Steve Ballmer laughs off the iPhone, deems it "most expensive" in the marketplace

We'll be the first to give props to Steve Ballmer for accomplishing what he has at Microsoft, and we will agree that the iPhone is one expensive (and probably overpriced) little machine, but during a recent interview where he was questioned about the iPhone, he proceeded to not only compare Apple's forthcoming handset with the "$99 Motorola Q," but insisted that the iPhone was "by far the most expensive phone in the marketplace," which couldn't be further from the truth. Sure, most of the long, long list of mobile phones priced above (sometimes well above) the $500 price point aren't exactly mainstream handsets, but as the luxury phone market continues to bloom, Apple is looking to take advantage of those willing to shell out half a grand to have the hottest gizmo out. Additionally, Steve did mention that the iPhone was absolutely "not suitable for business purposes" due to its complete lack of a keyboard, but considering its half-hearted attempt at Push mail and lack of 3G, we doubt Mr. Jobs is out fighting for the corporate market just yet anyway. Nevertheless, it's always entertaining to see one head honcho completely mock another company's product, so click on through for the YouTube'd interview.

The Video

ZOMG, Zune runs teh Linux!

A tip like "omg its true. mys videl was really workin on teh zune linux." doesn't really inspire confidence -- in the story, or in the future of mankind -- but if this YouTube video is to be believed, it seems as if some foolio named "MysVidel," who can't even manage to get a camera to focus properly, has hacked up his Zune to run Linux. It could very well just be a video playing back on the Zune, meant to fool the casual viewer, but the button presses are well enough timed that we're willing to give this one a fair shake. Don't let us down, MysVidel. As for tipster -- our hope in you is lost already. Like always, check the video after the break.

New Xbox 360 due for late '07 to handle IPTV?

According to a pre-CES briefing that Windows expert Paul Thurrott received from his Microsoft pals, the big M will be coming out with a new version of the Xbox 360 (Zephyer?) at the end of 2007, which will feature a larger HDD and some new hardware to enable that IPTV functionality Robbie Bach was talking about during the Microsoft CES keynote. It also stands to reason that such a Xbox 360 might be sporting a fancy new HDMI port and perhaps run just a wee bit cooler -- meaning HDCP and less fan noise, natural fits for home theater use. It still seems a bit unreasonable for Microsoft, which has been bragging about its 10 million strong installed base, to leave those early adopters out in the cold, but if that's the way it goes down we can't say we won't welcome the excuse to ditch the fan and disc drive hullabaloo of our current gen box.

[Via Digg; thanks to everyone who sent this in]

AOpen and Mitsubishi unveil Windows XP-powered CAR PC

While most folks (and automakers) would be completely satisfied with a svelte in-car navigation system with Bluetooth and MP3 playback, Mitsubishi is looking to shove a full-featured, Windows XP-powered computer in your dash. The company's CAR PC, which was co-developed by AOpen, looks like your average NAV option at first glance, but behind the plastic lies a 1.5GHz Intel Celeron M370, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, 40GB hard drive, DVD / CD drive, Windows XP Home, and a SiRF Star III GPS receiver. Additionally, it sports a 7-inch 800 x 480 resolution LCD, voice activation functionality, and the ability to hit up your email and hold a Skype conversation thanks to 3G connectivity. No details were mentioned concerning price or hard availability dates, but it should start hitting Taiwanese cars soon, with China and America to get the goods in the future.

UMPC v2 roundup: the dawn of Vistagami

The UMPC is a relative no-show here at CES compared to its viral, CeBIT 2006 origins. Still, we managed to track down and get up close and personal with devices like the Kohjinsha SA1F00A, Samsung PH-P9000, OQO Model 02, and Medion and even checked a preview of the new Origami Experience UI for Vista. HTC's UMPC, which may or not be the Athena, is absent but there's still hope for a formal announcement in March at the CTIA wireless show. In a surreal moment, we even witnessed a visibly shaken Intel exec demonstrating "Yahoo! Go for UMPC" to Yahoo's CFO while a VIA exec (Intel's biggest competition on this platform) quietly snaked through the crowd nearby. Only at CES, friends. We also managed to extract the UMPC v2 reference designs from the recessed bowels of Intel -- displayed almost as an afterthought, not a highlight. The verdict? Vista on these new UMPCs coupled with the new Origami Experience UI is a big step in the right direction. The "Yahoo UMPC" reference design we saw at Intel's IDF felt very solid in the hand, and features a well positioned thumbpad we found easy to use while holding the device two handed -- a design which might have a chance of success if picked up by an OEM. Intel also has a few new reference designs under glass: a chubby, slim-screened slider and another perched in a fat brown media dock with integrated DVD and AV outs. The Medion? Forget it, the keyboard is plain and simply, unusable and the device felt poorly engineered. Word is that Intel will have their new, ultra-low power mobile processor for these v2 UMPCs ready before the end of Q2. That, coupled with Vistagami might finally give the platform a fighting chance this summer.

