Zune (30GB, black)

Pros: Wifi, big screen, decent battery, non-fingerprint surface

Cons: Songs not wifi downloadable, no wireless headphones

Summary: When I first got my hands on the Zune, like most others, I immediately went for the click-wheel. That just proves how much the iPod is embedded into our brains. However, the circle is actually a set of buttons.... and it doesn't take more than 30 seconds to get used to. Moving around the interface is as quick and intuitive as the iPod.

The screen is big and bright and automatically switched to landscape mode when viewing photos and videos. And when you are viewing in landscape, all of the buttons automatically changed direction, too. (Meaning up and down becomes left and right.) It would be nice to have some built-in support for left-handed people, but alas, there is none.

The ability to send songs wirelessly to friends with Zunes is very quick (about 15 seconds per song). It would be nice to be able to keep the songs for longer that 3 days/3 plays. Bumping that up to about 5 days would be great. You can also send full playlists wirelessly! You can turn this feature off, also, so that no one sees your Zune and can send you songs. Though you can name your Zune, you can't give it a personal avatar. It'd also be great if you could download songs from a store using wifi.

The sound quality of the Zune is very good when using the headphones that come with the device. I haven't cranked it up to the highest volume because I want to preserve my ears. With the wireless ability being such a big sell with Zune, I very much wish it came with wireless headphones.

The build of the device seems very sturdy and it resists fingerprints (even the black and brown) very well. It's not glossy like the iPod and some other mp3 players, but instead is a slightly rubberized matte finish. True, the screen will get fingerprints if you touch it, but the body won't. Also, the user interface (menus and such) are quite fun to fly through once you first get the device. You are able to set your own customized background image and the menus fly in and out of the screen elegantly.

Overall, I wish the Zune took more advantage of its wifi features (which apparently will be updated soon), but the device is very well-made, easy to use and sturdy. The best surprise for me was the screen clarity, wifi speed and fingerprint-less surface.