisted is the new 8Gb Nano, Microsoft’s 8Gb Zune and Creative’s 16Gb Zen vPlus. They each have at least one strong selling point that appeals to me, so I’ll have to look at the details to separate them. Ideally 16Gb is perfect for me, will easily hold enough music and as I’m not planning to watch videos on these small players I don’t need a crazy amount of space, i.e. iPod Classic 160Gb. As Creative are the only ones to offer a 16Gb it quickly gets my interest. The iPod Nano is stylish and amazingly small, although it is the only one I’ve seen in the flesh, as it is currently the only one available in the UK. Plus I already use iTunes, so very importantly there will be no annoying transfer of files needed. The Zune is pretty exclusive as none of their models have been released in the UK yet, so it has that going for it – it’d be pretty cool getting it out on the train/bus etc whilst everyone else listening to music is doing so via the usual iPod.
iPod Nano
Memory – 8Gb
Price – £129 ($266.09)
Screen Size – 2″
Battery Life – 24hrs
Height – 69.8mm
Width – 52.3mm
Depth – 6.5mm
Weight – 49.2g
FM Radio – No
Zune
Memory – 8Gb
Price – $199 (£96.42)
Screen Size – 1.8″
Battery Life – 24hrs
Height – 91.5mm
Width – 41.4mm
Depth – 8.5mm
Weight – 47g
FM Radio – Yes
Creative Zen vPlus
Memory – 16Gb
Price – $249.99 (£121.12)
Screen Size – 1.5″
Battery Life – 15hrs
Height – 68.6mm
Width – 43.2mm
Depth – 15.2mm
Weight – 43.9g
FM Radio – Yes
With the main specs listed above it helps highlight the pro’s and con’s of each player. Whilst the Zen has the larger capacity it also has the shortest playback time and is’nt the slimmest. The Zune comes out cheapest, it is also the biggest (but not by that much). The iPod suddenly appears, not as amazing as first thought, as it is the most expensive, plus it is the only one without an FM radio. Though when shipping costs come into account (plus the hassle which comes with it) it again appears competitive.
It is a hard choice… But after looking at all the facts the iPod Nano probably takes it. Although I’ll be just like everyone else with their iPod I won’t have the hassle/stress of moving my entire music collection from iTunes to Windows Media Player or like and also not having to worry about shipping from abroad (though those currently available through eBay are making me wonder again) is appealing. The Zen looks like it’ll take second place, despite not having the looks to compete with the other two, it does have the 16Gb capacity. Unlucky Zune, coming third today, though on another day the results could have been much different it was that close between all three!
1. iPod Nano 8Gb
2. Creative Zen vPlus 16Gb
3. Zune 8Gb
