Microsoft is developing a MP3 music player in an attempt to compete with the market leader, the Apple iPod. Microsoft will launch the “Zune” music player in the US in time for Christmas. The first Zune will hold 30GB worth of music and will include a wireless feature where owners can wirelessly transfer music to each other. This feature is not currently available on the iPod.

Zune owners will be able to download music from the Zune marketplace, which will compete with Apple’s iTunes. It will be possible to pay a flat fee to download an unlimited amount of music, or buy songs individually.

Pricing information has not been released yet. It is unclear whether Microsoft will be able to muscle its way into a market that is totally dominated by the Apple iPod. Much of the iPod’s appeal is down to sexy iconic style of the product. It is doubtful that Microsoft will be able to compete with that.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 18th, 2006 at 8:49 am and is filed under MP3 Players. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.