CNET's Rafe Needleman takes a look today at ZING's plans for a Wi-Fi-enabled MP3 player.

"I love my iPod, but I do not love that it's basically a PC accessory," Needleman writes. "No PC (or Mac) nearby means no content on the iPod, and no updates. There's got to be a better way."

At the D4 Conference today, Needleman says, ZING announced a service that enables companies to build their own complete "music infrastructures" that work without a computer.

"The ZING prototype shown at D4 had both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios built in," Needleman writes. "The radios are used to download music and to upload data about what you are listening to. If you have one of these players, you can do cool things, like see what your friends are listening to, then play samples of those tracks, or buy songs and albums directly from the player."

One key aspect of the wireless experience, Needleman says, is that it allows for impulse purchases. "Say you have just one track by Johnny Cash, and when you're playing it you realize you want more," he writes. "On your player, you can flag the album it came from, and next time you're in Wi-Fi range, the player will download it for you."

Needleman notes that cell phones are also getting MP3-player functionality, which may make these kinds of players obsolete. "It's a bit early to say definitively which model will win out, but it's worth noting that for most people, a cell phone is a necessity, while a music player is a luxury," he writes. "I think that indicates which way the market is going to tilt."

ZING's press release is here.