Apple's new iPod could bolster music dominance

After absolving its current management team of any wrongdoing in an ongoing stock-options scandal, Apple (AAPL) shifts its attention to next week's Macworld conference here, and the much-speculated unveiling of an iPod with cellphone-like features.

During the holiday season, Apple further cemented its dominance in the estimated $6 billion digital media player market, and brushed aside a new entry from Microsoft (MSFT), the Zune.

Sales of the much-hyped Zune have flagged after an initial flurry in mid-November, when it was unveiled, according to market researchers.

"Zune was a non-event this holiday season," says Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray. It called 40 retail stores - including Best Buy, CompUSA and Circuit City Stores - during the first week of December, and found that 70% of the stores recommended iPod to customers, compared with only 10% for Zune.

Zune was fourth among mobile media players with 1.9% market share in November, compared with 62% for Apple, according to researcher NPD Group. SanDisk and Creative Labs were second and third in market share, respectively.

Visits to the iTunes website on Christmas Day outnumbered those to Zune.net by 30-to-1, market researcher Hitwise says.

The fates of iPod and Zune underscore Apple's supremacy, and Microsoft's attempts to establish itself as the No. 2 player in the market. "Nobody, including Microsoft, expected Zune to compete with the iPod this holiday season," says Matt Rosoff, lead consumer analyst for Directions on Microsoft.

Despite its standing in the market, Microsoft has a long-term commitment to the digital-music player market, and there is plenty of room for more than one company to prosper, Microsoft says. Microsoft expects to meet its goal of selling 1 million units by June 30.

"With billions in the bank, Microsoft can subsidize weak Zune sales for years to come - as it did with Xbox." says Charles King, principal analyst at market researcher Pund-IT.

Microsoft is likely to release lower-priced Zune models early this year, NPD analyst Ross Rubin says.

Apple declined comment on its Macworld plans.

Speculation is that it could unveil an iPod with cellphone-like features; a model with a larger screen and higher resolution; or a cheaper iPod with greater capacity, says Joe Wilcox, editor of news blog Microsoft-Watch.com. He also expects news on Leopard, code name for Apple's latest operating system. Microsoft's Windows Vista OS becomes available to consumers in late January.

The emerging MP3 cellphone market could be lucrative for Apple, says King at Pund-IT. Despite an increasing number of phones that incorporate MP3 players, none is considered a must-have gadget, he says.

The buildup to Macworld comes days after Apple said an internal investigation of improper stock-option grants cleared CEO Jobs Steve nd other current executives of any wrongdoing. On Friday, Apple said it will restate its earnings by $84 million after taxes because of improper grants made from 1997 to 2002. Apple says it is cooperating with the Securites and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Northern California.

The XBOX 360v2 is here with leaked pictures

Ever wonder why Microsoft hasn't released an HDMI cable for the Xbox 360, or whether the AV port was really capable of digital out? Well, here's your answer: we landed pictures of what appears to be the second Xbox 360 -- the Xbox 360 v2, if you will -- codenamed Zephyr. (The original Xbox 360, if you recall, was codenamed Xenon.) The long rumored about and awaited update to the console won't just feature a new, cooler 65nm processor, it's also finally added an HDMI port for full digital 1080p pleasure, as well as a 120GB drive, just what the doctor ordered. The 120GB drive may or may not come bundled with the kit, we don't yet know, just as we also don't yet know how much a Zephyr 360 is going to run (we imagine it'll go for the same price as currently so they can keep up a little on their expanding margin). But our very kind Xbox insider seemed happy to let us know we'd be able to get them "soon."

From Engadget

Analyst predicts Vista adoption to trump XP

With the upcoming public release of Windows Vista just weeks away, OEMs and computer retailers alike are anxiously awaiting the reaction to Microsoft's latest and greatest operating system release. Will the general public's response to Vista be "OMG" or just "meh"? One analyst thinks that it will definitely be the former.

