At first, Microsoft failed to include podcasting support in the new Windows Media Player 11. It is not there by mistake. Zune, the new portable media player from the company won’t have podcasting support either.

There is no reason that Microsoft don’t see it coming. It is everywhere, but why the cluzuneless? Obviously someone at Microsoft get it. Windows Live Writer is an example.

Michael Gartenberg of JupiterResearch opined that Microsoft won’t be going after the mainstream market just yet. Rather it is likely that Zune will focus on the music enthusiast marketplace.

In a comment, Michael Gannoti said:

I work at Microsoft, have a number of friends in the eHome group and no one I have talked to is sure about any of the particulars.

Paul Colligan has launched Zune Luv, a blog dedicated to talking Podcasting into Zune. It is very interesting to see how it ends…

P.S. If you are eager, Gizmodo has grainy Zune pics. They are black and white because Microsoft assigned a unique color scheme to every Zune prototype (150 of them). Any leaks could be traced to the employee who leaked it. Obviously they are trying to save someone’s job. Look, the screen is wider than iPod Video.

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