Specs Of Upcoming Zune Music Players and Marketplace Software

[Picture credit: Engadget]

There are multiple types of Zune music players releasing in November:

Specs for Upcoming Zunes with Hard Drives
1.) The Zune 80 will have 80GB of storage with Zune Pads
[4 way control: up, down, left, right]
2.) $250 with premium headphones
3.) Black (plus other color options to arrive down the road)
4.) Original Zune will be renamed Zune 30

Upcoming Flash Zune Specs
1.) Zune 4 and Zune 8 (4GB and 8GB–obviously) also will have Zune Pads
2.) Available in black, red, pink, green
3.) Will have a 1.8″ screen (iPod Nano has 2″ screen)

Other Upcoming Zune specs:
1.) All Zunes shipped starting in November will have a new interface design.
2.) MPEG compatible–doesn’t require WMV conversion
3.) Media Center PC will be able to sync all Zunes
4.) WiFi PC synching
5.) Podcast support (not WiFi compatible-must be direct connection)

New Upcoming Zune Marketplace synching software specs:
1.) DRM-free MP3 tracks available for download.
2.) Podcasts/music videos to be added
3.) Zune Social, a music social network
4.) Zune Cards, lists recently played tracks by other Zune friends
5.) Ability to share music that was shared with you
6.) 3×3 DRM tracks will now last more than 3 days

These new specifications are very impressive and gives Microsoft a stronger chance to take away more of Apple’s iPod market-share. The current ratio of iPods to Zunes sold is 25:1. It’ll be interesting to see what happens after the new generations of music players are released into the market. It’ll be a bloodbath of marketing as the Christmas season approaches.

Also see Gizmodo: First-Gen Zune Getting All The New Features: This Is How You Treat Your Customers 

Related posts:

1. What the New Zunes May Look Like: Zune 2.0 and Flash Zune
2. A New Zune Announcement Coming Later Today?
3. Zune-Arts.net Replaces ComingZune.com and Zune.net Launches
4. Microsoft Opening A Zune Plant In China
5. Microsoft Zune Price Drops; Apple Announces New Products, Lower Prices, and An iPod That Looks And Acts Like An iPhone (Without The Phone)