According to Chris Stephenson, Microsoft General Manager of Marketing for the MSN Entertainment Business, Zune is an umbrella brand for what he says is "a family of hardware and software products" targeting various digital entertainment services.



The first implementation of this will be the portable music player and digital music service.

Additional Zune-branded devices will follow, including a portable video player and, potentially, a portable game device, although Stephenson would not comment on the videogame element of the initiative.

At the same time, a lot of companies have developed some products for Zune.

Now I'll list some key differences between Zune and ipod.

Here are some comparisons between ipod and Zune.

Price:

80gb Zune:$24980gb iPod:$2494/8 gb Zune:$149 / $179 4/8 gb Nano:$149 / $199

Storage:

80gb Zune:80 GB80gb iPod:80 GB4/8 gb Zune:4gb / 8gb 4/8 gb Nano:4gb / 8gb

Wi-Fi:

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:none

WirelessFileSharing

80gb Zune:YES 80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:YES 4/8 gb Nano:none

Wireless Sync

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:none

Landscape Mode

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:none

Portrait Mode

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:YES4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:YES

FM Tuner:

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:none

Preloaded Audio:

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:none

Preloaded Video:

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:none

Max Battery Life:

80gb Zune:30hr80gb iPod:30 hr 4/8 gb Zune:24 hr 4/8 gb Nano:24hr

Preloaded Virus:

80gb Zune:none80gb iPod:RavMonE-6.0.exe4/8 gb Zune:none4/8 gb Nano:RavMonE-6.0.exe

CustomBackground:

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:none

Manufacturer:

80gb Zune:Flextronics80gb iPod:Foxconn4/8 gb Zune:Flextronics4/8 gb Nano:Foxconn

Screen Size:

80gb Zune:3.2"80gb iPod:2.5"4/8 gb Zune:1.8"4/8 gb Nano:2.0"

LCD Resolution:

80gb Zune:320x24080gb iPod:320x2404/8 gb Zune:320x2404/8 gb Nano:320x240

Video out (TV):

80gb Zune:720x57680gb iPod:640x4804/8 gb Zune:none4/8 gb Nano:640x480

USB:

80gb Zune:2.080gb iPod:2.04/8 gb Zune:2.04/8 gb Nano:2.0

Colors:

80gb Zune:Black80gb iPod:White,Black 4/8 gb Zune:Pink,red,green4/8 gb Nano:blackSilver(4GB),White,teal,green,black,red (8GB)

Click Wheel:

80gb Zune:none80gb iPod:YES4/8 gb Zune:none4/8 gb Nano:YES

Tactile + Touch Ctl:

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:none

Online Service:

80gb Zune:ZuneMarketplace 80gb iPod:iTunes4/8 gb Zune:ZuneMarketplace 4/8 gb Nano:iTunes

UnltdDownloads:

80gb Zune:$14.99/month80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:$14.99/month4/8 gb Nano:none

Podcast Service:

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:YES4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:YES

Battery:

80gb Zune:Li-Ion80gb iPod:Li-Ion4/8 gb Zune:Li-Ion4/8 gb Nano:Li-Ion

XBOX Marketplace:

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:none

Unique Online Card:

80gb Zune:Zune Card 80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:Zune Card 4/8 gb Nano:none

3rdPartyAccessories:

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:YES4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:YES

Social Networking:

80gb Zune:YES80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:YES4/8 gb Nano:none

Weight:

80gb Zune:4.5 ounces 80gb iPod:4.9 ounces 4/8 gb Zune:1.7 ounces 4/8 gb Nano:1.74 ounces

Width:

80gb Zune:2.4"80gb iPod:2.4"4/8 gb Zune:1.6"4/8 gb Nano:3.6"

Height:

80gb Zune:4.25"80gb iPod:4.1"4/8 gb Zune:3.6"4/8 gb Nano:2.75"

Thickness:

80gb Zune:0.5"80gb iPod:0.43"4/8 gb Zune:.334/8 gb Nano:.26

Tattoo Freak:

80gb Zune:MSzunefan80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:MSzunefan4/8 gb Nano:none

User Forum:

80gb Zune:Zune Scene 80gb iPod:iLounge4/8 gb Zune:Zune Scene 4/8 gb Nano:iLounge

Compatibility:

80gb Zune:PC80gb iPod:Mac, PC 4/8 gb Zune:PC4/8 gb Nano:Mac, PC

ReplaceableBattery:

80gb Zune:NO80gb iPod:NO4/8 gb Zune:NO4/8 gb Nano:NO

User made games:

80gb Zune:XNA toolkit 80gb iPod:none4/8 gb Zune:XNA toolkit 4/8 gb Nano:none

Special Edition:

80gb Zune:Zune Originals 80gb iPod:tbd4/8 gb Zune:tbd4/8 gb Nano:tbd

Vendor:

80gb Zune:Microsoft80gb iPod:Apple4/8 gb Zune:Microsoft4/8 gb Nano:Apple

Headphones:

80gb Zune:PremiumEarphone80gb iPod:earbud4/8 gb Zune:earbud4/8 gb Nano:earbud

Format Support:

Zune support MP3,Zune Marketplace(Protected),AAC,WMA,JPEG(Photos),WMV(Videos),MPEG-4(Videos),H.264(Video).

IPod support iTunes(Protected),AAC,AIFF,WAV(Uncompressed),.aa,JPEG(Photos),BMP(Photos),MPEG-4(Videos),H.264(Video).

FM Radio:

Zune has a built-in FM tuner. But if you want to listen to radio on iPod, you have to buy an accessory.

Battery:

The battery Life of Zune is reported to be up to 13 hours, when listening to music with the wireless turned on. With the wireless off, battery life is up to 14 hours and up to approximately 4 hours for video or pictures, all of which is similar to earlier rumors and informal comments. However, some folks think the testing conditions are wildly unrealistic.

By comparison, Apple's 30GB iPod is rated at 14/4 hours (music/video) and the 80GB iPod at 20/6 hours.

You can find other differences from the illustrations I posted or more iPod and Zune comparison information.