Zune launch out of tune

I'LL NAME that Zune in one. Loony Zunes. Zunes help you hear more easily. The twilight Zune. Journalists the world over will thank Microsoft for coming up with a short name open to better puns than these but it's doubtful that punters will be so impressed. After Microsoft formally unveiled Zune yesterday, it looks odds-against Big Green cracking the music download market anytime soon.

Microsoft's press release mostly confirms what we thought we knew.

Zune is "a big milestone for [Microsoft's] Connected Entertainment vision" the company suggests in slightly Stalinist prose. It goes on to suggest that Microsoft is "not simply delivering a portable device, we are introducing a new platform that helps bring artists closer to their audiences and helps people find new music and develop new social connections."

Oh no, not a new platform, please. And since when do today's musical stars living in gated, high-security palaces want to get closer to their fans?

Anyhow, Zune will be available in time for the US Christmas but not apparently, anywhere else for now. The device itself has a 30GB hard drive and 3-inch screen although no movies are yet available. It comes in black, white and - please explain - brown. It has an FM radio too so you can listen to music stations but not, in the UK at least, AM-dominated sport. Do people want to listen to music radio on digital music players?

Also, Apple's iPod is partly a success of style over content but Microsoft doesn't appear to be competing on looks with Steve Jobs's Mighty White.

The intended killer feature here is Wi-Fi and the freedom to transmit songs between Zune users. You get to play the tune three times in three days - a bit mean arguably - before opting to buy or not to buy.

The iTunes equivalent is called Zune Marketplace and Microsoft has corralled accessory makers to build complementary add-ins.

Hmm, like the Tablet PC this looks another launch done without Microsoft's accustomed swagger and braggadocio. This seems a soft entry to the market and even the media pack seems rather half-hearted - fact sheets in .doc format anybody?

Still, with X-box connectivity being hinted at for the future, Spiral Frog promising Microsoft-friendly free music downloads in exchange for ad viewing and the deepest of pockets to fund future R&D, Microsoft shouldn't be written off until the fat lady sings. µ