“Let’s get one thing clear at the start: the Zune is a beautiful music player and the entire ecosystem trumps anything devised by a PlaysforSure licensee. But Microsoft isn’t satisfied with showing up its own partners; it wants a piece of Apple pie.The signs are everywhere. The business model was borrowed from Apple, the headphones were borrowed from Apple, and the click wheel doesn’t resemble an iPod scroll wheel for nothing. How far does the copying go? Every Apple product bears the phrase “Designed by Apple in California.” On the back of every Zune, in tiny gray type, Microsoft has their own version of this line. It says: “Hello from Seattle.””
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Microsoft Zune – Part 1/3 @ 3dGameMan
- Zune—iPod Killer or Half-Baked Flop? @ ExtremeTech
- Zune Special Edition: Pink and Orange @ CoolTechZone
- BlueGears b-Enspirer Sound Card @ A True Review
- Philips GoGear SA9200 MP3 Player Video Tour @ Digital Trends
- Cowon iAudio T2 MP3 Player @ HardwareZone
- Altec Lansing FX5051 5.1 Speaker System Review @ XYZ Computing
- Samsung YP-K5 music player @ UKGamer
- Sennheiser MX 550 earphones @ DV Hardware
- Sarotech DVP-507HD abigs Multimedia Player @ HardwareZone
- SanDisk Sansa e270 MP3 Player Review @ CoolTechZone
- Razer Barracuda HP-1 Surround Headphones @ TheTechLounge
- Icemat Siberia In:Ear Headset Review @ Rbmods
- Icemat Siberia In:Ear Headset @ ThinkComputers
Ars Technica dissects the Zune

You can learn all about the Zune, without having to run out and buy one thanks to Ars Technica. From it’s looks and playback to the tricks it can do and it’s software, they’ve got it all.