Finally, Microsoft has given up some details on the Zune, the most significant detail being the confirmation that it exists. In an article in Billboard Magazine, the company reveals that Zune is much more than just a digital media player, but rather a family of hardware and software products which integrate various forms of digital entertainment services. The first implementation of this will be the portable music player and digital music service, which is essentially Microsoft’s first real attempt at going head to head with the Apple’s iTunes and iPod one-two punch combo. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft can put a dent in Apple’s 70% market share in digital music downloads, and 75% of the entire digital music player scene. If anyone has the pockets to do it, it’s them. Before counting them out, remember that the Xbox was nothing more than a joke when we first heard about it in 1999, and today it’s at the forefront of the game industry.

EDIT: A couple of official Zune related sites: Zune Insider, Coming Zune, and Madison and Pine