In addition to also confirming that the sky is mostly black at night with the exception of some stars and the moon, the Redmond juggernaut finally broke down yesterday to Billboard. Amid much snotty, confessional weeping, MS marketing GM Chris Stephenson revealed to Billboard what exactly the Zune was going to be: "a family of hardware and software products" that will let Zune "brand" owners "view each other's playlists" and "recommend music and sample tracks". Terms like "digital locker" and wide eyed optimism that the device will "deliver great music and entertainment experiences" were all bandied about. We just appreciate you being honest with us, MS.

Music is okay, I guess. I listen to that. But what about games? Nothing yet! While we all can safely assume Zune will become a Live Anywhere enabled device at some point, gaming functions may not become a hardware reality any time soon. For now it seems that MS is planning "seven or eight" hardware configurations, with a focus on music and community.

According to Gizmodo, this whole "community" angle means that John B. Consumerist will see Zune:

...provide ubiquitous access to digital media from a wide range of Windows-powered devices in what ultimately aspires to be one part MySpace, one part iTunes and one part Xbox Live.

Duh! Take three hugely successful online services, roll 'em up into one big Microsoft product fantasy and you simply can't lose! Why didn't we think of that? That's why J Allard and Robbie Bach make the big bucks and we're still renting.

But sorry fellow nerds, with yesterday's announced functionality, it doesn't look like we're getting another DS or PSP, or that Argo/Zune will be the "Xboy" Windows fanboys have been creaming and dreaming of. Don't rule out the Zune's capability to be huge with the music, movies, and casual gaming crowd. We'll see this marketshare drama unleash this Christmas and beyond when the little monster is released.

Until then, keep your eyes on Gizmodo, whose coverage of the Zune shall surely continue to be nothing short of stellar, and check out the official Zune teaser site. There's very little to see at the latter, with the exception of some cute bunny patting, some swell indie-cred building, and a newsletter subscription form. Michael McWhertor

Zune Teaser Site
Microsoft's Zune Announcement [Gizmodo]
Zune News Trifecta [Gizmodo]

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