Microsoft unveils "Zune" challenge to iPod
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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.
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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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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: A Zune fan site is reporting on a Microsoft patent filing that describes a system for paying Zune users commissions for sharing a song that the recipient ends up buying.
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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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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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REDMOND, Washington  - Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O   unveiled on Thursday its new "Zune" portable media player,   hoping its ability to share music wirelessly can win over   consumers despite its late entry five years after Apple's   market-dominating iPod.
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&quot;Compared to iTunes, Microsoft&#39;s music store currently offers only half the songs and is missing many features, but its biggest problem may be that its downloaded songs do not play on iPod, iPod
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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's Zune will have to work very hard to unseat the dominance of Apple's iPod and iTunes say industry experts.
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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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Microsoft could dominate the media player market if it can turn the Zune into a media-optimized, extensible mini-PC that really works.
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Microsoft makes its long-anticipated entry into the online music market today, marking the first serious challenge to Apple Computer's popular iTunes service.
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Microsoft Corp.  said on  Thursday it will launch a 30-gigabyte "Zune" portable media  player, the software maker's answer to Apple Computer Inc.'s   market-leading iPod, in the United States this holiday  shopping season.
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Microsoft appears to be looking for new ways to tie Windows Mobile phones and Zune media players together, although a Zune phone remains unlikely.Over the weekend, Microsoft developer &quot;Mel&quot; asked an open question on the Windows Mobile blog: &quot;What are some ways the Zune player and a Windows Mobile device can work better together?&quot;Since then,&#160;more than&#160;50 commenters have suggested ways that Microsoft might converge the two devices. The most common idea is to essentially replace the Windows Media Player on Windows Mobile devices with Zune software.&quot;I proposed that WMP should be fazed out in favor of a combined WMP/Zune player which will synch with both Windows Media AND Zune, instead of having to have two separate apps with two different libraries for each device,&quot; wrote one commenter using the name Colin Walker.Peter Henning, another commenter, also suggested making just one media player that works on both devices. &quot;Currently you are just making our lives much more difficult with this parallel development and incompatibilities,&quot; he wrote.A single media player would solve some of the problems that other users complained about in syncing music between a Windows Mobile phone and a Zune. Another commenter going by the name Charlie Quidnunc noted that he has to create new playlists once he transfers music from Zune to his phone because Windows Media Player can&#39;t read Zune playlists.Another complained that he can&#39;t transfer music that he downloaded under his Zune subscription plan to his Windows Mobile device because of DRM restrictions.Offering Zune software on Windows Mobile phones could be one simple way for Microsoft to converge the two, said Michael Gartenberg, a research director with Jupiter Research. &quot;There are any number of ways that Microsoft could go about Zune integration. We might see a Zune application for Windows Mobile devices.&quot;But what we most likely won&#39;t see is a Zune phone, despite many Zune phone rumors. &quot;On one hand, the Zune is a closed proprietary system not built around a partner ecosystem,&quot; Gartenberg noted. &quot;On the other hand, the phone business is built on a partner ecosystem.&quot; Microsoft develops the Windows Mobile software, but hardware makers build the phones. By contrast, Microsoft develops the hardware and software for the Zune.If Microsoft started making a Zune phone, it would compete with its phone hardware partners. &quot;It&#39;s the same reason we don&#39;t see a Microsoft-branded PC,&quot; he said.On the Windows Mobile blog, &quot;Mel&quot; emphasized that wasn&#39;t looking for more suggestions of a Zune phone. &quot;I&#39;m not referring to an imaginary &#39;Zune phone,&#39; and I&#39;m certainly not hinting or speculating about a converged device,&quot; he wrote.Building a better music playing experience into Windows Mobile will be important for Microsoft, which is increasingly trying to make Windows Mobile phones appeal to consumers and not just business users. &quot;For the most part, Windows Mobile has ignored consumers,&quot; Gartenberg said.Microsoft recently announced plans to buy Danger, the developer of mobile phone software that runs the youth-oriented Sidekick device from T-Mobile. Microsoft has also made some executive changes in the Windows Mobile group designed to better focus on consumers.
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Microsoft's newly released music player is the latest in a years-long desire to counter Apple's dominance in the sector.
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Microsoft today unveiled details of its highly anticipated Zune media player in the latest bid to rival Apple's iTunes/iPod combination.