With Apple expected to dominate this afternoon's proceedings, it was not surprising that late yesterday afternoon, Microsoft officially announced its latest Zune music players. After all, if they had done it today, the struggling iPod rival may not have gotten too much coverage. There aren't too many shocks - apart from that shocking blue Zune above - but there is now a 120GB hard drive version, as well as 8GB and 16GB Flash versions. There's also a new black Zune but, it is on the software and services side that Microsoft is resting its hopes for the player. Combining Wi-Fi with the built-in FM tuner, there's now something called Buy From FM, which allows you to tag and purchase songs you hear on the radio. Then, when you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot, the song can be immediately downloaded [purchased] to the Zune.Users can also use the Wi-Fi to access the Zune Marketplace where tracks can now be bought using Zune Pass, a $15 monthly subscription that allows users to stream or download music to their device or PC. The new Zune 3.0 software offers a new 'Now Playing' feature that throws up lots of interesting graphics and bio information on the artist, has support for audio books, a selection of pre-created 'Channels' covering lots of genres and, the software now learns what music you like and will chose tracks for you or suggest similar bands next time you enter the Marketplace. Prices run from $130 (£70) for the 4GB model to $230 (£120) for the new 120 GB device.-Martin Lynch zune microsoft ipod music