David Mitchell, who works for the marketing research firm Ovum, Ltd., believes that not only will Vista be a sales success for Microsoft, but that that as many as 15 percent of the computing world will be running some form of Vista within its first year of availability. This would make Vista the "fastest-moving operating system ever," according to Mitchell, surpassing the previous champion, Windows XP, which had 12 to 14 percent of Windows users switching within 12 months.

Mitchell points to the record high numbers of testers who tried out beta versions of Vista as an indicator of its future consumer success. On the corporate side, he says that companies who subscribe to Microsoft's Software Assurance subscription plan will automatically be upgraded once Vista is released to business customers on November 30.

Does Mitchell have a point? Is there really a large pent-up demand for Windows Vista? The answer is not immediately obvious. Microsoft, for their part, is very bullish on Windows Vista, stating that they expect businesses to upgrade to Vista twice as fast as Windows XP, an even more optimistic estimate than Mitchell provides. However, business users tend to be very conservative about rolling out massive software upgrades—as of June 2005, 48 percent of corporate Windows desktops were still running Windows 2000.

Still, it has been more than five years since Windows XP was released, and many people are anxious to see what Microsoft has been up to all this time. However, back when Windows XP came out, most consumers were still using Windows 98. XP gave many obvious benefits over the entire 9x line, most importantly the stability of an operating system based on the Windows NT kernel. Vista, while featuring an improved kernel from XP, does not offer this same kind of leap in stability.

Then again, many people predicted that Windows XP itself would be a flop, citing the fact that it was not much different from the already-released Windows 2000, except for the fact that it had higher resource requirements, and a different default GUI skin that some found colorful but others dismissed as being "Fisher-Price." The addition of Product Activation was also considered by many to be a reason that Windows XP would falter in the marketplace.

Of course, this didn't happen. Windows XP was a sales success, and it quickly ate away at Windows 98's commanding lead in the installed base—according to Google's Zeitgeist, the OS had grabbed 24 percent of the installed base in the first 12 months of release, while Windows 98 dropped from 55 percent to 42 percent. The two OSes met each other going in opposite directions eight months later, with each claiming 32 percent of the installed base. Today, Windows 98 machines are in the single digits, while XP is steady at about 75 percent of active computers surfing the web (Windows 2000 is hanging in there at ten percent, because of the aforementioned slow-moving corporate customers).

The difference between these figures and Mitchell's is that they look at the total systems in use, including new systems purchased with the OS preinstalled, whereas Mitchell is only considering upgrades. Given that IDC reported approximately 125 million Windows PCs sold in 2002, and estimating an installed base of PCs at around 600 million at the time, Mitchell's upgrade figures for XP seem at least in the right ballpark (it's difficult to calculate exact figures given that many "new" PCs are used as replacements for older PCs). The important statistic, however, is that of all the people "upgrading" to Vista, the vast majority will do so from purchasing a new computer that comes with the OS preinstalled. While enthusiasts will want to upgrade their OS as soon as possible, most consumers will simply wait until it comes time to purchase a new PC.

Vista: no CableCARD streaming to other PCs

Vista + CableCARD = Digital Cable Goodness.

That's how the equation was supposed to go, but as more details about the Vista CableCARD implementation are revealed, more limitations become apparent. The newest one concerns streaming—Windows Vista will only allow CableCARD-decrypted video to be streamed to official Media Center Extenders.

Consumers who hoped to use their new Vista boxes to blast recorded TV content to other PCs on their home network or to a laptop while traveling (much like a SlingBox) will be disappointed, as Vista engineers bowed to the cable industry's demand for content protection by enabling streaming only to Media Center Extenders. The story first appeared at CE Pro, which learned of the limitations from some Microsoft folks in attendance at the recent Electronic House Expo. Ars Technica has been able to confirm this with sources in the know, but official public relations channels aren't commenting.

The limitation means that right now, only one device can pull down content recorded from digital cable broadcasts: an Xbox 360. Sources tell us that other Media Extenders will also support such content, including devices from D-Link, Linksys and others. Existing devices will need updates to support the latest DRM, however.

