In my travels through the Zune forums, I enjoy reading people’s wishlist(s) for features for the Zune software and devices. But if I may ask a question for a second: How many features is too many features for a device?

I’ve seen everything from a web browser, to alarm clock, to email client, to a remote control device. While I think it’s great that people are trying to find creative uses for the Zune, I personally think that most of these features will probably never see the light of day.

First off, battery life. To run a web browser, for example, would mean that the screen and the zune pad would be in constant use, not to mention the energy it would take to load pages and allow you to navigate those pages. Is that something we’d really want the Zune device to do?

Secondly, price. If the device did everything people wished for it to do, we’re talking about a $500+ device. Will we then step back and say “Whoa, is that a price I’m willing to pay for Zune”. Would the forums then be flooded with people saying “Why can’t Zune just make it all cheaper?”

Third, practicality. If Zune did have all of these wishlist features, how many of them would actually be used? Honestly, I’m in the forums all of the time and for the amount of people who clamored for a clock, I don’t see many posts now coming back to thank the Zune team for putting one in. The statements now are about how the clock is only shown on the main screen.

Think about other devices in your home that have a ton of features. My Logitech Harmony Remote has stuff to it that I still don’t know how it works and I’ve used it for the past 2 years. I essentially use it for what I bought it for: to control my TV and XBOX 360. I have a Zune as an MP3 player.

Fourth, comparison. Some of the features I’ve seen are essentially those that are applied to the iPod Touch. As Solar has aptly pointed out, that’s the wrong comparison. The right comparison is between the Zune and iPod Classic (just like the flash Zune should be compared the iPod Nano).

For every question that likes to ask “Why can’t Zune be more like iPod Touch?” I like to answer “Because then it would be called the iPod Touch.”

Now, again, I don’t want to stifle people’s creative ideas for the future of Zune, but I think we really need to take a look at at least these four points – and others – and determine what exactly we want from our Zune.

What do you guys think? How many features is too many features?