The new Zunes from Microsoft are competing with Apple’s last generation of iPods, not the latest from Apple, according to Walter S. Mossberg and Katherine Boehret of the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

"Last year, when Microsoft Corp. introduced its Zune music player to take on Apple�s iPod juggernaut, the software giant struck out," the duo wrote. "But Microsoft is nothing if not persistent, and this week, the company is back with a second, improved round of Zunes."

Mr. Mossberg and Ms. Boehret combined to conduct a thorough review of the new Zunes. They include flash based and disk based systems that are intended to compete with their iPod counterparts. They agree that the new Zunes are better than the first generation and include three major improvements: a new controller, simpler software, and expanded use of Wi-Fi for wireless sync.

"Unfortunately for Microsoft, Apple hasn�t been standing still, either," they observed. After looking at the Zune’s improved Wi-Fi, which can’t match Safari on the iPod touch, navaigation, case color, syncing, battery life, music selection, they concluded that the new Zunes, while better, are still very from challenging the iPods.

Perhaps the most damaging observation was not about the players themselves but the content offerings. The Zune Marketplace still doesn’t sell TV shows, movies, or audio books.

"Microsoft has greatly improved the Zune hardware and software this time," the authors concluded. "But it seems to be competing with Apple�s last efforts, not its newest ones."