For many people, this won't be a huge deal, but it is another telling reminder of who's in control when it comes to using content (hint: it's not end users). The new revelation is only the latest in a long series of unpleasant truths about using CableCARDs that have emerged in the last year. Most egregiously, CableCARDs will only function in setups tested and certified by CableLabs, for instance, dealing a death blow to hopes of building a DIY media center PC with CableCARD support. CableLabs also holds all of the cards when it comes what can and cannot be streamed or moved from device to device.

And because CableCARDs still support only one-way access (and it's looking increasingly likely that two-way CableCARDs will be supplanted by a DCAS system), consumers won't be (legally) streaming pay-per-view or video-on-demand titles around the house, no matter what technology they're using.

If Vista makes it easy to synchronize digital cable recordings to a portable media player like the Zune (maybe) or the iPod (not likely), then CableCARD support could still be an attractive feature. But bloggers like Chris Lanier are already reporting that Vista will not allow CableCARD-decrypted content to be transferred to portable devices at all. It's hard to believe that Microsoft wouldn't enable this at least for the Zune (which currently has no way to transfer video back off the device, making it "safe" for content owners), but it's not clear exactly which parties are behind which restrictions. Lanier doesn't seem to know, either, or at least isn't saying. When we contacted Microsoft, a spokesperson simply told us that Zune does not currently support such transfers.

It has been said that the living room PC was dead on arrival, and while we don't entirely agree, we are happy to put a great deal of the blame for the current state of affairs on CableLabs. Thanks to the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA, cable companies had only to encrypt their data streams to give them almost complete control over what happens to content once it reaches the home, and CableLabs holds the reins.

Zune OR iPod ...Microsoft or Apple??

Now it comes down to the final question: should you buy the iPod or the Zune? After 72 hours of deliberating, I'll tell you what I would do. Since I've got an iPod, I'm sticking with the iPod. I don't want to have to buy all my music again, give up smart playlists, and basically learn to use both a new player and the corresponding software. Then there are all the accessories I don't want to purchase again. Plus, since there's no OS X support, Mac users have their choice made up for them. Say you're not using the iPod, or are ready to try something different. Now, you've got a lot more options...

You really like the music/picture sharing: Zune. It's a feature not found on the iPod, but will have limited use unless your friends all buy Zunes. Chicken & Egg problem, where you don't want to buy one until other people have it, which means it'll take a while to get up to speed.

You want a bigger screen: Zune.

You need an all-you-can-eat subscription service: Zune.

You want a store with a larger music library: iPod.

You want a movie and TV store: iPod.

You want contacts, calendar, notes, stopwatch, and iPod Games: iPod.

You want to be different/want something new: Zune.

Xbox 360 owners who purchase music and want streaming: Zune.

Xbox 360 owners who purchase music and don't want streaming: iPod.

You want a scratch resistant player: Zune.

You want a built-in FM tuner: Zune.

You want a touch-sensitive scroll wheel: iPod.

For most people,I am going to recommend you get an iPod. It's got more support, plus it's backed by iTunes, which works well and gives you a lot more choice in music, TV, and movie purchases.

Of course if you want a subscription service, or a bigger screen, or a built-in FM tuner, then there's the Zune. But if you're borderline between the Zune and the iPod, I'd play it safe and get the iPod, then wait for the 2nd generation Zune and see what's going on.

Zune Product Page [Amazon]

iPod Product Page [Amazon]

All You nEed TO Know On the ZunE

We asked, and you answered. After reading this, you'll be such an expert on the Zune, TV news programs will ask you on as a talking head. There's such a wide breadth of questions, which says to us everyone has their own concerns/uses for a portable music player. Here's everything you need to know about the Zune, in no particular order.

Q: If I send a regular MP3 without DRM to my friend, does the zune apply the "3 day 3 play" restriction anyway, or is my friend free to keep the song permanently?
A: Yes, the 3 day 3 play DRM is placed on every song, even if it's just a regular MP3.

Q: Does the Zune support Divx codec?
A: Nope, just WMV.

Q: How is the sound quality compared to the iPod?
A: Using both the included headphones and my Sennheiser 580s, I couldn't tell the difference. Maybe my ears are retarded.

If your question is featured today, you win! The prize? An answer to your question, by me. See them all after the jump.

Q: Does the Zune work with anyone else's "DRM'd" music or just microsoft? If no, will there be any way to make other paid-for music (like from napster) work?
A: No, it doesn't work with any other DRMed music shops. You could strip the DRM off of DRMed songs, then import those into Zune, but that's a grey area. And kind of a hassle.

