The PMP battle is now in progress and surprisingly, the new Zune is a worthy contender. I do hope the iPod is ready for some competition. Don't get me wrong, I love the iPod. However, I can't help realizing that Team Zune Luv from Zuneluv.com does have some valid points in their article 7 Ways Zune Beats iPod. Here are their two best points in my opinion...
Podcast as top-level entry. It always bugged me that Podcasts were a “category” in music (or video) in the iPod. That was just so wrong on so many levels that it is great to see that cleaned up. Don’t get me wrong, I have music and Podcasts on my Zune - there is just a time and place for everything (and now they both have their place).
Bonus – I can now shuffle music content and not worry that an episode of the Bitterest Pill will show up in the mix.
> I agree, I love podcasts and I think they should have their own top level menu entry. Lumping them in with Music and Videos just creates confusion.
Radio. I seldom listen to radio but found myself in the gym watching a news clip on the monitor that caught me eye. They do that broadcast the audio on FM thing so I switched over quickly, got my fix and went from there. 3 minutes of usage total – but it was nice to have.
Bonus – We live in crazy world where a radio nearby is never a bad thing. Usage will continue to plummet but having that option in the case of an emergency is a comfort.
> No matter how large our music library is, we do get bored with our music sometimes. For the freshest tunes, nothing beats the airwaves.