Microsoft’s portable media player Zune will be released tomorrow. November 14th 2006 to be exact.

The Zune is Microsoft’s attempt to compete with Apple in the portable player market. It’s an anti-iPod.

The player supports various media formats and comes with at least 30GB of storage space.

• Windows Media® Audio Standard (.wma): Up to 320 Kbps, CBR and VBR, up to 48-kHz sample rate
• MP3 (.mp3): Up to 320 Kbps, CBR and VBR, up to 48-kHz sample rate
• AAC (.mp4, .m4a, .m4b, .mov): Up to 320 Kbps, Low Complexity (LC), up to 48-kHz sample rate
• JPEG (.jpg): All resolutions (desktop software will automatically convert to 640×480 at sync time)
• Windows Media Video (.wmv): Main Profile, CBR or VBR, up to 1.5 Mbps peak video bitrate, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per sec. - With Windows Media Audio up to 192 Kbps, 44.1 kHz, stereo audio; Simple Profile, CBR, up to 736 Kbps video bitrate, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per sec.

The hardware is built form a solid plastic, and initially will come in three colors—black, brown and white. The case is compact, measuring 11.2 × 6.1 × 1.4 cm, with a 3-inch QVGA LCD screen.