Microsoft officially announced the release of updated Zune media players, which is scheduled for September 16. The company’s new gadgets are fitted with higher storage capacities, a FM radio that enables users to buy music directly and a tool allowing them to stream or download up to one million songs via wireless networks.

The Microsoft executive responsible for Zune development Joe Belfiore offered some insight into what the future has in store for consumers all over the world, in an interview to CNET News.

Belfiore stated that the company’s new line of media players was aimed at making users’ lives better in terms of entertainment. Moreover, a five-year goal seems to be offering people access to the music, videos and any other content they are hooked on wherever they may be.

Asked to comment on Apple’s launch of a range of new iPods, a product which is currently the number-one bestselling music player in ten European countries, Belfiore admitted that the gadgets represent tough competition, mostly by virtue of their automatic playlist generator called Genius. The feature helps users locate the songs they like and is currently available for the iPhone, the iPod Touch and the iPod Nano. Nevertheless, the exec believes that Zune can definitely live up to the challenge, since Microsoft’s media players can do more than recommend tunes. They can also collect the songs a Zune subscriber’s friends listen to and offer him that content.

The only thing the user has to do is…enjoy.