Q: Is microsoft going to pay you back for zune to zune sharing?
A: Eventually. They're still working on it, so don't expect an announcement for a few months at least.

Q: Does the Zune support bookmarking (Must have for Audio Books).
A: No, you can't resume a song in the middle, even on audiobooks. And the Zune has no Audible support yet.

Q: Does the Zune have a mass storage mode? Can you drag and drop files onto it.
A: No. Thus, explaining why PlayStation 3s can't see it. Xbox 360s see it just fine, since they're kissin' cousins by Microsoft. No, you can't drag and drop files onto it because you can't see it in Windows Explorer. I don't see mass storage mode coming in a future update, but maybe Microsoft will get enough pressure to add it in.

Q: Does the Zune pause playback when the headphones are removed or external power is cut off?
A: Yes, if you remove the headphones the playback stops. Microsoft told me that if you remove the headphones after leaving the volume on super high, if you plug them in again the volume will revert to default settings. I couldn't' get this to work on my Zunes.

Q: Obviously the Zune has a bigger screen [compared to the iPod] but which screen is brighter? Sharper? Which one has better contrast?
A: Comparing the Zune against the 5G (I don't have a 5.5G, sorry), the Zune is brighter. However, the iPod looks sharper and has better contrast. They're both 320x240 resolution, so the Zune just blows up everything bigger. It looks nice, but not as sharp as the iPod.

Q: What, if any, integration with Xbox Live will there be, beyond simple connectivity to the Xbox 360?
A: None, as of right now. There may be WiFi connectivity later, but that'd require you to have a WiFi adapter for your Xbox 360 also.

Q: Will the Zune [be] used as a second "screen" as the PS3 and PSP are rumored to be used?
A: Most likely not. This generation Zune is just a music player. In the future, Microsoft may create a more game oriented Zune, but their KISS (keep it simple stupid) rationale would most likely prevent any 360 integration beyond just streaming media.

Q: Is the Zune capable of playing Windows Media Center recorded content?
A: Not at the moment, no, unless you re-encode those shows into WMV.

Q: Will the Live/.net accounts work with the zune? Will you have your own 'gamercard' like with xbox live?
A: Yes, the Live accounts will work with the Zune. You just have to log in with your same account, and you can use the same gamercard that you use on Xbox Live. You share the same Marketplace Points (money) between the two devices.

Q: Does the Zune work with the iPod cables, speakers, and adapters?
A: No. Zune's connector is smaller.

Q: Can you edit songs in the Zune [Software] including things such as album art, genre, album, artist etc?
A: Yes. You can edit all the metadata, and Zune will go out and fetch album art for you for ones you don't have.

Q: How long does the Zune take to Boot-Up?
A: About a second, second and a half.

Q: Some Mp3 players schuffle music oddly (clumps of tracks or not really random). Does the Zune?
A: Seemed pretty random to me.

Q: How does it handle playlists and directory structure?
A: Just normal "dumb" playlists instead of "smart" playlists. There's no directory structure.

Q: Will/Can the resolution be upgraded?
A: In the 2nd generation Zune? Probably.

Q: What if I want to just share two zunes between the same exact media library. Can I set up two owner relationships from the software, one to each zune?
A: Yes. Subscription songs ($15 a month) can be synced to two Zunes, whereas purchased songs can be synced to five Zunes. Your own songs should be able to be synced to as many as you want.

Q: Can you use a bands album art as a wallpaper theme?
A: You can use any picture as a wallpaper.

Q: Can the zune's landscape mode be used in either way, i mean can you set it so you can hold it with the conmtrols on the left side instead, for the lefties of the group.
A: Unfortunately not. Suck it lefties.

Q: Is the zune compatible to macs?
A: Nope.

Does the Zune charge with a USB cable like the ipod?
A: Yes, it charges while syncing with your PC.

Hows the durability?
A: Pretty scratch resistant. Definitely not fragile-feeling like the iPod.

Q: I have the 30GB video iPod, and purchased the PocketDok Line Out adapter because the audio was too distorted over the headphone jack. My friend has the Toshiba Gigabeat, but his sounds great - does the Zune benefit from this same Toshiba improvement?
A: I'd say so, since it's pretty much the same device.

