Zune 2 to be released in November

As we all anticipated, Microsoft has unveiled three new versions of Zune, which are expected to hit the stores in November. Nothing much has been changed in the hardware, except for bigger hard drive and flash versions of Zune. There is a new 80 GB version of Zune, which has been named as Zune 80. Two smaller, flash based versions of Zune have also arrived in 4GB and 8GB storage.

Both the flash versions of Zune will ship in pink, green, black and red, whereas Zune 80 will only be available in black. Brown colored Zune has been faded out. The latest generation of Zune will also include a new hardware feature called "Zune Pad". It’s a touch sensitive pad with up, down, left and right buttons.

Microsoft has redesigned the interface in the new version, but early adopters shouldn’t be worried too much, as Microsoft plans to deliver the new interface to the owners of the classic Zune 30 users via software update. These are the new features to be included in the latest generation of Zune:

1. Watch Recorded TV Shows on the go: If you use Windows Media Center to record television shows, you can now import them to Zune and watch them while on the move.
2. Wireless Sync: Zune will now wirelessly synchronize over the owner’s home network. The syncing process will start whenever Zune is kept in its dock or plugged for charging. Alternatively, the syncing process can also be manually started.
3. Improved Wireless Sharing: Users can wirelessly share music, podcasts with other Zune owners and they can play it upto three times. Prior to this, there was a three day sharing DRM, which prevents music from playing after three days.

Zune 80 with 80GB storage will sell for $250. 4GB and 8GB flash versions of Zune will be put on the market for $150 and $200 respectively. In other related news, Zune Music Store will be going DRM free with over 1 million mp3s for download. Check out this video uploaded by Engadget, it shows you the new Zune:

Initial reports are very positive. Microsoft did a great job increasing the screen size of hard drive Zune from 3 inchs to 3.2 inchs, but flash based Zunes still fall behind iPod nano in terms of screen size. Flash Zunes feature 1.8 inch screen, whereas iPod nano now comes with 2 inch screen.

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