Microsoft’s Zune Pass subscription just got better. For $15 per month, you have access to all the songs in the Zune Marketplace but now you also get to keep 10 songs as well. That means for the price of a CD, you get to "rent" all the songs you want per month PLUS keep 10 of your favorite songs. Sounds like a bargain to me.

Why pay 99 cents per song in iTunes when you can have access to a plethora of songs for $15 bucks a month? I really think they have iTunes beat.

I personally hate iTunes, but have already vested so much money in buying seasons of Lost which I can’t watch on the go anymore because I got rid of the iPhone for the Blackberry Bold. I may be switching to Zune Marketplace today.

In an apparent show of America’s deepening recession, Canadian retailer Future Shop is selling the 8GB Zune MP3 player for just $82 CAD. That amounts to $99 in the deflated American currency. That’s over fifty dollars less than anywhere in America. It is a limited time offer, however. It shoots up to $149 CAD in just six days, so you had better hop to it if you want to grab a deal.

Rumors have been swirling around the Internet that Sony is going to be joining EMI to bring DRM-free music to Apple’s iTunes Plus service. The service is a higher-MP3-quality DRM-free option that exists within the Apple iTunes store. Thus far EMI is the only major label involved with the service, so the addition of Sony would be a major incentive for other labels to jump onboard. Still, this is currently just a rumor so stay tuned.

Microsoft has announced more Zunes for their Zune Originals series. They are adding a whopping 46 new sketches to the collection. The designs are available on the Zune Originals site. In addition, Microsoft will be releasing Zunes in a nice new shade of blue. Look for an official announcement soon.

The Samsung Cleo has long been rumored for a release, but nobody could have predicted it’d be a Canadian exclusive. This fashion-conscious square flip phone includes a QWERTY keyboard, color LCD screen, 1.3-megapixel camera, MP3 playback, and expandable memory up to 8GB. More importantly, the attractive 2.5-inch by 3-inch phone comes in a variety of colors, including champagne. The phone has officially been launched in Canada, but there is still no word on pricing.