Starting today, September 15th, 2009, Microsoft has made available for download the latest iteration of its Zune Client software, namely version 4.0. Zune 4.0 went live on the Microsoft Download Center just moments ago and is currently up for grabs for all users. You will be able to find the download link for the Zune 4.0 Client software at the bottom of this article. Zune 4.0 comes to complement the general availability of the fourth generation of Zune digital media player devices. But, at the same time, Microsoft noted, Zune 4.0 is not just about Zune.

“The premise is that you should be able to access your movies, music, and TV shows wherever you are, on any device, and that there is value for customers beyond pure file playback,” Dave Alles, general manager of Zune Service software, noted. “We’re putting all the pieces together so consumers can get their entertainment however they want and have the world’s best way to discover and share more.”

Zune 4.0 is nothing short of a step in the right direction for Microsoft, when it comes down to following the strategy outlined by Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie. In Ozzie’s vision, entertainment, but not just entertainment, also Web-based information, Internet services and applications need to be available to end users through their PC, their mobile devices and their TV. Zune, and Zune 4.0 in particular, is illustrative of the Redmond-based company’s efforts to connect video and music entertainment across all three screens enumerated above.

Kevin Shields, general manager of Zune Devices, stressed the fact that the development of the Zune 4.0 Client software was intimately connected with the building process of Zune HD. “With the work we did with both the hardware and the software, Zune offers the best experiences for music and video lovers anywhere and on their terms,” Shields explained.

With Zune 4.0, Microsoft has expanded the availability of music and video content from the Zune digital media player devices to PC. The promise from the Redmond-based company is that customers will be able to organize music and download new songs from the Zune Marketplace. A similar experience is available via Zune Pass and Zune.net, but in the absence of the client software. Beyond the PC, the Zune service will be made available to over 20 million Xbox 360 LIVE users this fall, the software giant indicated. And, of course, with the Zune Dock, Zune HD can easily be connected to a TV.

“If you think of the customer at the center, as opposed to a specific device, you start to realize all these things are important, and you want some of your experiences to flow across your devices,” Alles added. “In the entertainment space, Zune video will be the tip of the spear for Microsoft’s ‘three screens and a cloud’ strategy.” He says he expects the company to continue expanding Zune into other Microsoft platforms.

Zune 4.0 is available for download here.