I have owned the 30GB Video and currently own the 80GB Classic.
Let me say, the thing is great. Slim, lightweight, attractive, the list could go on. I use it not only for music, videos, podcasts, wasting time in class (got to love solitaire
) but also as a backup hard drive for all my files on my computer. My iPod goes everywhere with me, including my car which has an adapter.
Now having said that, I went to FutureShop the other day just to take a look at the new iTouchs they had and I saw the Zunes. These things are great. Immediately when I picked it up I could tell they were a very sturdy player. Opposed to my iPod, I'd feel fine if I dropped one. The touch scroller is also a nice feature, however I'm not a fan of how much it comes out from the body itself. Could be just because I'm used to the iPod. Another design I found to be a flaw was the lock button. It's a slider just like the iPod's, however it doesn't stick out from the body at all, so it's a little hard to slide over. Not a big deal, but something that could have easily been changed but it's obvious they were trying to keep it sleek look. Then when I turned it on, I found the interface a little weird. For instance, if you listen to a song, then keep hitting back to the main menu, if you hit back once more, you'll be brought back to your music. This is good if you made a mistake and didn't want to back out of your Now Playing screen, but not good if you are just trying to get to the main menu fast. Most of you know about the feature that's supposed to set this thing free, WiFi. It's an excellent idea and I love the fact it's integrated. I tried it out at the store and it works perfectly. I only with Apple would do the same thing. Only downside to this is the amount of times you can play the song once you've received it (it's only 3 for those who don't know). It'd be a lot better if you could have the song for longer, but due to obvious reasons I can see why that won't happen.
Overall, I'd go with the Zune. It's got all the features the iPod has (that actually matter) and then some. Sure it may not have Cover Flow, but it's got the radio and WiFi to take care of that. Along with customizable themes, can't go wrong.