Coming Zune... at long last

Wednesday 22 September

The Zune Pass is UK-bound

We may never have seen the US-only Zune music player here in the UK, but Microsoft has at least now given the green light for the Zune music and film download service to make its international debut.

The Zune Marketplace is a central part of Microsoft’s long-term strategy in taking on the likes of iTunes, and will provide a cross-platform umbrella for PC, Xbox 360 Live and Windows Phone devices.

For £8.99 a month users will receive a Zune Pass, which will allow unlimited music streaming, though not the ability to download and keep 10 tracks a month as allowed by the US service. You will be able to buy music, though, and either rent or buy movies too.

The timing of the announcement, so close to next month’s official unveiling of Windows Phone 7, is by no means a coincidence. The Zune Marketplace is crucial to Windows Phone 7’s success, and access to the service will be built right into WP7 devices at launch, partnered by a desktop sync utility for the PC.

Various parts of the Zune offering are being released in a total of 20 European countries, though at this stage only the UK, France and Germany will get the full package – presumably Microsoft is still finalising the details elsewhere.

Microsoft makes no mention of an official launch date, either – but it’s sure to be around the same time as Windows Phone 7’s arrival, which means October.