Today is the twenty-second day of Diduary. You can see links to all of the published articles in the series here.

I know I’ve talked about the Zune before (and why it’s superior to the iPod), but I don’t think many people know about what the Zune (and its platform) is really capable of.

Zune Pass

If you haven’t already heard about Zune Pass, you’re really missing out. For a $15/month subscription, you can download all of the music you want. On top of that, you also get 10 permanent downloads per month.

Smart DJ

If you’ve ever used services like Pandora or Last.fm, you probably realized how great having music recommendations played for you really is. Smart DJ takes this a step further. You pick a song, album, or artist from your libray, and Smart DJ will create a playlist of similar music from your collection. (If you have a Zune Pass, it will also recommend and play music that’s NOT in your library.)

Zune software

Unless you’re a fan of Excel, the Zune software offers the most visually appealing media library experience available. Even if you’re toting an iPod, try the Zune software to manage your music and video library. Just use iTunes to sync it. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. (click to enlarge)

Apps

On Diduary 13th, I wrote about writing apps for the Zune HD. There’s a few apps available in the Zune marketplace. While it’s not the most robust marketplace for apps, there are a few cool ones, especially Audio Surf. It creates a game that challenges you on a virtual rollercoaster, custom created to match the song you picked. Each twist and turn matches the drum beats and melodies of a song you select from your music library. There’s also the expected apps: weather, Twitter, Facebook, calculator, and a few other cool games as well.

These are just a few of my favorite reasons to be a Zune user. It’s amazing hardware paired with some remarkable software. I’m looking forward to the future of Windows Phone 7 Series to find out more about the direction these services will continue to head.