Zune Music Player Nears 1 Million Sales
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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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Microsoft Corp.  said on Friday  it plans to release a new music and entertainment player and  accompanying software under the "Zune" brand this year, in a  belated attempt to challenge the dominance of Apple Computer  Inc.'s  iPod player.
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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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Zune, eMusic, and subscriptions Analysis One of the most interesting aspects of Microsoft's would-be iPod-killer Zune isn't technical at all. It has nothing to do with colour screens, codecs or disk capacity.â¦
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Microsoft Corp.  may have  a chance to take market share from the iPod as a Reuters survey  showed 35 percent of those interested in its Zune device would  be replacing an existing digital music player.
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Microst says its Zune music player will cost $249.99 in the US when it goes on sale on 14 November.
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CHICAGO _ Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that its Zune digital music player will allow users to share music with each other.
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Blog: During Microsoft's July 19, 2007, earnings report, it was announced that sales of Zunes met their predicted goal of one million.
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By Troy WolvertonMicrosoft's Zune had a decent debut last month, but Apple Computer's iPods continued to dominate the MP3 market, according to new data from market research firm NPD Group released this week.
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New features, grey area Microsoft's private deal with Universal Music to pay the record label a voluntary royalty of $1 for every Zune player it sells has raised eyebrows across both the technology and music industries. But it might not be the last payment Redmond owes from Zune, we've discovered.â¦
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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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As first confirmed by BetaNews earlier this month, Microsoft said Thursday that it would match the price of Apple's 30GB iPod, and lower the price of its Zune portable music device to $249.99 USD. Zune goes on sale November 14.
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Microsoft has decided to drop the price of the Zune in an effort to spur sales, while indicating it hadn't completely ruled out a Zune phone. Effective Wednesday, the price of Microsoft's competitor to the iPod is now $199 USD.
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As Microsoft prepares to demonstrate its Zune player for the first time, Creative is turning up the volume with a new widescreen Zen Vision portable device. The company is also partnering not only with Amazon, but also TiVo.
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Microsoft has cut the price of its Zune music player by $50 even as Apple launches new, improved iPods that now offer Wi-Fi connectivity and touch screens.
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One of the first things Microsoft did when launching the Zune was get rid of the two-year-old MSN Music download service. That doesn't bode well for Yahoo Music.
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Software giant Microsoft unveiled a &quot;Zune&quot; MP3 player and online store to challenge Apple Computer's internationally popular iPod-iTunes personal entertainment duo.