← back to reviews Microsoft Zune 4.0 (Windows Embedded CE 6.0)
8.0
final rating

reviewed on
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Criteria Comments Rating
  • Ease of use The application is much more visual than iTunes [album art over spreadsheets], and it takes some time to adjust to, but does work very well good
  • Speed Compared to other options in Windows, it's very snappy and opens quickly when you connect your Zune, as well as syncing the music player great!
  • Configurability The music library is configured using the Windows 7 libraries, which makes setup instant, as well as with photos and videos good
  • Ecosystem (apps, drivers, etc.) Syncs with the Zune products, and the application contains enough built in to not require few, if any, applications aside it. good
  • Openness The applications supports a wide variety of music and video files, but can't play DRM'd iTunes files. good
Detailed review
I switched over to using the Zune software around November 2009 when I purchased the ZuneHD to replace my iPod Nano. One of the crucial reasons I made the change was because of how bad iTunes performed on my PC, and the Zune software simply worked better [snappy, open/closes fast]. The UI takes a little time to adjust to, but you quickly get used to the album art view the default open provides you, plus Quickplay makes it easy to get to a favorite artist, or podcast, or even movie. Supports the Jump Lists in Windows 7, and overall just functions fine.