If you are not an Apple fan, a Good News for you! Microsoft’s Zunes second generation is back. Microsoft’s new Zunes, portable media player will hit stores tomorrow. The Zune 4, Zune 8 and the Zune 80, along with the Zune Marketplace update will be readily available. It will be available in a broad range of colors and bedecked with tattoos, custom engravings, and other artwork. Called “Zune Originals,” the new Zune range will feature a selection of artwork by 18 artists and design studios.

They are: Colletivo Studios, Catalina Estrada, Laurent Fetis, Sam Flores, Klaus Haapaniemi, Pierre Marie, Kenzo Minami, Parskid, Mike Perry, Phunk Studios, Chisato Shinya, Skwak, Iosefatu Sua, Tado, Nobumasa Takahashi, Ramiro Torres, Darvin Vida, and Steve Wilson, with 27 total designs to be offered.

The new Zunes are going to be available in models of 4GB ($149.99), 8GB ($199.99), and 80GB ($249.99). The 80GB model features a hard drive instead of flash memory. The new Zune 2.0 80GB offers a much larger screen, a FM radio, wireless player-to-player sharing, Wi-Fi syncing with your PC, and a rear panel that can be customized with some cool artwork. It is also slimmer, features a rounded touch-sensitive control. Overall, the gadget is a vast improvement over the previous model and is clearly the best competitor for the iPod. The Zune supports MP3, WMA, WMA lossless, PlaysForSure, and its own proprietary format for Zune Pass subscriptions.

The old Zune, which went on sale last year in November, had a 30GB hard drive, 3-inch QVGA LCD screen (320 x 240), Wi-Fi ‘Zune-to-Zune’ connectivity, FM radio, and access to Zune Marketplace.

Written by Mahesh Chawla in Media Player