Microsoft has just released new versions of its Zune media players that not only have tons of cool new features, but are customizable as well, with laser-engraved designs by 18 renowned international artists and 3-5 lines of custom text available. The new Zunes come in a larger, 80GB model and a compact 4-8 GB version, both of which are available in black, red, green and pink colors. The Zune also comes pre-loaded with lots of cool music, video and modern art content right out of the box, not to mention premium in-ear headphones that are significantly better than we have come to expect as a pack-in.



The Zune looks to compete with the iPod juggernaut by offering more features, more customization and a slick new interface, all at a generally lower price point ($149-$249). The new line will be launched simultaneously with new software, marketplace and social networking features that will allow Zune users to take advantage of a simple drag and drop interface, wireless PC syncing, and wirelessly sharing music with friends. There are limitations in place to protect against outright piracy, but Microsoft has gone to great lengths to achieve solid cooperation from the music industry that will allow for a certain amount of leeway in regards to wirelessly sharing music with peers.



We had a chance to play around with the New Zunes a few weeks before launch, and our first impressions were quite favorable. The device looks great and controls responsively. The resolution on the screen is phenomenal, and everything is fully customizable, from the menus on down to the individual music profiles themselves. The device can wirelessly pick up shows from your Microsoft Windows Media Center (if you have one), and the FM tuner works great. And while I realize that an FM tuner is not that big of a deal to people that have 10 million songs on their MP3 player, it is a welcome addition that really should be included in any media-playing device.



Some would say that the newly designed Zune has missed the mark by not going with a touchscreen interface, but I personally am not a fan of that fad. If I’m going to be expected to stare at a tiny little screen all day long, I’d rather there weren’t greasy fingerprints all over it all the time. The Zune makes it’s mark in the innovation department with it’s expertly chosen custom design options and awesome Zune Social program, which allows users to discover and share new music effortlessly. The bottom line is this: Such as Facebook is the new counter-culture cool to MySpace, Zune is sure to be the new hipster equivalent of the now omnipresent iPod. So if you consider yourself any kind of self-respecting, early-adapting techno-hipster, you’d better get your hands on the new Zune before everyone else does too.