Microsoft rolls out new Zune player

Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday unveiled three new models of its Zune portable digital media players featuring touch-sensitive buttons for navigating the device, the ability to sync with wireless networks, and flash memory in two of them. The company plans to have the three new Zunes out by mid-November, in time for them to compete against Apple Inc.’s iPods among holiday shoppers. Microsoft trails behind the market leading iPod. The company said it has sold about 1.2 million of its first-generation Zune players that were launched last November. In contrast, more than 100 million iPods have been shipped since it was introduced in 2001.The company also launched Zune Social, a beta online music community that gives people a place to share their music tastes, knowledge and experiences with others. It has also restocked and redesigned its Zune Marketplace online store to include over 1 million MP3 files that are not protected by DRM (digital rights management), and can be played on the Zune and other devices. The three new Zunes include at the high-end an 80G byte hard-disc drive (HDD) model that carries a suggested retail price of US$249.99. The other two models use flash memory. The 4G byte model, described as ultraportable, is priced at $149.99, while a 8G byte version is $199.99. Current Zune owners will automatically receive new software features, the redesigned PC and device software and access to the new Zune Marketplace when they are released to the public in mid-November. Still, the role of iPod seems to be dauntless.