>>25
Actually it's the DAC and the iPod earbuds and post-processing. The digital output of the hardware decoder is exactly what it should be... but then it gets pushed through a limiter, out that shitty DAC (the DAC probably itself isn't that bad) and then finally acoustically rendered by a pair oh earbuds with all the nuance of a tin can.
>>26
They're certainly not overrated. I don't know what kind of battery "Android" runs on (hint: specify a device model or shut the fuck up) but the ZuneHD has a smaller battery than whatever you're using and will play for over 3 times as long thanks to hardware decoding.