Microsoft officially unveiled its Zune media player today, showing off some glitzy photos but few details that hadn't already been widely publicized.

The Seattle-based software giant hopes the Zune will combat the dominance of the iPod, which got some new looks and features in an Apple announcement earlier this week. Apple has sold 60 million iPods in five years and has garnered nearly 76 percent market share in the space, with SanDisk a distant second at just under 10 percent.

At a press event today, Microsoft confirmed many of the features that have been rumored for months. It will come in three colors--white, black, and brown--and have a 30GB hard drive, FM tuner, and a 3-inch display screen, wider than the video iPod. But the Zune won't immediately have video playback capability, lessening the benefit of having a larger display screen than the video iPod.

As previously reported, the Zune will also let users wirelessly send songs to one another so that one Zune user could act as a wireless DJ of sorts for another Zune user nearby. The receiver of the song can listen to it up to three times over three days and will be able to flag it for purchase later at the Zune Marketplace, the company's soon-to-debut digital download store. Not all songs will be able to be sent between users, however, as artists will be able to opt out of the DJ tool.

Microsoft said that it is relying heavily on preloaded content from up-and-coming artists like Hot Chip, 30 Seconds to Mars, CSS, Serena Maneesh, and Bittersweet. Zune player will come loaded with audio and video from those artists and several others. Content from DTS, EMI Music's Astralwerks and Virgin, Ninja Tune, Playlouderecordings, Quango Music Group, Sub Pop Records, and V2/Artemis Records will appear on the devices.

"The digital music entertainment revolution is just beginning," said J Allard, the man overseeing Microsoft's digital media efforts, in a statement. "With Zune, we are not simply delivering a portable device, we are introducing a new platform that helps bring artists closer to their audiences and helps people find new music and develop new social connections."

The company did not, however, reveal two of the biggest missing details: price and release date. The company said only that the Zune would be in stores in time for the holiday shopping season. And the Wi-Fi functionality will not allow users to access the Zune store wirelessly, reducing the sales spike the company would likely see with impulse purchases.

Microsoft plans to launch a number of accessories, including a Zune car charger, docking stations, and gear that will allow Zune to connect to televisions and music speakers. Helping Microsoft with the accessories are many of the same companies that manufacture Apple accessories, including Altec Lansing, Belkin, and Digital Lifestyle Outfitters.