The TechNow

Hey there! I just got a Zune HD a few days ago! You may be thinking, “Ew, who wants a Zune?”, but after using this for a few days I’ve grown to love it more than my iPod touch (2G). Anyway, let’s get to business. (This will not be biased, promise.)

Screen

The first thing you notice when you compare the two is the screen. Yes, the Zune HD’s screen IS .2 inches smaller than the iPod’s, but it’s OLED, so it’s brighter, crisper, and more power-efficient. The iPod touch’s is LED, 3.5″, and not too bright

So I gotta give it to the Zune. Sorry, Apple.

Sound

After listening to music for a while, you start to notice the bad quality in the file. Not with the Zune HD, the sound is so much clearer, even with the standard earbuds. BUT, the iPod touch does have an internal speaker, which the Zune does not.

So it’s basically a tie. Need an internal speaker? iPod. Better quality? Zune HD.

Apps

This is a big one. Yes, there are only 10 apps on the Zune HD’s “app store”, but they are all of mostly good quality. If you want more, moderate quality apps, then the iPod is for you. But the games and apps on the Zune HD are phenomenal. Your choice. But, I’d give it to the iPod for this one.

iPod’s app store is better for the most part.

Side note: You CAN add and make your own homebrew apps without doing ANY hacking or jailbreaking. See here and here.

Software

With the Zune Pass, you can get unlimited legal music for only $15 USD/mo. Awesome right? But if you stop paying, your music expires except for the 10 DRM free songs you get a month with it. iTunes offers no such thing. Plus we all know how Apple codes things bad for Windows. So for $15/mo, unlimited music, that’s a win for the Zune HD all the way.

Overall

Simple: Buy a Zune HD. Detailed: Your choice. It really depends on what you want and need in a PMP.

This post was written by britishtaco, and he/she may not represent the opinions of this website or it's owner.

We all know Microsoft copies from Apple, and possibly vice-versa, don’t deny it. Apple copies from Microsoft, Microsoft copies from Apple. Don’t try and oppose it, fanboys. It’s plainly obvious and even said by a Microsoft Gold Partner: “Does Windows 7 borrow from OS X? Of course it does,” said Dave Sobel, CEO of Evolve Technologies, a Fairfax, Va.-based Microsoft Gold partner. There you go, now on to the content.

How do I justify copying? Many say that it is plagiarism, blatant copyright infringement, anti-competitive, evil, and without justification. However, I beg to differ. The essential thing that people don’t realize is that it’s not copying. It’s enhancing. Apple comes up with the ingenious idea of a dock, where one can launch applications quickly and easily from the bottom bar. Windows 7 enhances that by merging the dock with the start bar. Now Apple has to come up with something even better to counter that.

You see, this cycle repeats itself with hundreds of different technologies. It’s a constant game of catch-up between the two Operating Systems. And who wins? Us. Yes, us. We get constantly lower prices on our operating systems, whilst getting years of progress in the span of months. Look at the price of Snow Leopard. $35 for a totally rewritten Finder, faster and better usability, and an even more awesome wallpaper.

So what I’m saying is that this ‘copying’ isn’t ‘copying’, it’s called progress. Companies have been doing the same thing for years without being under attack from consumers like the computer industry is today. Let it go, it helps us more than anybody else. Don’t try and keep Apple away from Microsoft, and don’t try and keep Microsoft away from Apple. Both are great companies, and both utilize the others’ technologies.

This post was written by j.dhanani, and he/she may not represent the opinions of this website or it's owner.

via Engadget, rewritten by J. Dhanani

The HTC Touch Diamond, the supposed “iPhone Killer”, is about to release it’s sequel, the Diamond2. They’re running Windows Mobile 6.1, so it gives it another reason to be even worse than iPhone.

As you can see, the feel and look from the outside is very boxy and slightly unnattractive.  The Camera is front-facing, and the feel to the UI is very ugly, to say the least. TouchFlo2, however, is one of the only “up-sides” of this device. Here’s the video:

The Touch Diamond 2 comes with 3.2-inch WVGA display, 5 MP auto-focus camera and improved battery life (over the original HTC DIAMOND), according to WindowsPhoneMix.

According to TracyAndMatt:

Yesterday I managed to get my hands on a pre-release version of the Diamond2 which I’m going to use to start off my review of the handset. This pre-release unit is final hardware but there will be a few more tweaks to the ROM before the final version goes on sale in the next few days.

I’ve had the Diamond2 for less than 24 hours so far and I have to say that I like what I see. I’m happy that the back is now flat rather than angular like the original Diamond and despite the larger screen, larger battery and the inclusion of the MicroSD card socket HTC have managed to keep the overall size and weight down so that it’s not much bigger or heavier than the Diamond and still retains the slim-appeal.

As you may be aware, I am a complete iPhone-fanatic unbias reporter who equally judges devices without any prior opinion, so here’s my opinion on the HTC Touch Diamond2:

1/10 Stars, completely useless, horrible user interface. Better off buying the next iPhone 3G release on June 8th, which will have stunning 3.2MP camera, a nice round shape that fits in your hand, over 30 000 third-party applications, search feature, push e-mail, and much more.

This post was written by j.dhanani, and he/she may not represent the opinions of this website or it's owner.