Q: How's the video quality with the Zune? If you were to compare it to the iPod's video playback, which one would you say is better looking?
A: The Zune, because it's got a bigger screen—despite the fact that they're the same resolution.

Q: How are the default headphones? Are they worth it to keep or should I be making a headphone purchase day one?
A: Not bad, and you should try them out yourself to see if they're too big/small for your ear holes before you purchase new ones.

Q: If I manage to get myself a Zune over the Christmas holidays will the software work ok in Australia or will I be out of luck?
A: The software itself should work, but the store most likely will not.

Q: Does this mean the Zune will play my protected AAC files? (I hate music protection, but hey, sometimes you can only find that one song on iTunes) And on the flip side, will Zune not play all those random mp3s that I've moved here and there and everywhere? Particularly ones that I didn't pay for, even if it was a free download off of the artists website?
A: Protected AAC Files = No. Your own downloaded MP3 files = Yes.

Q: Does the Zune have gapless playback?
A: Nope, neither the Zune or the Zune Software has gapless playback.
Update: Cesar says there's gapless playback in the software. Either it's on all the time, or I'm blind, cause I can't find it in the options.

Q: Second, I am curious how the Zune handles albums that have an album artist that is different from the track artist. For example, on a DJ mix album, the DJ would be the album artist and the track producer would be the track artist.
A: Yes, there's a concept of "Album artist" and "artist" on there. So if you label it correctly, you can search/sort by either album artist or just artist. So to answer your question, yeah, it would work.

Q: Can the Zune record from your TV ?
A: Sorry, no can do.

Q: Do you know if there are any plans to make the Zune compatible with Macs?
A: Maybe someday (generation 2? 3?).

Q: The zune itself only supports a limited number of video codecs. Will the software automagically transcode the rest to wmv?
A: Yes, Zune software transcoded some of my podcasts that I downloaded via iTunes to WMV.

Q: The buttons! The back and play buttons on the Zune -- are they actual buttons or are they like 3G iPod 'buttons' as they sorta look like?
A: They're actually buttons, and not touch-sensitive buttons. You gotta press them.

Q: Can you download pictures directly from your digital camera to the Zune? It would be great to not have to carry multiple SD cards on vacation.
A: It may be possible in the future to have an adapter that does that.

Q: While your testing out the Zune, have you seen or heard of support by the Zune for "Podcasts"?
A: Not in the software itself, but you can download podcasts manually and watch them on the Zune after importing/transcoding.

Q: XM? or general raido/ real-life recording?
A: No XM, just FM. And no FM recording.

Q: Does the zune come with the FM transmitter or do I have to fork out for a seperate device?
A: The FM in the Zune is just a FM receiver. You'll have to buy a transmitter separately.

Q: Hi, I see from some videos of the Zune interface that there seem to be different backgrounds for each function that you are using. Am I correct in thinking that the background for the start up screen is different from the background for the transfer screen and so on? If so, can you customize each background?
A: The background is the same for every screen, just faded/darkened when you're not on the main screen.

Links direct you to giZmodo

Interested in getting a sense of Zune, but don't want to shell out $249 for the device?

One option is downloading the Zune software. It's free from Microsoft's Zune Web site.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

I gave it a whirl this afternoon. The download was slow--perhaps because of high day-one demand. It took 19 minutes from the time I noticed it was taking a while to download. Once it downloaded and installed, it required a restart.

Once up and running again, the Zune software walked me through creating a Zune nickname, linking it to a Windows Live account. The software offers the option of making Zune the default music player or choosing specific file types for which it is the default. I handed over the reins only for Zune Playlist files.

Also of note, Zune's software rips CDs to WMA format by default, but that can also be set to MP3.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Once done with making my choices, the software automatically built a library from my existing music files. It nicely handled the importing and sorting of the music, including the album art I already had. Many other albums showed up with the tag "searching for art," while others said "paste art here."

Microsoft still hasn't gotten 99 cents out of me, or 79 points, or whatever. But I did browse around the store, the Zune Marketplace as it is known. Overall, the software is quite reminiscent of Windows Media Player 11, which is not surprising since Zune's software is based on Microsoft's existing jukebox software.

Microsoft launches the Zune, world keeps on turnin'

The world rumored speculated and finally its available the so called iPod Killer is in the market for 250$ Your call... Me? I find the box and the product UGLY!Anyway some might disagree and well some might agree anyway its democracy man welcome Zune welcome!!!!