Apple iPod Classic vs. Microsoft Zune 80

• The Contenders
• Navigation
• Sexiness
• Compatibility
• Sound and science
• Wallet factor
• The winner is...

Round 1: Navigation

Getting beyond the touch screen

Archos 705 WiFi

The Cowon Q5W and Archos 705 WiFi take advantage of large touch screens for navigation control. Not all touch screens are created equal, however, and often the graphical user interface can make or break a product's usability. When it comes down to it, which navigation system works better? Our individual judges' ratings are based on a zero- to five-point scale, which results in a final score of 0 to 15 per round.

Player	Jasmine	Donald	Brian	Total
Cowon Q5W	2 Yep, not a fan of touch screens; however, at least this one is responsive. The user interface is pretty convoluted and much of the functionality is not straightforward (such as shuffling all songs on the player).	3 It's great that Cowon included a stylus to make it easier to select all the teensy icons, but I prefer an interface that lets me be sloppy and hands-on. I feel as if I'm using a tablet PC--not a PVP. Kudos to Cowon for including hardware volume control.	2 The Q5W's navigation looks sleek at first, until you realize it's an application running on top of Windows CE 5. Then when you jump around to different applications, the old and tired Windows OS shows up. It feels like mash-up, it's neither easy to use nor pretty.	7
Archos 705 WiFi	3 I know I sound like a broken record, but I do not like touch screens. The one on this Archos PVP seems unresponsive, but the interface is easy to get the hang of and the giant screen makes for a cool Web browsing experience.	4 The Archos interface uses gigantic menu icons and an onscreen keyboard that's almost as large as my MacBook's. I miss the redundant hardware controls found on the 605 WiFi, especially for volume control. Navigating through lists of music, photos, and movies is much easier and better organized than the Cowon.	4 The big bold icons on the main screen make sense, and get you where you need to go. The interface is clean and straightforward	11

Winner: Archos 705 WiFi