The third piece of the Zune system, the store where you can download music and video, is called Zune Marketplace. As of this writing, however, it wasn't up and running yet (Zune tech support told me it was having server trouble). When it does come up, it will work a little differently than the iTunes store. You'll be able to buy tracks just as you currently can from iTunes for a one-time fee, and treat them as your own -- copy them to multiple PCs, burn them to CDs, and so on (as long, of course, as it's for your own personal use). Or, if you're willing to put up with more restrictive digital rights management, you'll be able to subscribe to the Marketplace, pay a monthly fee, and download as much music as you want to play on your Zune -- but you don't own it, you can't make copies, and if you stop paying your subscription it stops playing.
It will be interesting to see whether this rent-instead-of-buy model works in the media marketplace -- and, for that matter, whether the geeky clunkiness of the Zune player finds a fan base in a world where the sleek stylishness of the iPod holds 90 percent of the market. If I had never seen an iPod, would I be impressed by the Zune? Definitely. But I have seen an iPod, and it set a bar the Zune doesn't quite get over in this first attempt. However, it's a Microsoft product, so it will get better. You might want to wait.
Zune
Microsoft Corp.
www.zune.net
Price: $249
Summary: Microsoft's effort to grab a piece of the media player market is just about what you'd expect from Microsoft: strong software, weak design, slightly awkward but bound to get better over time. The FM radio and the bright, sharp video are real plusses.
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