Microsoft Zune launched to rival iPod

Microsoft will this week launch a digital music player to compete with the iconic iPod.

Called Zune, the technology giant's new MP3 player hopes to take a bite out of Apple's huge market share.

The 30 gigabyte device plays songs and videos which owners can download to their PCs via the Zune Marketplace site.

It also has wireless technology which allows owners to send each other songs and pictures.

The Zune has a three-inch colour screen and comes in black, brown and white colours.

Users can either buy tracks individually from the site or get a Zune Pass subscription to download as many songs as they want for a flat fee.

The gadgets have been pre-loaded with some initial content from a number of record labels prior to sale.

Zune's global marketing general manager Chris Stephenson said: "On November 14 we're delivering not only a device, but a shared, social experience that will be shaped by the collective imagination of consumers."

The Zune will go on sale in the US on Tuesday, November 14 priced at 249.99 US dollars (£130). No date has yet been set for its UK launch.

Microsoft says the Zune's built-in wireless technology and "powerful" software will make the device easy to update.

But Michael Brooks, editor of gadget magazine T3, said Microsoft would have a tough time trying to topple the iPod from its position as the world's best-selling MP3 player.

"There has always been rivalry between Apple and Microsoft and this is another facet of that. But they have got a mountain to climb to overhaul Apple," he said.

"If you look at Microsoft's coffers they have certainly got the money to go after Apple. It depends if they have the product savvy - and they need to get the design right."

He added: "Microsoft don't and never have had the kind of cool that Apple has."

In an interview with Newsweek magazine last month, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said he wasn't worried by the impending launch of Zune.

"I've seen the demonstrations on the internet about how you can find another person using a Zune and give them a song they can play three times," he said.

"It takes forever. By the time you've gone through all that, the girl's got up and left. You're much better off to take one of your earbuds out and put it in her ear. Then you're connected with about two feet of headphone cable."