Microsoft Corp.'s effort to compete against Apple's iPod juggernaut will focus on the idea that people want to be able to easily share music with friends and others.

Microsoft said Thursday that its portable Zune media player, scheduled to be available around the holiday season, will include wireless technology to let people share some of their favorite songs, playlists or pictures with other Zune users who are close by.

• Those users can listen to the songs three times over three days before deciding whether to purchase it themselves. "The idea is to legitimize peer-to-peer sharing in a healthy way that works for everybody," said J Allard, a Microsoft vice president in charge of the Zune product line.
• The device, to be made by Toshiba Corp., will have 30 gigabytes of memory (enough to hold about 7,500 songs), a 3-inch screen and a built-in FM tuner.
• Microsoft said the song-sharing capability will be available for most songs available through its forthcoming Zune Marketplace service, although some music publishers won't allow it.
• Zune Marketplace music service, designed to compete with Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes store, will let users buy songs individually or listen to unlimited tracks for a flat subscription fee.

The company did not disclose pricing or a specific launch date for the first Zune player.