MP3 Insider

After a year of daily abuse without a case, the etching on the back of my Zune 80 is showing its age. The glass screen on the front is still pristine, though, which is more than I can say for my old iPod.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)

My Zune 80 hasn't left my side since December of 2007, after it successfully lured me from my trusty fifth-generation iPod. I invested in the Zune because I wanted to know how the other half lived (or more accurately, the other 4 percent), but the Zune's larger screen, bold user interface, podcast integration, and Zune Pass subscription service didn't hurt, either.

A few weeks passed and I was hooked on the Zune and the all-you-can-eat Zune Pass music subscription. I bought a 4GB Zune for my wife, invested in a Zune Home A/V dock to connect to my home stereo system, and even set up my PC to sync with my Zune wirelessly. Like any new romance, there were some initial hiccups--in this case, buggy software; mismatched album art; music that wouldn't delete; and broken subscription tracks. Eventually, though, I worked out the kinks, and the latest software and firmware upgrades have made life with the Zune experience much better.

There's just one thing: I'm lonely. Hundreds of iPod owners join me on the subway every day--even a few folks playing music on their Blackberries--but I seldom see a Zune. It's my job to help people decide what kind of MP3 player they should buy, but I still wonder if I made the wrong decision buying a Zune. Why can't this MP3 player get any traction?

There's no magic bullet that will make the Zune an instant success. I think Microsoft has the right idea by courting young, dedicated music fans and slowly building cult status. I just don't think they're moving fast enough to keep up with this audience or keep ahead of Apple.

Out of pure self-interest as a Zune user, I present four ideas that I think would make the Zune a better product. Feel free to add your own at the end.... Read more

Last night, Microsoft upgraded its Zune Pass music subscription service, allowing users to pick 10 songs each month that get permanently added to their music collection. Along with significant price drops across its Flash-capacity line of Zune MP3 players, it looks as if Microsoft is making a serious push to compete with the iPod this holiday season.

Will Zune's 'Keep 10' program force the hand of Napster and Rhapsody?

Apple isn't the only one who should be looking at Zune with some trepidation. Subscription music providers such as Rhapsody and Napster will now be expected to match Microsoft's value proposition by giving their users a mixture of purchased and subscription tracks for a comparable monthly fee. The move toward an allotment of monthly DRM-free music downloads (Zune's download catalog is about 90 percent MP3) shouldn't come as a surprise to the subscription music industry, who've tossed the idea around before. While Napster and Rhapsody needn't worry too much about losing customers to Microsoft's Zune-only music subscription service, I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar program rolled out from them before the year is out, if for no other reason than to curb the wave of criticism they are likely to hear from their user base.

The larger question collectively faced by Microsoft, Rhapsody, and Napster, is whether or not the increased value of hybrid subscription services will finally pave the way to widespread adoption of the subscription music model. The math seems to check out from the consumer perspective, considering that when you subtract $10 worth of DRM-free music downloads from the Zune's $15 monthly subscription, you end up paying just $5 a month for unlimited downloads of DRM content and on-demand streaming of full songs.

Folding "permanent" music downloads into a subscription music service also helps chip away at consumer fears of watching their music collections brick upon missing a monthly payment. If subscription providers can successfully convince people they're paying $5 each month for their subscription and $10 for 10 permanent song downloads, the proposition sounds less risky. If users ever decide to opt-out of their subscription, at least they get to walk away with some of their favorite songs.

Online music retailer eMusic may also be feeling some pressure from Microsoft's infringement on its monthly MP3 download subscription model. eMusic's indie-heavy catalog offers substantially better prices (as low as $0.33 per track) for its monthly download allotments; however, it still doesn't have the major label content and full song streams of Napster, Rhapsody, and Zune. If the hybrid model offered by the Zune Pass finds traction, it may force MP3 retailers such as eMusic to retool their plans, as well.

What do you think? Does an unlimited subscription music plan with 10 DRM-free monthly downloads hit the sweet spot? Will this finally give Zune the advantage it has been looking for?

Don't let the new color fool you. The third-generation Zune update is all about the software.

The best thing about the upcoming third-generation Zune? I already own it.

Just like last year's free update for first-gen Zune owners, Microsoft has confirmed that all existing Zune owners will get a free third-generation firmware upgrade once the product sees its official launch on September 16. Not "Apple free"--but "free" as in zero-cost.

As earlier articles have already shown, the details for Microsoft's third-generation Zune MP3 player hardware have been revealed as a few of the devices have accidentally hit the shelves. This year's Zune hardware offers a new color option (blue) and 120GB hard drive and 16GB Flash capacities, but is otherwise unchanged from the hardware we saw with its second-gen players. This means that side-by-side, it should be nearly impossible to tell a third-gen Zune apart from an updated second-gen Zune.

So, what will the new Zune update get you? Let's recap the leaked features.

Device to Cloud
Finally, the Zune's Wi-Fi feature does something worthwhile. With the ability to access public and password-protected Wi-Fi hot spots, your Zune can now update itself on the fly and download tracks directly from Zune Marketplace. Zune Pass users will get the most from this feature since they'll be able to stream as much music as they want directly from Zune Marketplace as an added value. Pair this feature up with a speaker dock and you essentially have a killer commercial-free jukebox.

New firmware updates for the Zune allow you to tag songs on FM radio to download later.

(Credit: Microsoft)

FM radio tagging
We've been a longtime fan of the Zune's RBDS-enhanced FM radio, but the third-generation firmware promises to make the feature even better. So long as the FM radio station you're listening to supports RBDS or RDS song data, you'll be able to earmark any song you hear and download it later when you connect your Zune to your computer or over Wi-Fi in the Device to Cloud scenario. Seems like a great feature for folks who often use the radio to discover new music, and again, Zune Pass subscription users will now have a new way to milk the most new music from their monthly fee.

Zune Channels
If you've already played around with your Zune's Social and Zune Card features, you probably know that you can automatically download recently played songs from folks you've befriended using Zune Social. Think of Zune Channels as the Friends feature on steroids (or better yet, think of it as Rhapsody Channels). You get regular and automatic updates of new music from channels you select based on artists, genres, DJs, and celebrities. You'll also get a personal recommendation channel based on ratings you've made to your music library.

Channels can be updated by connecting the Zune to your computer or using a Wi-Fi hot spot, and content will refresh weekly by flushing old songs out and bringing new tracks in. Zune Pass users will have the option to hold onto any of the Channel content, while non-subscription users will be bound by the Zune's three-play rule with the option to buy.