All that recent speculation that Microsoft was about to enter the digital music market with a direct competitor to Apple's iPod and iTunes seemed to be confirmed last week when the computer firm's General Manager Of Marketing, Chris Stephenson, revealed details of a "new music and entertainment project" called Zune.
While the majority of the legitimate download platforms use Microsoft's digital music technology, Microsoft itself has so far resisted launching its own download service, despite reports at various points in the last few years that such a service was in development. While Microsoft's web portal MSN does provide a download service, this is simply an MSN branded version of the (albeit Microsoft powered) OD2 service used by many of its competitors. Microsoft has also resisted entering the MP3 player market, relying on players made by the likes of Creative to play music encoded in Microsoft's codec.
But rumours that an integrated Microsoft service - with a proprietary player and download platform, both using existing Windows Media technology - have been growing in recent months, and it is that service that Stephenson seemed to be referring too. While not going into any great detail about how the product will compare to Apple's music proposition, he did tell Billboard that Zune would incorporate WiFi technology, and would aim to build music fan communities in much the way Microsoft's Xbox Live aims to build communities of gaming fans. Describing the new service as "one part MySpace, one part iTunes and one part Xbox Live", he said: "Under the Zune brand, we will deliver a family of hardware and software products, the first of which will be available this year. We see a great opportunity to bring together technology and community to allow consumers to explore and discover music together."