Competition for iPod?

Maybe, just maybe, kids will be putting a music player of a different name on their holiday wish lists this year. It'll be interesting to see if Microsoft's just-announced "Zune" will give iPod some competition. The BBC cites experts as saying Microsoft won't have it easy "The iPod accounts for more than 50% of digital music players sold, while iTunes, Apple's digital music store, has a 70% share of its market." But the Zune name will represent more than just an MP3 player – a whole "family of hardware and software products," including a music store, Microsoft told the BBC – and the player will be able to connect to the Net, which I foresee to be a significant plus for the youth market (I wonder if it'll come with parental controls). Microsoft intends to combine technology and community in Zune, it told the BBC. But will it have iPod's cachet? Here's coverage from Internet News, linking to blogs commenting on Zune, including two Microsoft staffers' personal blogs, where crumbs of insights are being tossed out to the ravenous gadget info hordes. For female gadget heads, see this ZDNET pictorial about what's on offer, including "Miss Army Knife" and headband headphones from the fashion police.