This press release from Microsoft officially announces that their "iPod killer" portable media player the Zune is now in stores. The $249.99 device's big main feature is its wireless capability to transfer songs and video to other Zune devices. Microsoft intends to update the current Zune through software updates, including adding support for Windows Vista and support for podcasts. In other news, this CNet News.com article has a financial analyst expressing doubt's on the Zune's success chances. IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian said Microsoft has created a nice-looking music player, but the first effort doesn't take full advantage of the device's built-in wireless connection or its large color screen. "In the first generation, Zune is all dressed up with no place to go," Kevorkian said. Among the key missing ingredients, she said, are the ability to buy songs on the go and to buy videos at all.

Update:Bloomberg.com is reporting that Steve Ballmer has confirmed video sharing on the Zune and eventually a built-in phone. The video function would probably be used to transfer content created by Zune customers, Ballmer said in an interview today from Redmond, Washington. He declined to comment on when Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, would add video sharing or announce a phone model.