I’m going to get right into it, because if you’re reading this you probably don’t want a pep talk in the beginning. The Creative Zen Vision: M and the new Microsoft Zune can be compared as very similar. The price, which your most likely most interested in, is the same right now at $220 a piece on Amazon and just about any other electronic site. So whichever you want can’t be affected by price.
Both $220 versions are the 30GB, so once again, no difference. And both of them have built in hard drives with no expandable memory. In terms of what types of file formats they support, the Creative Zen M supports both WMA and WAV, while the Zune cannot play WAV files. They both obviously support MP3.
USB is becoming standard on MP3 players and these two are no exception. Both the Zen and the Zune have several of the general features available on them. They both support music, photos, and videos. Have a color backlit screen and video capabilities. Both have the FM radio with digital tuners and the very important play list editing for after you transfer your music. The Zen however, has a voice recorder on it to record anything you please while the Zune does not, even if the microphone isn’t the greatest accessory.
The size of the players may impact what you like and/or want to carry around. In terms of height, the Zen is only 4 inches tall while the Zune is 4.4 inches tall. Both are 2.4 inches from side to side, which is a good screen size for watching movies and whatnot. The depth however gets to be a drag for most standard Ipod users. The Zune is .6 inches while the Zen is .7, not a big difference but both of them are pretty thick considering the depth of what Ipod’s are. Still with the average pocket its not that noticeable. Both come in their wide array of colors if you get them online but I have found that the Zune has better accessories and are more readily available in retail stores. I have walked into Circuit City and Best Buy numerous times looking for accessories for these two and the times I can find the “M”, the Zune has always had more to choose from. Personally, I like the Zen’s controls far better than Microsoft’s. While both take some time to figure out, the Zen is easier and it’s scroll/volume feature is better. The Zune isn’t that hard to figure out but just looking at the controls may puzzle you. So, I’m not a big fan of the circle controls. They’re audio/video quality is about the same. Both volumes can get to a reasonably loud level on your typical headphones. Throw in a good pair of speakers and you can have yourself a house party. That seems to be just about everything from opinion to specs.
My opinion doesn’t matter but I personally favor the Zen, as you may or may not of been able to tell. You may want to go into a Circuit City or Best Buy and try them out for yourself. The Zune is longer and gives you more of a widescreen look while the Zen displays more of a smaller fullscreen style. Both of the included software is easy to use, however, again I prefer Creative’s built in converter for movies and audio. It also comes with a 12-month parts warranty that Zune does not. So there you go folks, your basic rundown of facts about two seemingly popular mp3 players. That seems to be just about everything from opinion to specs. Hope I answered any questions
