So I have my new ZuneHD, and the new Zune 4.0 software... and I have to say... wow... As much as I like my ZuneHD, I can admit that it really isn't anything special. Its your standard touch screen media player (yes, it is a MEDIA PLAYER, not a "game system" like the iPod or any bullshit like that); great software, beautiful screen savers while playing, incredible video quality... but except for the fact that the audio quality in iPod devices are shitty, its not something you won't also get with an iPod touch...
That being said, what makes the ZuneHD so amazing is the new Zune 4.0 software with Zune Pass... I mean holy shit this crap is amazing. iTunes has the ability to search for "similar music", but never like this. With the Zune Pass, you can download as much music as you want for only $15 a month; so it would make sense that they could take this similar music searching to the whole new level... and they did it with something called "SmartDJ"... Lets say I like the song "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder, and I want to find similar music like it.
Well the Zune Social actually builds similar music based on the tastes of other users; so it will trawl the system and look for similarities... So if a user has "Superstition", what other music do they have? It searches for the highest occurences and builds on that. So I simply right click and select "Play Smart DJ Mix" and in under a second I have a 20 song playlist of music that may interest me. And since I have Zune Pass, it doesn't just play 30 second samples of the songs like it does on iTunes, it plays the FULL SONG. Did I mention that I could also do all this on the Zune itself?
The ZuneHD also has a built in HD Radio; and as many of us know by now, with HD Radio, it actually includes the song information as it plays on the radio (this is why those with BMW's and really expensive sound systems can see extended information about the music). So lets say you hear on the radio a song you like; with iTunes, you would have to download Pandora or something to identify the song, then download the song itself seperately from iTunes. With Zune Pass, you just click the "download song" button, and its yours!
I can definately see Zune Pass changing the way people buy music. Yes, its $15 a month, but you can download as much music as you want, and the DRM lets you put it onto as many as 3 media devices (doesn't have to be a Zune). Sure, when you cancel your Zune Pass subscription, all your Zune Pass music disappears with it... but you can also buy music the standard $1 a song method; so if you really don't want to lose it, you can buy it. Not to mention, with the $15 a month, you get 10 song purchase credits, so really it only costs $5 a month.
If you're fed up with iTunes and Apple, and you want to try something new, Microsoft actually offers a superb service with the Zune. As I said before, you are NOT locked down with the Zune Software like you are with iTunes; if you decice one day that you want to leave the Zune Garden, you can simply take your entire purchased library elsewhere. It won't be complicated, and Microsoft doesn't obsfucate your music folders like iTunes does.
