“iPod killer”

It has become both the most overused phrase and underachieved goal in contemporary personal technology. Every maker of digital music players now aspires to have one in its inventory, and since the iPod’s debut in 2001 every one of them is still trying.

Microsoft Corp., the giant in just about everything, is no exception. Last November, it released a device called the Zune that, given the company’s enormous resources, was believed by prognosticators to be a cinch for the title, and it disappointed mightily. It fell short in several key areas, in particular its ease of use, and so was tossed figuratively onto the heap of technology filled with iPod also-rans.

However, as someone once said, nothing teaches you more about success than failure, and Microsoft has taken that lesson to heart.

The new Zunes, debuting today, while not quite up to the iPod’s level, come closer to anything to date. Three Zunes have come out, two 1.5-by-3.5-inch devices weighing 1.6 ounces with 4 gigabytes and 8 gigabytes respectively of flash memory, and a 2.4-by-4.25-inch device weighing 4.5 ounces with an 80-gigabyte mini hard drive that compares in size and power to the iPod classic.

Talking Tech tried the larger Zune recently and was impressed particularly with its 3.2-inch glass LCD display (a half inch larger than the iPod’s), improved touch-sensitive clickpad and audio quality, wireless syncing with PCs or other Zunes and easier-to-use Zune Marketplace for buying and sharing songs or photos. And though the 80-gigabyte Zune comes only in black, that in itself is a step up from the awful chocolate-brown color Microsoft used to offer.

New Zunes still have an FM radio receiver, unlike iPods, and a back plate that can be customized with free artwork, also unlike iPods.

Microsoft also upgraded the wireless player-to-player music sharing, now allowing Zuners to play back swapped songs three times with no time or sharing limits. Previously, swapped songs lasted only three plays over three days, and there were limits on how many other Zuners could receive songs.

Zunes now permit podcast playback, too — a major inventory upgrade, in our opinion.

Best of all is Zune’s wireless syncing, which allows Zuners to connect and update their music and video inventories without physically connecting to a computer, a skill iPods still haven’t mastered. Talking Tech didn’t grasp that feature’s importance until we realized how often we purchased content from iTunes and reconnected to our Mac.

We even forgot about using our iPod for a while, largely because of that.

But not for long. Despite Zune’s improvements, it still has glaring weaknesses compared to iPod classic. Among them, the larger screen does offer corresponding improved video resolution; files play back somewhat jagged around the corners and less sharp in general because the resolution is the same as with old Zunes. Someone at Microsoft should have known that bigger screens alone don’t bring better pictures.

Other problems: Zune Marketplace doesn’t offer TV shows or movies, only videos. Zune doesn’t stream music wirelessly, only transfers files that way. The earbuds, while better than those that come with iPod, suffer from a problem called “cable microphonics” — a low growl heard through the music when the headphone cable is touched or moved.

Worst of all, Microsoft removed the Zune’s adjustable sound equalizer, ostensibly to improve battery life for wireless synching, which can eat up power. Your sound preferences aside, not having a bass booster really bothered Talking Tech.

At $250, the 80-gigabyte Zune isn’t more of a bite in the wallet than iPod, and its overall improvements make the Zune a better deal. Still, the title of “iPod killer” remains open and will for some time.