The MS page says
Ensuring that existing Zune owners benefit from the advances in this release, all Zune 30GB devices will be automatically updated with all the new features as well as the new device software design this fall

I understand upgrading firmware and software, that's easy enough. But will the oldies be 'touch pad' devices or is that a physical hardware feature of the input part itself?

Call me crazy but I would have liked to see a brown model. Brown is a color so rarely used that it kind of refreshing in the first Zunes.

Yahn. Oh what time is it? At the tone, DRM time will be, better late than never.

Beep.

Can I just copy files to a music folder and not have to use WMP/Zune software?

The company that manufactures this is releasing a new, more feature-rich product that answers many of the complaints registered about the previous version, while making sure that those still using the older technology are not left in the dust.

...Are we absolutely certain that Microsoft is the one producing these?

i'm deciding between this and creative products now...waiting for the review of this hardware before i could conclude properly

These seem to be perfectly decent products at decent prices, but they are still "me too" products. If their goal is to take marketshare away from the iPod, that isn't enough.

The big opening that MS has right now is to deliver something like the iPod Touch, but that is more open to third party developers. That's something that would really differentiate the Zune in an important way that people care about. Too bad MS didn't do that. My guess is they have a year (at most) to exploit this opportunity.

Updating my Zune as soon as possible....
so, what is up adi..? Looks how MS updates/upgrades while Apple downgrades and brick... :D

Ah, mp3. The *real* "PlaysForSure" xD

(unless you're on certain linux distros and unable to change your repos I suppose)

This is closer to what the Zune should've been from the start: a decent wifi-capable alternative to the iPod w/out the ripoff DRM cruft.

Because few know what AAC or WMA is nor do they care.