14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is preparing to release Windows Phone 7 in just a few hours, but there are additional goodies from the company tied to the mobile platform already available. Case in point: version 4.7 of the Zune PC Client Software Bundle. Zune Software 4.7 went live on the Microsoft Download Center at the end of the past week, but the fact that the release dropped almost concomitantly with Windows Phone 7 is no mere coincidence.
By updating Zune Software to version 4.7, the Redmond company is offering Windows Phone 7 customers in markets where the new platform will be available a desktop client which will allow them to connect to Zune marketplace as well as enjoy Zune Marketplace content.
“The Zune PC Software allows users to enjoy Zune Marketplace content on their PC as well as load media content to Zune capable devices,” the software giant revealed.
For the time being, the “Availability of Zune by location” knowledge base article remains updated having last been modified on April 21, 2010.
The document continues to reveal that Zune Software, Zune Marketplace, Zune Social, Zune Accessories are only available in the United States and Canada just as it is the case for the Zune media player devices.
Some aspects are bound to change. Windows Phone 7 is intimately connected with the services built around the Zune devices, and it’s expected of Microsoft to internationalize not just the Zune Software but also the Zune marketplace to support smartphone users running the latest iteration of its Windows-based mobile platform.
Of course, the Redmond company will announce additional details at the launch event for Windows Phone 7 that is scheduled to kick off in a few hours.
Users that are already played around with Zune Software 4.7 reveal that features such as Smart DJ and Zune Pass are available in the markets where Windows Phone 7 is scheduled for release.
Services such as Zune Social and Zune.net have also been updated and tailored to the new Windows Phone 7 customers.
It appears that the Zune Marketplace has also started offering a limited number of Windows Phone 7 applications, somewhere under 100, nowhere near to the 2,000 promised by Microsoft to be live on launch day.
Zune Software 4.7 is available for download here.