Confirmed at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Microsoft announced its Zune line of portable media players will be available this spring to nomadic Canadians. This is the first time the Zune players will be launched outside of the U.S., where they debuted in the November of 2006.

In a nutshell, these attractive Zune players (see various models below) are pocket-sized gadgets that play digital music and displays photos and videos on its high-resolution colour display. Unlike the iPod, they also sport an integrated FM radio with station presets; this is especially handy as many fitness clubs let its members turn to specific spot on the FM dial to hear a nearby TV's audio.

We've been playing around with the 80GB Zune, which features a bright 3.2-inch LCD screen. Held up against an iPod Classic, this Zune is a tad taller but slightly thinner, and blows away the iPod's 2.5-inch screen in size (in quality, however, it's comparable, as both offer 320 x 240 pixel resolution).

The noise-cancelling earbuds sound great and are quite comfortable. Navigating through songs is easy with the large four-way button at the bottom of the Zune (just below the screen). The other small face buttons are a "back" button and a "play/pause" button. On the screen, the main sections available from the home screen are: music, videos, pictures, radio, podcasts, social and settings.

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