Microsoft Zune

Microsoft's music-sharing player is an iPod-botherer

Out now in the states, Microsoft's Zune is muscling in on iPod's turf with a player that looks broadly similar but is actually pretty different, not least because it can communicate with other Zunes.

The Zune is a stylish little number with a round controller - a four-way job rather than a click wheel - mounted under a plush, three-inch screen. That's only half an inch bigger than the iPod's, but it shades it on video playback. You turn the player through 90 degrees and watch in widescreen, although that's no boon if the footage is in 4:3 format.

It doesn't disappoint musically. The bundled headphones are surprisingly non-rubbish, rustling up a reasonable amount of bass. With a bought-in pair of 'phones, sound quality is very good.

The Zune's wireless sharing facility is cool too. Bring two units close together and you can beam tracks from one to the other. Don't get too attached to your new-found tunes, though; in an effort to keep the record companies placated, they'll only last three plays or three days - whichever comes first - before self-destructing like a Mission Impossible-taped instruction. Or Paul Gascoigne.

The dark side of the Zune is that Microsoft isn't telling when it will hit the UK yet. However, you can snap one up online fairly cheaply - although maybe not so cheaply once you add the insane shipping costs that American firms habitually charge. Thanks to its video and track-swapping powers, it's a credible alternative to the iPod, if not the iPod slayer Microsoft were promising.