Microsoft's Latest Zune Tune: Details Slip Out On A Monday Afternoon

Back in mid-August, when I first found out (under embargo) about the features coming with the v3 Zune firmware upgrade (along with corresponding capacity and ASP moves), I was told that the embargo would lift on September 16. A lot’s happened since then, of course…Microsoft’s retail partners (and the FCC!) have inadvertently (or not) leaked price, color, size and other-feature details, and "some fruity company in Cupertino" also happens to be having a press event tomorrow. So it is that (while claiming that it was only "a result of the leak"…right…) Microsoft decided to ‘pull the trigger’ early with hardware and software upgrades which (unlike with that fruity company) reflect loyalty to the company’s earliest customers, since the firmware-delivered feature enhancements are even applicable to first-generation 30 GByte units.

The incremental capabiliities (coming September 16) are pretty impressive, I must say (without bias, in spite of the fact that I’m now a user), and make good use of the hardware features that the Zune product line uniquely provides versus the iPod alternative: FM radio, integrated Wi-Fi, and a subscription music service option:

• "Buy from FM" enables customers to tag and purchase songs they hear on FM radio stations directly from the Zune device. When the customer is in a Wi-Fi hot spot, the song can be immediately downloaded to the Zune device. If Wi-Fi is not available, the device will have a queue of songs ready to download when connected to a home computer or in a hot spot [editor note: does anyone listen to FM anymore, except for the low-power audio track broadcasts coming from TVs in health clubs?].
• Users can now access the Zune Marketplace music store directly from their device when they are in a recognized Wi-Fi hot spot, or through a home wireless network. To make it easy to discover music on the go, customers can browse lists of featured new releases and top songs and albums sorted by genre, or use the on-screen keypad to type in the song of their choice. Once they have picked a track or album, they can either download it or stream it directly to the Zune device [editor note: finally!]
• Games on the go: Two free games, “Hexic” and “Texas Hold ’Em,” will keep users entertained on the go.
• Audiobooks. All Zune devices will feature support for audiobooks this fall from industry leaders in the digital distribution of audiobook content.
• Audible. Customers can visit audible.com to download and sync favorite books from the 50,000 titles available from over 600 publishers and content providers.
• OverDrive. They can download content from sites powered by overdrive.com, including 7,500 libraries’ Web sites worldwide.
• Etc…

And here are the hardware details:

• 120 GB (HDD): $249.99
• 80 GB (HDD): $229.99 (until retail inventory is depleted)
• 16 GB (flash memory): $199.00
• 8 GB (flash memory): $149.99
• 4 GB (flash memory): $129.99 (again, until retail inventory is depleted)

Stay tuned for an analysis of what Apple announces tomorrow (subscription service, finally, mebbe?). In advance, and reflective of the company’s likely hardware upgrade moves, now would be a particularly good time to pick up a refurb’d current-generation iPod nano or touch…