Microsoft's iPod Killer?

*To avoid any confustion, this is not an image of the Microsoft Zune. Nor is it the Microsoft Pyxis. I just Photoshopped a screenshot of Windows Media Player 10 from Vista onto a 5G iPod.

Word of the Microsoft "iPod killer" has been spreading for some time now. We've known that the Big M would eventually launch an assault on the personal music/video player market from the moment that Apple unveiled the iPod.

Now, finally, some dates for release of the blandly-named Project Argo music players are on the calendar. According to BetaNews, the folks up in Redmond are looking at an initial unveiling around the end of August, with plans to begin shipping units as early as October.

Microsoft's initial device offering will be the (code-named) Zune.

Zune is speculated to be a direct competitor to the 5G iPod in terms of storage capacity, functionality and size. But there is another player in development that will likely square up against the iPod Nano: the Pyxis.

Sporting yet another code-name, Pyxis should be unveiled close on the heels of Zune.

According to reports, both players will be serviced by the Alexandria (code-name #3) music library software. While no one knows how comparable Alexandria's functionality will be to iTunes, the word is that it will work in a fashion similar to MTV's URGE.

Published reports also recommend that consumers not buy the Microsoft Zune or Pyxis.