Engadget has been
pretty much on the mark with all of its Zune commentary prior
to Microsoft's official
confirmation of the portable media player, so we'll take their word for it
when they say that Microsoft's first Zune-branded portable media player (PMP)
will launch on November 14th. According to their sources, Microsoft will open
the flood gates in August giving detailed information on the player and its
launch strategy.
Engadget's sources
also confirm that the player will be available at launch in black, brown and
cotton. We're not so sure that the buying public is craving a brown media
player, but we'll let them slide on that one. Also in the cards are a 30GB hard
drive and a screen that is 50% larger than the 5G iPod.
Microsoft is betting big on its Zune brand. The company is
rumored to be shelling out $500 million USD on marketing for Zune and has
already contacted a
number of iPod accessory makers to provide products for Zune players. But
even with all of the money that Microsoft is throwing at the project, they
acknowledge that it
will take years to catch up with the iPod which already has a 5-year head
start.