Lately, on the Internet, the rumors about Zune 2, the newest Microsoft’s music system – pocket player. Many peoples are giving opinions that this step is the Microsoft’s second attempt to kill the iPod. The first was PlaysForSure, which is a gigantic multiyear operation involving dozens of manufactures and online music stores. Microsoft was running its strategy, if you code it, then the hardware makers will come (and pay licensing fees).

We cannot say the Microsoft is the biggest and the only one player in music area, there are many companies are running such business, such as Dell, Samsung and Creative made the players; the other companies such as Yahoo, Rhapsody, Napster and MTV built the music store.

Zune 2 rumors have been doing the rounds for months now; the most recent installment was the revelation of supposed product pictures from a Microsoft insider. It seems that these pictures are in fact the real deal, and the new models will launch in the United States in October.

You might still remember The Zune (1st) that matches the price ($250) and capacity of the 30-gigabyte iPod. However, it is noticeably thicker (0.6 inch vs. 0.4), taller (4.4 inches vs. 4.1) and heavier (5.6 ounces vs. 4.8). Battery life is the same for music playback (14 hours), slightly better for video (4 hours vs. 3.5). The three-inch screen has the same 320-by-240-pixel resolution, but it is larger (3 inches vs. 2.5), so movies and slide shows feel more expansive.

The newest additions are smaller 4 GB and 8 GB players with flash memory. The devices sport video playback and wireless functionality. They are priced at $149 and $199 respectively. Currently the small Zunes come in red, pink, green, and black. They are similar to the former Nano in size.

An updated hard drive model will have 80GB of storage and come in black at launch. More colors could be added later. It is supposed to be 27% smaller than the original Zune (1st) yet boast a much larger 3.2 inches LCD screen. Pricing will be $249. The “old” 30 GB Zune will be sold for $199 and get new firmware updates with the new devices. New Zunes are due to release early November.

Other next feature is Wi-Fi feature that will include wireless sync with PC. This will be a nice advantage over competing devices. However, wireless purchases via Zune are not implemented. The Zune will also expand on sharing capabilities. Shared songs will no longer have a 3 days limit for use, but the 3 play rule remains in effect. Photos as usual have no restrictions at all when shared Zune to Zune.

The Microsoft has chosen that the color of it will be pink, red and black throughout the range with an army Jeep green making an appearance for the flash model too. One major design change is the navigation button being replaced with a new raised “squircle” shaped button, which is a square with rounded edges that users can push from any side to navigate the controls.

According to the source, currently, the product is still in validation stage. It seems Microsoft is looking to launch these in the wake of the Halo 3 launch, perhaps hoping for some goodwill purchases for what otherwise looks like standard devices.

Finally, there is no word on whether these new players, unlike the current US-only models, will see a launch outside the US.

Recommended site to visit: Zune’s Official Site