Friday, September 15, 2006

Zune Set to Make First Appearance

Microsoft's highly-anticipated "Zune" portable media device is set
to make its first official appearance at an invite-only press event
Thursday. The unveiling will follow the introduction of a completely
revamped iPod lineup by Apple just two days earlier.

Although
Microsoft itself has remained tight-lipped regarding the iPod
competitor, little is not already known about Zune, which is being manufactured by Toshiba.
The device will feature a 30GB hard drive, three-inch TFT LCD, an FM
tuner, wireless 802.11 b/g, and USB 2.0 support. Zune will connect up
with a new music service specially designed for the player.Zune will additionally feature social networking capabilities, with a
focus on sharing music and music-related content. Users will be able to
link up with "friends" and stream music and playlist data between
devices. Content, says Microsoft's J. Allard, who is largely
responsible for the player's development and also managed the Xbox 360,
is central to the Zune effort.

In a Seattle Weekly profile,
Allard calls Apple's iPod "the Pong of digital music," and notes a
variety of advanced functionality Zune will bring to the table. But the
launch won't be without contention, as it will likely draw the ire of a
number of Microsoft PlaysForSure partners.

Microsoft previously
remained hands-off when it came to portable device development, simply
providing the Windows Media Player software for third parties to build
upon. WMP 11 in Windows Vista will feature the URGE music store
developed by MTV, along with a number of other legal download options
for consumers.

The PlaysForSure strategy has largely failed to
catch on, however, and Microsoft is taking a page from Apple's playbook
by developing a complete ecosystem: device, software and infrastructure
to sell digital content. But the question remains whether Microsoft can
bring back the "cool" factor that Apple has exuded since the iPod
debuted five years ago.

Zune is expected to go on sale for the
holiday season, and Microsoft will likely announce specifics --
including pricing -- at Thursday's event.

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