Zune Has Too Many Issues to Compete
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REVIEW Ed Oswald sits down to play with Microsoft's Zune, and finds along the way the same problems that have plagued the Redmond company all along in the digital music business. But do these issues hold back the Zune or does Apple finally have some real competition?
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By Benjamin J. Romano, The Seattle Times  Sep. 14--Microsoft this morning officially unveiled Zune, its entry in  the portable digital music and entertainment market dominated by Apple  Computer's iPod and iTunes.
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Microsoft issued its second firmware update for its Zune music device, offering stability and performance improvements. In addition, a version of the software was released that is compatible with Windows Vista.
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Microsoft says it is on track to sell its millionth Zune music player, the software company's would-be challenger to Apple's enormously popular iPod.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft has beaten itsÂ goal of shipping over a million Zune digital music players by June, according to a newspaper report. Robbie Bach, the president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, said it has already passed the million mark during an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle published Monday. The Zune has a 10 percent market share in the hard-disk-based music player category, he added. "It's a good start. It's not an overwhelming start. I'm not going to pretend it's some gigantic move," he was quoted by the newspaper as saying. The million unit figure bests Apple. It took the iPod 14 months to reach 600,000 shipments, but it was much earlier in the game than the Zune, when the market for digital music players wasn't so hot. Apple has likely sold around 25 million iPods over the same time it has taken the Zune to reach its goal, according to financial analysts. Microsoft has a lot more work to do with the Zune. Despite a better-than-expected start, it's far behind the iPod both in terms of number of users and popularity. Apple sold 10.55 million iPods during the three months ending March 31 and announced it had sold its 100 millionth on April 9 of this year. The company has also generated enthusiasm for the device through more than 4,000 accessories made for the iPod, including stereo hookups in more than 70 percent of 2007-model U.S. cars and a deal with Nike to use iPods with certain running shoes that collect workout information. The company also has its new iPhone coming out soon, a product Bach indicated Microsoft will not compete against directly with a Zune phone, according to the Chronicle report. Microsoft will continue to work with handset makers to provide software used in different styles of mobile phones, because mobiles are deeply personal devices, he said. "In the phone space, we're very comfortable with the model we've chosen....We work with handset manufacturers and operators to produce that web of offerings while still producing the same consistent software so people can get done what they need to get done regardless of which phone they choose," he reportedly said. The San Francisco Chronicle article can be found on the WebÂ here.
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Microsoft says its Zune music player will cost $249.99 in the US when it goes on sale on 14 November.
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While Microsoft's new Zune won't topple iPod as the leading media player, a survey indicates it could eventually take sales away from Apple.
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newsmaker There's still a lot Microsoft wants to do with Windows, and it has its work cut out with Zune,  CEO says.
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Microsoft Corp. said yesterday it expects to sell 1 million of its new Zune music players through the first half of 2007. That figure pales in comparison to Apple Computer Inc.'s market-leading iPod, but Microsoft contends it would be a good start.
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Microsoft&#39;s WMA, Apple&#39;s ACC, Sony&#39;s Altrac and others -- compete in a variety of digital music devices, support for MP3 is becoming a required ingredient for any successful portable player.
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Troy Wolverton reports for the San Jose Mercury News, âMicrosoftâs Zune had a decent debut last month, but Apple Computerâs iPods continued to dominate the MP3 market, according to new data from market research firm NPD Group released this week.â
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Blog: Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division reveals that 1 million Zune MP3 players have been sold since the product launched last year.
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Microsoft has predicted it will sell 1 million Zune devices in its first six months, a figure that would be more than Zune&#8217;s chief rival iPod sold in its first 14 months but a relatively slow start for the much-hyped MP3 device.
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SEATTLE -- Microsoft Corp.'s effort to compete against Apple's iPod juggernaut will focus on the idea that people want to be able to easily share music with friends and others.
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By Kevin Maney  The online digital music business stinks.    ITunes, Rhapsody, Zune Store, Napster -- you name it. They're all failures.    The hype has people believing otherwise.
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Though digital music has come a long way, today's online music stores still have significant problems. Here's my fix-it wish list.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft's Zune digital media player will ship in the U.S. on Nov. 14 for $249.99, the company said Thursday, in line with the price of video iPods already available from Apple Computer. MicrosoftÂ announced its Zune playerÂ and the accompanying music store, called Zune Marketplace, earlier this month, but it did not provide pricing at the time. Some industry insiders believe Microsoft had to rethink the pricing after it learned that Apple was about to lower the price of its video iPods, which it recently did. Like the video iPods, the first Zune players will come with 30GB of storage. Microsoft also unveiled pricing for Zune Marketplace. Unlike Apple's iTunes, which lets users buy individual songs or entire albums but does not offer a subscription service, Microsoft will offer a monthly subscription called Zune Pass. For $14.99 a month, users will have access to millions of songs, Microsoft said. However, they won't actually own those songs and will only be able to access them while they have a subscription. Users will also be able to purchase songs individually using Microsoft's points system, which works a bit like a prepaid phone card. One track will cost 79 points -- or about $0.99, which is what iTunes charges per song. At retail, consumers can purchase 1,200 points for $15, 2,000 points for $25, 4,000 points for $50, or pay $44.97 for a three-month Zune Pass. Zune accessories will range in price from $19.99 to $99.99. They include the Zune Car Pack, which offers a built-in FM tuner with AutoSeek and the Zune Car Charger, and The Zune Home A/V Pack, which includes five products that integrate Zune with a television and music speakers. More information isÂ available here.Â  Microsoft is differentiating its Zune player from the iPod in several ways. In addition to allowing users to play music, videos and photos on a screen, the Zune player will include wireless technology and a built-in FM radio tuner. So far, iPods lack both of those. Zune devices also will come preloaded with media content, which iPods don't have. Songs the players will include out of the box are: âWicked Gilâ by Band of Horses, "The Mating Game" by Bitter Sweet, "Alala" by CSS, "At the End of the Sky" by Darkel, "Signs of Life" by Every Move a Picture, "Stay" by Small Sins, "Tell Me Tell Me" by The Adored, "Open Book" by The Rakes, and "A Pillar of Salt" by The Thermals. The music videos included with the Zune player are from several artists on Seattle's Sub Pop Records label, such as Chad VanGaalen, Kinski and the Fruit Bats. The players also will include film shorts on skateboarding, mountain biking and snowboarding. Microsoft didn't provide any availability information for outside of the U.S.