The wait is over. The Microsoft Zune will be available in Canada on June 13th. We first reported on this a few months ago and Stasia got The Goods on it soon thereafter. Now you can get your very own ‘iPod killer’ and start arguments with all the Cult of Mac members on the SkyTrain.

Today: Download free Zune software and join the Zune online community site at www.zune.ca

June 13, 2008: Zune players available in stores across Canada

Zune 80GB: SRP $249.99 CDN (available in black or red)
Zune 8GB: SRP $189.99 CDN (available in black, red or pink)
Zune 4GB: SRP $139.99 CDN (available in black, red or pink)

Details after the jump.

All Zune players support video, audio and pictures, have FM tuners, and the ability to sync and share songs, playlists and pictures wirelessly. The Zune player family launching in Canada includes:

• Zune 80GB, with a bright 3.2-inch screen and premium in-ear noise-isolating headphones.
• Zune 4GB & Zune 8GB, with a slim ultra-portable design.
• Zune Originals: The option to purchase and customize the player with personal text options and laser-engraved designs from international artists.

Distinctive Features

• Wireless Sync: Set the Zune to automatically sync to your PC collection via a home wireless network whenever it’s placed in its dock or plugged in to charge. You can also manually start a wireless sync from your device as soon as you are within range of your wireless network.
• FM Tuner: Listen to your favourite FM radio stations, or tune into television audio at the gym. Zune will even display the name of the song and the artist, using Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS) information from stations that broadcast it.
• Wireless Sharing: Share select music, pictures and audio podcasts with other Zune devices nearby. You can listen to any received song up to three times with no time restrictions and even pass it along to other friends with a Zune.

Zune Software

You can download Zune software to organize and enjoy music on a PC, create playlists, manage podcasts and burn CDs. Once the players are available, use Zune software to easily drag and drop music, videos and photos to sync content to a player. Zune software features include:

• Auto Playlists: Create an auto playlist that updates itself automatically based on your criteria.
• Editing Album and Track Information: Edit track or album information (metadata) quickly with multi-select and drag-and-drop features. This feature makes it easy to edit multiple tracks or survey albums and artist information.
• Organizing Collections: Sort by artist, album or genre. While browsing by genre, sort further by artist, album or release year.
• Gapless Playback: Listen to an album without the brief gap between tracks, both on Zune players and in the Zune software.
• Sync Groups: Create custom groups for music, pictures and videos and sync to multiple Zune players.

Zune Online Music Community

Built around the inherently social nature of music and aimed at helping people discover new music, the Zune community exposes members to what their friends are listening to. In a recent study commissioned by Zune, 55% of Canadian consumers surveyed expressed frustration when trying to find new music, saying they didn’t have enough time, didn’t know where to look or that they felt they ended up wasting money on music they didn’t like. At the same time, 87% said they would trust a friend or family member’s musical recommendation over a music critic’s. (Source: Kelton Research, April 2008)

The Zune community is built around free, customizable Zune Cards which automatically reflect the music people are listening to on their Zune player or on their PC. Features include:

• Embeddable Zune Cards: Easily paste your Zune Card to Facebook, blogs or other websites where it will automatically update to show others what you’re listening to.
• Artist and Album Reviews: Write and post your own reviews for artists and albums.
• Artist Pages: Check out biographies and find new music by seeing what other artist fans are listening to.
• Windows Live Connections: Windows Live Messenger buddies will now be able to see what you’re listening to; clicking on the song will take people to that artist’s page in the Zune online music community.