Windows Phone 7 Series owes a lot of its design aesthetic and features to the Zune music player from Microsoft. From the sleek user interface to the incredibly integrated Zune music hub, it’s clear that Microsoft is really trying hard to give Apple and its iPhone’s iTunes-based music ecosystem some hard-hitting competition. As such, the WP7 platform will essentially turn any smartphone that powers into a Zune music player. Microsoft confirmed as much this morning at their keynote speech at MIX10 in Las Vegas. But, with all the music integration in WP7, how will users manage their tunes and synchronize their Windows Phone with their desktop or laptop computer?
Zune isn’t just a music player. It’s also a desktop-based music player/manager that aims directly at the heart of iTunes. The Zune desktop player gives the user “quickplay” access to music with shortcuts to favorites, recently downloaded or played music, and videos. There’s also a Smart DJ feature that can take any song, artist, or album and generate a playlist from music in your library or music on the Zune Marketplace. But, that’s just the beginning.
The Zune desktop software isn’t just a music manager for your computer – it will serve as the music manager for your Windows Phone 7 Series handset. Just connect your Windows Phone to your computer and Zune automatically detects your phone, The “Device” tab allows you to browse, manage, and delete music directly on your phone. All changes are instantly reflected on the handset’s Zune hub. Take that, iTunes!
Take a look at the video to see exactly how Windows Phone 7 Series will work with Zune.