Possible Zune pics leaked
Thursday, Gizmodo posted pictures that purportedly come from a retail glossy advertising Microsoft's next-generation Zune. The portrayed devices come in two sizes, a large 80GB model and a smaller model with either 4GB or 8GB capacity. All three models look quite different from the first-generation Zune--thinner, without the two-tone translucent rubberized finish, and what looks like a touch pad instead of the circular pseudo click-wheel used last time around.
Microsoft has told me that its goal in the next year is for the Zune to be considered the alternative to the iPod family--the only other device that gives users the complete end-to-end experience including hardware, software and an online service. These pictures could certainly be fake. But if they're not, are they interesting enough to make you consider a Zune instead of an iPod? If hardware's not enough, what features would they have to contain to make you interested?
Matt Rosoff is an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, where he covers Microsoft's consumer products and corporate news. He's written about the technology industry since 1995, and reviewed the first Rio MP3 player for CNET.com in 1998. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattrosoff. 
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