Ever since iPod became the success it is it has been in the crosshairs of many an attempt to unseat its hegemony. Needless to say a great many have tried and failed but where so many virtual corpses litter the MP3 battleground, one challenger stands a good chance of succeeding.

Zune is the latest MP3 player to join the fray battling for the hearts and minds of millions of consumers. Its pedigree is Microsoft and given the length of time it has spent in development you expect it to be nothing less than cutting-edge, informed by all the latest advances in technology and with more than a passing nod to cool styling and you’d be right!

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With a large screen capable of viewing video (and a 4 hr video battery life) a 13-hr battery for songs, wireless interactivity, smooth integration into your PC and a whole lot of accessories and the kind of functionality which only a technology giant can provide the questions has to be why did it take so long?

Zune is a vehicle to explore new sounds and experiences. With that in mind, Microsoft pre-loaded each Zune device with a variety of songs and music videos from hot, new artists as well as some fun films and images. With something for everyone, the pre-loaded Zune content may just help you discover your new favorite band. Zune preloaded content includes the following:

Audio Tracks
• Band of Horses, “Wicked Gil” (Sub Pop Records)
• Bitter:Sweet, “The Mating Game” (Quango Music Group)
• CSS, “Alala (Microsoft edit)” (Sub Pop Records)
• Darkel, “At The End of The Sky (edit)” (Astralwerks)
• Every Move a Picture, “Signs of Life” (V2)
• Small Sins, “Stay” (Astralwerks)
• The Adored, “Tell Me Tell Me” (V2)
• The Rakes, “Open Book” (V2)
• The Thermals, “A Pillar of Salt” (Sub Pop Records)

Will it really beat iPod or is this a PR pipe-dream?

Well, the answer is in the polls. An ABC poll of 1,736 teenagers and over 900 iPod owners revealed the more than 70% of them were going to fork out and buy Zune when it hit the shops.

Why? The answer, beyond the tech tricks and the functionality that almost turns Zune into a portable media centre may well lie in the looks. Where the iPod is sleek Zune is rugged.

Microsoft has produced a device that fills the hand, feels substantial and can be ‘dressed up’. Pop an all-terrain like rubber sleeve on it and you end up with something that look designed to be taken into a warzone.

Take the rubber guard off it and pop a titanium alloy protective sleeve and your Zune is going to mark you as an up-and-coming whiz person in every gym in the country.

It is this kind of detail that has Zune-philes (and there are many without the MP3 player released yet) drooling at the prospect.

So, maybe the iPod is now on a limited timespan.