It's iPod vs. Zune, and iPod wins, analysts say
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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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Market research firm IDC is forecasting Apple Computers dominance in the portable jukebox market of MP3 players with the iPod and iPod mini will see increased
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Apple may dominate the MP3 market, but other players have their fans and laudable features.
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Apple Computer is the undisputed champion of the hard-drive music market, but competitors are gearing up for a shot at the title. The various versions of the iPod account for 92.
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Have you taken note lately of all the ways to carry music in your pocket? The iPod lets you schlep boatloads of songs from your own collection. Zunes, Sansas and other gadgets let you listen to an unlimited number of "rented" tracks, provided you remain a paying customer. Portable satellite radios from Sirius and XM serve up numerous channels that cater to very specific musical tastes.
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Microsoft Corp. will likely lose money on its new music player, Zune, against Apple Computer Inc.'s "industry-leading iPod profitability," an American Technology Research analyst said Friday.
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Sales of the Microsoft Zune appear to be trailing off rather quickly after a fast start, leading some analysts to believe consumer interest is waning. The best selling model, black, ranks well below its competitors in sales.
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After two weeks of hands-on testing, an iPod freak says Microsoft's music player just might give the Apple gadget a run for its money. Commentary by Leander Kahney.
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Based on one Wall Street analyst&#39;s findings, the popularity of Apple&#39;s iPod is exceeding that of Sony&#39;s Walkman during the 80&#39;s and 90&#39;s.
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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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MacCentral - With the iPod leading the way for Apple Computer Inc.'s charge into the consumer market, NPD Group analyst Ross Rubin said the iPod is reaching iconic status. While the iPod Shuffle aims to openly compete with many other players in the MP3 market, the upcoming release of iLife '05 may quietly threaten products of third-party developers.
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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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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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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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Taking us through the highlights of each of the new iPods, David Pogue (New York Times) anoints them âthe best players you can buy.â iPod touch, for example, offers âthe iPhoneâs spectacular widescreen video playback, wireless Wi-Fi Internet features and its now-famous two-finger touchscreen operating system.â And wireless access to iTunes:  âYou can browse or search the catalog, listen to 30-second samples, buy songs for $1 eachâand download them directly to the iPod.â These iPods, Pogue says, âare nearly impossible to beat; there are other 160-gigabyte multimedia players, for example, but theyâre much bigger and more expensive than the iPod classic. And if you do value things like beauty, software elegance and trouble-free computer integrationâwell, good luck resisting that new Nano.â
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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.