A Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed that a filing by Toshiba, the Japanese electronics maker, with the Federal Communications Commission for a portable audio player was for Zune, which is scheduled to be released later this year.
The filing says the device will have a 3-inch liquid-crystal-display screen, a 30-gigabyte hard-disk drive and wireless connectivity.
Microsoft would not disclose any more details, but it said more information would come in the next couple of weeks. Toshiba was not immediately available for comment.
Microsoft faces an uphill climb in closing the gap with Apple’s iPod media player and iTunes music store, the runaway leaders in their categories.
The iPod holds more than half of the digital media player market, according to the research company NPD, while iTunes accounts for more than 70 percent of digital music sales in the United States. The iPod has more than 75 percent of the digital music player market in America, NPD said.
“It’s not like Microsoft was going to go out and build this itself,” an analyst at Jupiter, Michael Gartenberg, said. “This is very good news for Toshiba.”
In the user’s manual section of the filing, Toshiba refers to the device as “Pyxis” and explains how users can send and receive photos, songs and albums, working with nearby users over wireless connections.
The Pyxis also has a “DJ” function that allows a user to stream music to up to four other Pyxis devices. It also comes with an FM radio tuner.
Microsoft has not disclosed any pricing information about its media player, but Toshiba sells its own 30-gigabyte hard-disk player, called the gigabeat. It comes with a smaller screen and without wireless connectivity and has a list price of $350.-Reuters
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