Apple has updated its successful and popular iPod and renamed it the iPod classic ( 80 GB (80 GB, *est. $245) , 160 GB *est. $330 ). As before, the classic plays music and video, and it can display photos. The biggest change is an increase in hard-drive size (up from 30 GB in the fifth generation iPod). In addition, according to CNet’s Donald Bell, the iPod classic is "slimmer, tougher, and injected with a more visually rich graphical user interface." While critics weren’t especially wowed by the changes, all agree that if you want a hard-drive based MP3 player (which can store the largest amount of music), the iPod classic is currently the best choice, although those reviews were two months before reviewers had a chance to test the second generation Microsoft Zune (discussed below). The iPod classic works with both Macintosh and Windows computers. The 80 GB version of the iPod MP3 player holds up to 20,000 songs or 100 hours of video, and the 160 GB iPod classic holds 40,000 songs or 200 hours of video. To put the storage capacity of the larger iPod classic in context, 160 GB is as large as or larger than hard drives found in many laptop and even desktop computers. More dramatic still is the growth in capacity. As David Pogue of The New York Times notes, the original 2001 iPod held 1,000 songs. He adds that "at this rate of expansion, the iPod of 2010 will hold all six million songs on the iTunes store." The iPod classic MP3 player comes in black or silver. The classic is slim (about .4-inches thick) and has a large (for an MP3 player) 2.5-inch color LCD display. Reviews say ease of use is the iPod classic's major strength. The iPod models -- including the iPod classic -- are the only MP3 players that interface perfectly with iTunes, Apple's music management software, as well as Apple's iTunes music and video store, which sells tunes in a proprietary AAC format. Unfortunately, the built-in rechargeable battery is still not user replaceable, so when the battery eventually fails, you'll need to send the player back to Apple. Still, the battery is a plus. CNet’s Bell says, "the iPod Classic's enhanced battery life is one of the better reasons to fork over your money." Apple says the 80 GB iPod classic delivers 30 hours of audio and five hours for video, and the 160 GB version can hold 40 hours of audio or seven hours of video. Those estimates might be conservative. For example, CNet's Bell says lab tests on the battery with the 80 GB iPod classic showed 45 hours on audio instead of the promised 30 hours and nearly nine hours on video instead of the advertised five hours "under realistic conditions." The iPod classic MP3 player doesn't include an FM tuner or voice recorder, features that are common on other MP3 players. More importantly, the iPod won't play songs in the WMA format used by online music stores such as Yahoo! Music, Rhapsody and Napster. However, it can play DRM-free (digital rights management) MP3 files. While more sites, such as Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and even iTunes itself, are offering DRM-free MP3 song downloads, selection and availability remains limited for now, which means your song purchases will be limited mainly to Apple's iTunes store. That's because the iPod classic -- and all iPods -- only play copyright-protected content encoded with Apple's proprietary AAC format, and those songs are only available on iTunes. Apple has thus far refused to allow other companies to license their AAC technology and format. All in all, critics say that the iPod classic is an excellent hard-drive MP3 player. However, most also say that if you already have an iPod that you’re perfectly happy with, there are not many reasons to rush right out and upgrade. For example, Macworld Magazine’s Christopher Breen says buy the iPod classic if you want that 160 GB of storage, but, "ultimately it’s no easier to find and play your music on this iPod than it is on a 5G iPod." In addition, he notes that because Apple has chosen to make the latest iPod MP3 players incompatible with some older third-party video accessories, you’ll need to pay $49 for a cable to send video to a larger-screened device. The cost, Breen writes, may be "enough that (consumers) may choose to stick with the iPod they own." There's also another reason to stop and consider before buying the iPod classic. Along with all of the other new iPod MP3 players, the classic requires iTunes 7.4 or later, which is not compatible with some older computers. "We recommend testing the compatibility of the latest version of iTunes with your computer before making the purchase," CNet's Bell writes. Though it was much maligned when first introduced, the second generation Microsoft Zune (80 GB, *est. $250) has received a warmer reception. CNet.com and PC Magazine editors go as far as to rate the new Zune above the iPod classic. Other reviewers don't go quite so far, but still say it's now an even matchup between the Zune and the iPod classic. The new Zune hard-drive MP3 player has 80 GB of memory, along with some great new features. In her review for Laptop magazine, Joanna Stern says the Zune now "pulls up a seat at the cool kids table." Probably the Zune's neatest trick is its Wi-Fi capability to not only wirelessly send songs to nearby Zune users but have them play in sync, and you can connect the Zune with your PC either wirelessly or with a cable. However, unlike the wireless MP3 players profiled earlier, you can't connect directly to the Internet to download content. Some reviewers like the 3.2-inch video-capable screen that's larger than the screen on the iPod, but reviews say that images can be pixilated. Some say that at a half-inch thick (only 0.1 inches thicker than the comparable iPod), the new Zune still may not fit very well in a trouser pocket. Critics say the included earbuds are much better than what you’d get with an iPod or just about anything else. The Zune offers touch-screen navigation that can be turned off if you don’t like it, and you can navigate with clicks instead. The Zune is not compatible with Mac computers, so it's obviously not a good choice for those who have lots of money invested in iTunes content. One negative is that you're limited mainly to buying tunes from the Zune Marketplace music store. With a library of over three million songs, the Zune Marketplace is deep, but there isn't much video content here to rival iTunes and Zune can't download video from other sources, such as Amazon Unbox. Another negative in reviews is that the battery life is not as great as promised -- about 30 hours for audio. Some attribute this to the power-sucking Wi-Fi antenna. Options missing in the Zune include voice, inline and radio recording, and the audio equalizer found in the first generation Zune. Still, sound quality overall is excellent, and the included high-quality earbuds are a bonus. Microsoft also offers flash-based versions of the Zune ( 4 GB *est. $140 , 8 GB *est. $170 ), but reviews are not as positive and critics say there are better flash-based MP3 players; see the discussion of flash MP3 players below for some examples. The older 30 GB hard-drive Zune (*est. $200) is also still available. If neither the iPod classic nor Zune MP3 hard-drive players particularly thrill you, and you want the advantages of a large-capacity hard drive, a few products more properly classified as portable media players might be of interest. While these are physically larger and heavier than either of the MP3 music players above, they also have larger screens that can make viewing videos a more pleasant experience. For more information, see the ConsumerSearch report on portable media players .