Microsoft tried to be coy last month about developing a player to compete with Apple's iPod, but sooner or later, it's pretty predictable that Microsoft isn't going to let Apple win any market.

And thanks to audio analyst Mike Kobrin, he's keeping us up to speed with the latest batch of rumored features of the forthcoming MS portable media player:

• A WiFi radio that lets you download songs over the air or from another nearby player via an ad-hoc network
• A bigger screen size, possibly 3.5 inches, for watching video
• The ability to download protected-WMA versions of songs you've already purchased from the iTunes Music Store—for free

On the other hand, editor of reviews Lance Ulanoff refers to this iPod rival as the "MiPod". He believes that "Microsoft faces wicked competition and a youth market that believes Apple is cool and Microsoft is not. What's more, with Gates leaving and other key execs making quiet exits, there's a sense that the company is going through a fundamental shift. Is it the right time to try and roll out a market-changing product?"

The Seattle Times reports that the project is code named Argo, and that what's really being developed is a line of "Xbox-branded digital-media products, including a device that plays media, a software media player and an online media service."

Whether or not Microsoft should attempt at competing with Apple isn't the question; the real question is, will we have to deal with the "Blue Screen of Death" when we try to use these players? Hopefully not, and any war with the iPod deserves a big bag of popcorn and a front row seat.