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Look out, Steve Jobs. Two (other) large corporations are looking to eat your lunch. Cue famous Steve Jobs scowl. Thank you, sir.

Is my desire for a review sample showing all too clearly or are the second-generation Microsoft Zune players looking pretty spiffy? As Gizmodo's Jason Chen points out, new forms of functionality will extend to the first-generation product:

Not only is the old 30GB getting the new Wi-Fi syncing, it's getting the updated sharing features, the new codecs, the podcasts, and the new Windows Media Center TV on the go. It's essentially the new Zune, except thicker and with less storage space...which makes us ask why Microsoft would be so generous as to kill half the reasons why you'd ever upgrade to a new Zune. But as buyers, we'll just say thanks.

See Chairman Bill introduce the new Zune. And the rest of the Gizmodo Zune roundup.

Meanwhile, is it possible Verizon got just a little bit of inspiration for its new LG-made Voyager touchscreen phone from the iPhone? You'd expect this level of slavish imitation from a no-name knockoff. Still, given the iPhone's AT&T-centricity, this homage is not a bad move.

Both of these new products come amid a spate of bad publicity for Apple. The outrage over hacked iPhones is predictable. More serious, perhaps, is the Amazon insurrection surrounding the iPod classic and nano. Amazon customer reviewers give the 80GB classic just three stars--shockingly low by Apple fanboy standards. Moreover, look at the distribution of reviews: ***** (11), **** (8), *** (7), ** (6), and * (11) as of October 4--with one- and five-star reviews evenly matched. Ouch.