Microsoft's today threw down the gauntlet to Apple by revealing its new "Zune" music player, a gadget that will battle to take market share away from the dominant iPod.

The new 30-gigabyte music player will be launched in the US in time for Christmas and sports a wireless feature that allows users to beam songs to each other - something yet to be added by Apple. Users will be able to buy tracks from an online music store called Zune Marketplace, which will compete with Apple's iTunes.

Slightly larger than a 5G 60GB iPod and described by onlookers as "barely pocketable", Zune will be available in white, black and brown. Microsoft is yet to release pricing information.

However, despite its surface resemblance to Apple's now iconic player, analysts seemed underwhelmed by the much vaunted Microsoft gadget and suggested it would take market share form other groups such as Creative and Sony, rather than the market leader.

"Overall from what I saw, Zune isn't an iPod killer," Michael Gartneburg, the Jupiter analyst said on his blog.

"Frankly, it isn't going to give the iPod a bad case of the sniffles in current form but it does offer some compelling features that Apple currently lacks. It still looks like short term market share will come from other device vendors, not Apple."

He added: "A lot depends on how well all this works technically and whether Microsoft has really hit parity with the Apple experience in terms of device, marketing and messaging. And those are just table stakes, they don't assure victory but that's bare minimum Microsoft needs just to play in the game."

Apple raised the stakes earlier this week when it launched a revamped range of iPod's, including a remodelled iPod shuffle, which Apple claims is now the world's smallest MP3 player, and a completely redesigned iPod Nano, the world's most popular player.

Apple also launched a film download service as part of a redesigned iTunes music store, which will offer titles from Disney's studios. Microsoft last night said it was in talks with major television and movie studios about adding video content to the Zune Marketplace. Both groups are thought to be working on music player-phones

Unlike iTunes, Zune Marketplace will provide users with the option to either buy a flat-fee subscription to download an unlimited number of songs, or purchase songs individually.

Zune, manufactured by Japan’s Toshiba, will allow users to listen to any song shared with another user through the wireless feature three times over a three-day period. It will be preloaded with music from record labels including Astralwerks Records and EMI’s Virgin Records.

For the all the lack of initial enthusiasm surrounding Zune, the player is making its entrance amid doubts over the iPod's future. Sales of the Apple player have fallen quarter-on-quarter this year for the first time while opinion polls have suggested young technophiles no longer idolise the iPod as they once did.

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