Robinator here! Thanks for listening to me on America Tonight with Kate! So here's the recap on the new Microsoft Zune and the Apple iPod Nano and Touch (all released Sept 08).. It is a banner week for Apple AND Microsoft. With the release of the new Apple IPOD and Microsoft Zune you can expect new things from your personal MP3 players. The Microsoft ZUNE has had some problems with WI-FI syncing but say they have worked it out now in the new version. In case you didn't know, the Microsoft Zune player is a competitor for the Apple Ipod. We have to give Microsoft a little credit for the re-design of the interface on the zune and now the player gets an update that allows users to download songs over WI-FI. Zune still has the FM radio built-in and one of the new features out will be to allow users to tag a song you hear on the radio and then buy it later either over the Wi-FI or when you plug it in to sync. The Zune has not supported audible books in the past but now they say it will do that as well.

The new iPod Nano and the iPod Touch get a re-design. The Nano is the thinnest so far and now comes in 9 colors! The curved screen might be something to check out in person before you buy, but the new Nano comes with Accelerometer technology so you can turn the screen on it's side and get a wider view. 

The iPod Touch is coming out with a new silver back (rather than the black and white colors of the iPhone 3G) and it is going to have a rounded back like the iPhone 3G.  Apple is going to incorporate their "Genius" technology into the new iPod Nano and iPod Touch and what it does is create playlists for you based on songs it thinks would "go together" from your music library. At the time of writing I heard that Zune was going to have somehting like this as well but could not confirm it.

So how do you get this new "Genius" Technology from Apple? Get iTunes veriosn 8 it has a new layout and you now can get HD TV SHOWS. Ain't that a peach?