Microsoft Aims for Apple with Zune

Microsoft launched its highly anticipated Zune portable device on Tuesday, saying the goal was not to create another digital music player but a whole new experience altogether. The company has focused on making Zune a social experience.

Thus the reasoning for the products slogan "Welcome to the Social," and why the Xbox team was responsible for creating it. Microsoft wanted to carry the video experience into a digital media device, where entertainment is both connected and shared.

"This is what we call connected entertainment," Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates said at a launch event Monday. "Zune is a big investment for us, and it's a vision that will carry us forward for years."

The device will retail for $249.99 USD, and has 30GB of storage space and a 3-inch LCD screen. The player is available in three colors: brown, white and black. 30,000 retailers will be selling the Zune nationwide, Microsoft says.

While the player generally does not differ much from competitors such as Apple's iPod, where Microsoft hopes to attract consumers is Zune's wireless capabilities. Friends can share full-length samples of select songs, homemade recordings, playlists, or pictures among devices.

These samples can then be bought from the Zune marketplace, which includes about two million songs.

"Music comes from social places," Zune product manager Matt Jubelirer said at the launch. "But over the years, it started to become an isolated experience - people would listen with their headphones but not talk to the people around them. We wanted to add the social back into entertainment."

Additionally, like the iPod, the software on the Zune would be updatable, and sources say new features are already in development that would be added in the coming months.

"Future proofing ensures that the devices we sell tomorrow are prepared for the scenarios of the future," Jubelirer said. "Without that, if there were a new scenario in the future, you'd have to buy a new device to get it."

Jubelirer also invited Zune consumers to be a part of the development process, and said the company was interested in hearing from them on where they'd like to see the device go.

"We will continue to innovate where and when it makes sense for our customers, so we can keep exciting them for years to come," he said.