The Zune chronicles, part 1

• The device supposedly has 30GB and will be available for US$399--the same price as the 60GB iPod. Also: "In terms of outward look, recent information points to three different colors, and a duo-tone approach on each. A scroll wheel will sit beneath an oversize screen, and menu options will include Music, Video, Pictures, Community, Extras, and Settings. Wireless synchronization with the PC will not be available in the upcoming launch, scheduled for November in the United States".
  
  J. K.'s take: The price has to come down somehow, and there needs to be a 60GB option. Everything else sounds and, so far, looks like standard WMA/WMV material, so the Wi-Fi experience had better be worth the extra US$100. I'd be surprised if they went away from the brilliant Portable Media Center platform. To me, a 60GB Toshiba Gigabeat S with Wi-Fi and better battery life is the ultimate device.

• Digital Music News: "The newer ecosystem will be incompatible with 'other Windows Media services', placing the focus squarely on one device, and one jukebox and store... 'Xbox and PC connectivity,' part of a larger plan to engage an energized gaming audience. Meanwhile, community aspects will be an important part of the release, and MySpace will be a guiding model".
  
  J. K.'s take: Wow. So Microsoft, attemping to emulate a closed iPod/iTunes-like ecosystem, wants to compete with its own PlaysForSure ecosystem? Is this another Sony ATRAC3 debacle? We wonder what Creative and Samsung have to say about this.

• According to Digital Music News' source, the online store will feature "bundling, variable pricing, and subscription" and eventually video.
  
  J. K.'s take: Big win for major labels, especially on the variable pricing. Consumers will figure out that iTunes Music Store, with its fixed pricing scheme, offers the best deals (outside of the BuyMusics of the world) for purchasing music. On the flip side, variable pricing and bundling (i.e. selling albums rather than songs) will open up more content choices for the consumer. Video must be in the equation. Today, Vongo allows us to watch on the Gigabeat something that you can't on the iPod: Movies.

• "Big box retail outlets will offer a nice push. Sources note that the device will be 'overwhelmingly sold at Target, Best Buy, and Walmart', and nearly 30,000 retail outlets across the US. A Super Bowl spot is also reportedly in the works."
  
  J. K.'s take: Of course, this is deep-pocketed Microsoft we're dealing with and this is its big (and maybe only) chance. If the Zune and its ecosystem is truly a good product, the notion of capturing 20 percent market share isn't so ridiculous.