Microsoft cuts Zune price as Apple ups ante for iPods
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(InfoWorld) - On the day Apple revealed its first Wi-Fi-enabled, touchscreen iPod, Microsoft's rival to Apple's wildly popular multimedia player got a little less expensive. The Zune device from Microsoft now costs $199, $50 less than its original price tag. Microsoft announced the price cut on its Zune Insider blog on Tuesday, a day before Apple was rumored to beÂ introducing new iPod modelsÂ at an event in San Francisco, which the company did indeed do. Naturally, Microsoft did not mention Zune's archrival in its blog post, saying that the price cut had been in the works for some time. "Itâs part of the normal product lifecycle, something weâve had on the books for months," according to the blog post. "We just got some research back and customer satisfaction with the 30GB device is really high (around 94 percent), and we expect even more consumers will now want to discover the Zune experience at the new lower price." With the new iPods introduced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs in San Francisco on Wednesday, that prediction doesn't seem too likely. The new iPod Touch that Jobs unveiled is the first iPod with Wi-Fi capability, one of the differentiators between the current iPod lines and the Zune device, which was launched with Wi-Fi last November. iPod Touch also is similar in look and feel to theÂ recently launched Apple iPhone, and features touchscreen controls that are making Apple's phone/multimedia device combination a hit with customers. In other bad news for Zune, Apple on Wednesday also has cut the price on its 80GB iPod from $349 to $249, which makes it only a fraction less expensive than the 30GB Zune. It also has introduced a 160GB iPod for $349. According to Jobs, Apple has sold 110 million iPods to date. There are rumors that, to compete more aggressively with Apple, Microsoft will introduce new Zune devices by the holidays with new features and form factors, but so far the company has declined to divulge specific details. There have also been hints from executives that an iPhone rival is in the works. Microsoft has said from the beginning that Zune is a long-term investment, and expects it will take some time before the device will be a worthy competitor to iPod, which has a five-year head start and Apple's brand power behind it.
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Jingle bells Microsoft has confirmed it will detail its second-generation Zune media players in time for the Christmas sales season. Speculation as to what the software giant will announce currently centres on a higher capacity hard drive model and a cheaper, Flash-based Zune.â¦
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InfoWorld - On the day Apple revealed its first Wi-Fi-enabled, touchscreen iPod, Microsoft&#39;s rival to Apple&#39;s wildly popular multimedia player got a little less expensive.
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The Zune, Microsoft's much-hyped answer to Apple's trend-setting iPod, had a good first four days of sales, says a leading research firm. But consumer electronics analysts don't think Apple has anything to worry about. The NPD Group, which tracks sales at most top retailers, says the Zune digital music device had a 9% market share in its first sales days Nov. 14-18, compared with 63% for Apple. The research firm hasn't reported sales for the all-important Thanksgiving holiday selling weekend.
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Zune is singing a new tune these days. A Microsoft executive has announced that over one million units of its music player have shipped. As the Zune has been out about nine months, that puts the Redmond, Washington-based company ahead of its previously announced plan to sell one million in a year.
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Microsoft's iPod rival Zune will be on store shelves in time for the holiday shopping season.
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SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft Corp. cut the suggested retail price of its Zune music and video player by 20 percent yesterday, the same day Apple Inc. released new versions of its iPod media player.
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Microsoft's music player will hit stores in time for the holidays with an iPod-like price tag. In Gear Factor.
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A slow sales start for Microsoft's new Zune music player means it is unlikely to be a threat to the popular iPod this holiday season, according to analysts.
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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 MP3 player exceeds expectations Microsoft expects sales of the Zune to hit the one million milestone by the end of June, almost eight months after the product made its debut. Apple on the other hand has sold 100 million of the music players since its launch in October 2001.â¦
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Apple's 1GB iPod Shuffle is getting a price cut, plus a 2GB sibling that ships this month.
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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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A new technique allows Zune owners to share files of any type wirelessly with other users. But Microsoft could soon close this loophole with a mandatory firmware upgrade. In Listening Post.
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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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Even with Microsoft Zune looking to knock the iPod from its lofty perch, Apple&#8217;s portable music player is expected to remain at the top of the charts for MP3 players during the holiday shopping season. In fact, market-research firm NPD Group says the iPod will joins the ranks of plasma and LCD televisions, notebook computers, and digital cameras as the hot-selling items this December.
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Zune, Zune, Zune As reporters and analysts run out of things to say about the Apple iPhone, they naturally need to keep the debate rolling, and have this week turned to the possibility of Microsoftâs involvement in MP3 phones, by inventing the Zune phone.â¦