It’s nearly a month since the latest third generation Zune was unveiled and you will probably have seen the video of the portable media player in action in one of our earlier posts. Here what we have is a review of the 120GB version by CNET and here’s the verdict in one quick summary…

The good: The 120GB Microsoft Zune MP3 player has expanded the usefulness of its Wi-Fi and social music-discovery features, added support for games and audiobooks, and maintained enviable features, such as a 3.2-inch glass LCD, friendly interface, exceptional navigation control, audio- and video-podcast support, superlative FM radio, wireless syncing, good audio quality, and a built-in composite-video output.
The bad: Battery life isn’t great; high-quality earbuds are no longer included; the glossy plastic front is more prone to scratches and smudges; and using many of the new features without a Zune Pass music subscription can be disappointing.

The bottom line: The Zune 120, with a unique focus on music discovery, is a fierce competitor to the iPod Classic. The Zune’s substantial storage capacity combined with its Zune Pass music subscription makes it an ideal solution for restless music fans with large appetites.

While many iPod fans would debate over whether the new Zune is a any better competitor than its predecessor, I’m sure Zune fans will definitely appreciate the new exciting features that Microsoft have put an effort into achieving.

Unfortunately in my view, one thing is for certain, Zune is just Zune while iPod, well there are a range of iPods to choose from, if Microsoft wants to be more convincing and gain that bit more of the portable music player market, they definitely need to put on a few more thinking caps. As right now, I can see that the Zune 120GB has a slight advantage over the iPod Classic 120GB in terms of price and functionality but that’s just one of a shelf full of iPods and when compared to all the other iPods? - Zune just doesn’t stand a chance

Here’s the video, see what you think…

[via CNET]