Microsoft formally announced its Zune brand and its products today. Focused on principles of sharing, discovery and community, Zune devices will let you connect to your library, friends, to larger communities and to other devices. Zune will consist a DAP, the Zune Marketplace music service (supporting individual track or album downloads as well as a Zune Pass subscription to download as many songs as you want for a flat fee) and an online community (thnk of something similar to Xbox Live for music lovers).
The first Zune device is a 30GB DAP (enough for up to 7,500 songs, 25,000 pictures or 100 hours of video) with a 3-inch screen, wireless technology and a built-in FM tuner with RDS. It will be available in 3 colours: black, brown and white. It will come preloaded with music and videos from Virgin Records, Ninja Tune, Quango Music Group and other labels.
Three accessory packs were also announced. The Zune Car Pack includes a built-in FM tuner with AutoSeek and the Zune Car Charger. The Zune Home A/V Pack is five products to hook up your Zune to yoru TV and music speakers. The Travel Pack is another five products to deliver entertainment on the road.
It will be interesting (and good for us consumers) to watch Apple and Microsoft try to out-do each other in the next few months.