Apple's highly profitable Ipod and Itunes player/service combination has finally attracted the attention of tech behemoth Microsoft.

Over the last week details have been emerging of Zune, Microsoft's mp3 (or more likely wma!) player which will no doubt integrate tightly with the next version of Windows Media player.

While Apple surely has contingency plans in place, what of the smaller manufacturers like Creative and Sandisk?

Despite releasing some pretty cool portable music players recently, their lack of a direct tie-in with a download service (something we like by the way) does mean that fickle consumers can move between brands when they upgrade to newer models.

Without a consolidated base like Apple has they're the likely losers in an Apple vs. Microsoft war. Ultimately, if these big two use their financial might to sell at very low margins, we'll see lower prices in the short term but possibly less in the line of competition and innovation in the future.

You only have to look at Microsoft's entry to the console market to see how big of a splash they can make.