It took them two years, but Microsoft finally figured out that the ability to support for their own DRM is an area where they might have a definitive advantage over the iPod.
One new media type that Zune is adding this time around is support for audiobooks. Although audiobooks won’t be sold on the Zune marketplace, Zune will be an available option through Audible.com, a leading purveyor of audio books, as well as through OverDrive-powered Web sites, an infrastructure provider for major booksellers and library systems. “Now you’ll be able to integrate your Zune with libraries,” Seitz says. “The Seattle and King County library systems, for example, offer loaner audiobooks. Now Zune customers can put them on their Zune for free.” – Microsoft
It is just unfortunate that it took them two years to figure it out.