Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
After this morning's big announcement we had to head over to get the other guy's take on the news. Microsoft was happy to oblige and furnish us with the usual boilerplate PR quote, including a very interesting bit on the future direction of DRM in the Zune.

Microsoft's response, specifically regarding the Apple / EMI announcement:
"Consumers have indicated [having DRM free music] is important to them so Zune has been working with a variety of partners to head in this direction. [Emphasis ours] This is a time of transition for the music industry and Microsoft is committed to striking a balance between delivering the best consumer experience while still protecting the rights of the content owners."

Microsoft's general response with regard to DRM:
"Regardless of the outcome of DRM for music downloads, DRM technologies will still have a key role in enabling businesses involving digital content. Subscr...

We heard of a lot of big talk a year ago about the Razer Pro|Solutions Pro|Type Multimedia Keyboard, but it hasn't actually shipped since then. That's all changing now, where Amazon will offer it for the first time, for $129.99. If you can remember back that far, it has a universal iPod dock at the top of its keys, and also includes a dedicated button to launch iTunes.
Originally, it was expected to cost $99, and there was reportedly also another version on the way (which we haven't seen yet, either) that could accommodate the Microsoft Zune.
Even at that inflated price, though, it still looks like a convenient yet pricey concept that could eliminate at least some of those wires on your desktop. – Charlie White
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Product Page [Amazon]

In light of the itunes/EMI deal, lots of folks are asking if Zune supports clear AAC tracks. The answer is yes - today's Zune software and device both already support AAC tracks, including those that iTunes will presumably be selling. I think it's interesting they chose to do AAC instead of mp3 files. I suspect Apple's systems were probably just not set up to "sell" mp3 files - for now.

 Today Steve Jobs announced that the iTunes store will begin selling songs by EMI on iTunes without DRM! This move has been expected for a while with Steve Jobs open letter to the industry. However, the DRM-free versions of the songs will cost you 30 cents more. An added bonus of getting a DRM-free song [...]

After our exclusive first Zune photo, an anonymous tipster just sent us this shot of a new MP3 player from RCA. It's hard to make out much due to the blurriness and poor lighting (proof of the photos' legitimacy), but the screen looks to be very large for a unit this size, and that silver finish is quite unique for anything but the highest end in electronics and automobiles.
More word as we get it.
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– Mark Wilson

Don’t you just love April? to be more specific, April Fools Day? You get all these exciting interesting stories going on, specially in the Zune world, and wow there is allot of change for one day! Here is what we have going on in the Zunesphere: Apparently Microsoft has brought out my buddies at Zuneboards.com for, wait for [...]