Zune 2.5 adds TV shows, Zune Card sharing

Microsoft has released their latest Zune software upgrade, and while it finally offers gapless playback and features the return of the playlists, though not quite as robust as they once were, the most notable difference on the Zune itself is the ability to view and play your friends' playlists directly from your Zune rather than having to run over to your browser, so long as you both are Zune Pass subscribers. This feature takes about 100meg per friend's card.

Don't worry if you're not a Zune Pass subscriber though, you can still see the playlist, you'll just have to flag the track you dig for purchase later when you get to a computer. And when you do get to your browser, you'll find that the video store is now full of 4,800 music videos and downloadable TV shows for $2 a pop. You'll have to stick to YouTube and other social video networks to share original content, for now, but Microsoft has left that particular door open. In fact, the social aspect of the device is increasing dramatically.

Not only do you get the aforementioned playlist access, you can see dynamic lists that show what your friends are jamming to right now. And you can turn around and review the album it came from for everyone to see. They've integrated "now playing" data into Windows Live Messenger and even offers drag-and-drop metadata editing. They've also borrowed from X-BOX by offering achievement points for listening more than anyone else to a specific artist or helping others in the Zune forums.

Clearly, Microsoft is trying to build a whole Zune community, and 2.5 is a step in the right direction. I'm not sure if they can encroach on iTunes domination in this market just yet, but with the prevalence of the PC and continued strength of the X-BOX, more smart moves in this direction could only strengthen their position. To really succeed though, Microsoft needs to fully integrate all of these devices. For example, why not let people port over video purchased on the 360 to the Zune for mobile viewing? Microsoft is supposed to be about ease and convenience, so make file sharing and compatibility standard between Microsoft devices. Then everyone wins.