I have to say that this is one area where I thought the platform needed attention. Zune on Windows Phone 7 feels more like Zune Lite when compared to the experience on a Zune HD.
Here are some of the highlights that have me excited:
- Search and subscribe to podcasts right from the device
- New podcasts can be set to download automatically when the device is connected to power (so when you're sleeping and your phone is charging, it's downloading the latest episodes of your favorite podcasts)
- Smart DJ (one of my favorite features on the Zune PC software and Zune HD) is coming to Windows Phone 7 to help you discover new artists that you may be interested in.
- Rearrangement of the controls in the player. Now the play/pause, forward, and back appear above the album art while things like shuffle, repeat, rate appear to the right of the album art. I'm glad the kept the play/pause and track control present at all times. My biggest complaint about the Zune HD is the fact that they hide those. These playback controls have also been enlarged. I never found them small, but then I'm running the largest screen available on a Windows Phone 7 device (the HD7) and I don't have large hands either.
- Improved video playback. They're including one thing that's been bothering me lately, the lack of scrubbing. Well, my complaint about this would be gone if they offered a "play from the beginning" option like they do on the Zune HD, but they don't. Hopefully they still add this, but at least scrubbing offers some help.
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