Take a look back through the history of the Microsoft Zune portable media player and subscription music service.
Donald Bell
Donald Bell has spent more than five years as a CNET senior editor, reviewing everything from MP3 players to the first three generations of the Apple iPad. He currently devotes his time to producing How To content for CNET, as well as weekly episodes of CNET's Top 5 video series.
The Zune has come a long way from its days as the brown, brick-like player Microsoft launched in 2006. While the hardware has changed dramatically, the Zune's unique take on presenting and organizing music still remains.
2 of 8Microsoft
The Zune Marketplace download store built in to the Zune software has always offered an attractive, curated, well-organized selection of music. Users can browse the virtual bins in the left side nav by selecting genres, playlists, top songs, or regularly-updated channels. Equipped with a Zune Pass music subscription ($14.99/mo), users can download all the music they want like they were robbing the store blind.
The most notable recent addition to the store is the selection of HD movies and television shows that can be downloaded from the video section--including rented videos that can be played on your computer or Zune HD. Rented movies expire within 24 hours after the movie starts playing, and must be finished on the device you started on.
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Microsoft's promotional image of the Zune HD, an alternative to the Apple iPod Touch with advanced features such as an OLED screen, HD Radio tuner, and integrated subscription music support.
4 of 8Donald Bell/CNET
Silver with black trim, or black with silver trim. Like its competition, Apple's iPod Touch, the Zune HD uses a glass-covered touch-screen display. To access the main menu from the opening screen, you'll first need to swipe upward to unlock the device, just like lifting a curtain.
5 of 8Josh Miller/CNET
One of the more unique features of the Zune HD is its capability of connecting to a television using an optional HDMI dock. Once connected, users can browse and stream music, photos, and video from their device and view content and menus in HD resolution.
6 of 8Bonnie Cha/CNET
The short-lived Kin devices were the first Windows phones to ship with Zune compatibility. Kin was also the first Zune device to stream music over a 3G connection.
7 of 8Josh Lowensohn/CNET
At E3, Microsoft announces Xbox 360 support for Zune Pass music streaming, adding to the existing support for HD video streaming and downloads.
8 of 8Bonnie Cha/CNET
Windows Phone 7 offers a full Zune experience, including access to the Marketplace. In addition, if you have a Zune Pass subscription, you can stream unlimited music.
