Microsoft is making all sorts of Zune-related announcements this week. First came the price-drops on the Flash-memory-based Zunes (more on that later in the post), as well as minor upgrades to the Zune marketplace software and Zune firmware, which includes new games and the ability to play Texas Hold 'Em against other Zune owners via Wi-Fi. The big news today, however, is that Microsoft is making its $14.99-a-month Zune Pass subscriptions--which you don't even need a Zune to use--a little more interesting.

On a monthly basis, subscribers can now download 10 songs from the Marketplace and keep them forever.

Even if your subscription runs out, the songs are yours. Almost 90 percent of the files will be DRM-free MP3s, and the others will be protected WMA tracks. That means that the majority of downloaded tracks can be transferred to different devices as many times as you want.

The four major labels are on board, as well as some Indie labels--all in all, the portion of tracks from which you can choose represents roughly 90 percent of the songs currently offered on the Zune Marketplace. Your tracks won't roll over, however--so if you use only two of your 10 picks one month, the next month, you still get only 10. That's 120 tracks per year that Zune subscribers weren't getting this time yesterday, though!

As I mentioned earlier, the Flash-based Zunes dropped in price this week as well. The 4GB model is now $99 (down from $130), the 8GB is $139 (down from $150), and the 16GB is $179 (down from $200). Some Zune accessories also got price slashes: the Zune Car Pack is now $69 instead of $79, the Home AV Pack is now $59 instead of $79, and the Dock pack is now $39, down from $49. The new prices, software and firmware updates, and new subscription deals are all in full effect now.

Post by Tim Gideon