The New Zune Just Got Cool

Microsoft annonced today the second generation of thier Zune portable media players, and it seems they took all of our complaints to heart and actually made the player that much more attractive, design wise and functionality wise.

So, lets start off with the big one, called the Zune 80, obviously since it is now updated to a 80 GB hard drive. The screen is overall a bit larger then the original, while the entire device itself is much smaller, with dimension of 2.4 x 4.25 x 0.5-inches. The device also features a new design of its d-pad, so it doesn't fool the consumers that it is a clickwheel or something, but it still has a very similar layout.

The other models are either a 8 or 4 GB flash player, which as you can see is a bit smaller, and offers all of the software perks of the larger one. One thing to note is that screen size is smaller, and unit size is larger then the recently announced Ipod Nano, so keep that in mind. The original Zune will still be around, with the name Zune 30, for its 30 GB hard drive, but thankfully it is also getting a full software upgrade just like the other models. If you already have one, check for a firmware update since you also get the upgrade.

The software is probably the most important change, since you still get the same features as the original, but now with more support. You get h.264 and MPEG-4 video support, as well as podcast support. Wi-fi is actually used now, where you can sync it with a PC, but can not download songs directly from an online store. Also, that whole 3 day or 3 play policy for music sharing, its now only 3 plays, which gives us a little bit of freedom I guess. Finally, the interface has been redone, and is supposedly much easier and faster.

Another nice change is that the Zune store is going DRM free for all of its songs, which is a big plus, but still no word if previously bought songs can be changed, or even what labels are being supported.

Overall, $250 for the Zune 80, $200 for the Zune 8, and $150 for the Zune 4 are not bad deals, and may actually be a contender against Apple this holiday season. Expect these things to ship sometime in November.

(Source)