MS Unveils New Zunes, Wireless Syncing

So it's finally official: the new Zunes are coming in November, and as expected, we'll have three versions: 4GB and 8GB flash-based players, and an 80GB hard drive version that's slightly slimmer than the first 30GB Zune. Also new: a revamped Marketplace with DRM-free tunes, wireless syncing of your music and podcasts (now that's cool), and automatic transfers of recorded shows from Windows Media Center.

First, let's take a quick look at the hardware. The two flash players are roughly the size of the iPod Nano, with the 4GB player going for $150 and the 8GB for $200 (same price as the new Nanos). The flash Zunes will be available in November in four colors: pink, green, black, and red. Meanwhile, the 80GB hard-drive Zune will come in a single color—black—for $250, and it'll feature a 3.2-inch screen and a touch-sensitive "Zune Pad," good for clicking or "brushing" your way to your music.

Of course, all three of the new Zunes come with Wi-Fi, but while you still can't buy tunes over the air as you can with the iPod Touch or the iPhone, you will be able to sync your music and podcasts wirelessly, over your home Wi-Fi network—very cool, and a feature that's still missing from the latest iPods. (The wireless sync feature will also be available on the 30GB Zune come November.) Microsoft has also improved on the Zune's song-sharing features: you can now share tunes with your buddies without an expiration date, and you can even hand off songs that someone else shared with you; nice, but you'll only be able to play a shared song three times—not ideal, but much better than before.

Moving on: Microsoft has apparently revamped the Zune Marketplace from top to bottom. Music videos are now available, and while there aren't any movies on the service, you will find about a million DRM-free songs (no word on pricing, or whether the DRM-free tunes come from major labels). Also on tap is a beta of Zune Social, a MySpace-type community site that'll let you create a Zune Card—a widget along the lines of an Xbox Gamercard that automatically tracks your favorite music—add friends, and share music recommendations. Hmmm.

My initial reaction to it all is...mixed. The new hardware isn't what I'd call earth-shattering, but the wireless syncing feature is enticing—and I'm always in favor of more DRM-free music. In any event, I'm reserving any final judgement until I've seen the new Zunes in action.

Related;
Press release [Microsoft]