Microsoft Tunes Up Zune

With lackluster sales for what Microsoft had hoped would be its iPod killer, the Redmondians are giving the pint-sized music vault a facelift and other updates just in time to lure holiday shoppers.

Three new Zunes are set to go up against the forces of Apple's iPod. One of the new Zunes has an 80GB hard drive and a 3.2-inch glass screen. This top-line Zune comes in a shiny black finish. There will also be smaller Zunes -- clearly positioned to do battle with the iPod Nano -- that use flash memory. These will come with either 4GB or 8GB of space in a pink, green, red or black finish.

Like the original Zune, the new models all come with FM radio and let you use wireless connections to share tunes with other Zunes. They also have an updated display and menu structure. There's a touch pad interface you can use to scroll through tunes or change the volume.

The new Zunes should be available for sale by mid-November, with prices expected to range from $149 for the 4GB models to $199 for 8GB and $249 for the 80GB.

Posted by Lafe Low on October 03, 2007 at 11:57 AM


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