“Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday that it expects to sell 1 million of its new Zune music players through the first half of 2007. That figure would pale in comparison to Apple Computer Inc.’s market-leading iPod, but Microsoft contends it would be a good start. ‘We think that’s actually pretty awesome,’ said Bryan Lee, corporate vice president for Microsoft’s entertainment group,” The Associated Press reports.
“Microsoft executives have played down any suggestions that the Zune is an attempt to quickly steal enormous chunks of market share from Apple, the Silicon Valley-based rival that says it sold 39 million iPods of various sizes in the 12 months ended Sept. 30,” AP reports.
“However, Lee said Wednesday that Microsoft expects to eventually ‘be the leader’ in the category, especially once Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft rolls out more models of Zunes and starts selling them internationally. For now Zune is available only in the United States. No overseas sales plans have been disclosed, AP reports. “If initial sales figures are any indication, the Zune is far from being a blockbuster.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “TripleHead” for the heads up.]
What a joke. It’s not even worth the effort. Why inflict even one of these things, much less a million of them, on the most-challenged of tech consumers? Leave that chore to SanDisk et al. Note to Microsoft: There is a big difference between starting out slow and starting out dead.
How they can still muster the false bravado is anybody’s guess. For comparison, Apple is currently selling 1 million iPods every 4-5 days. Zune was released on Nov. 14, so Microsoft thinks it’s “actually pretty awesome” to sell 1 million Zunes in around 200 days? Who believes that one?
Too bad for Microsoft that 2007’s not a leap year, they could’ve used the extra day’s sales of 5,000 crappy wannabe iPods.
How long until they pull the plug on Zune?
Related article:
Microsoft Zune plummets to 5th place in U.S. digital media player market share with 2.1 percent – December 04, 2006
They will be lucky to get 100,000…
I calculate that within a few years, I will have Zuned over 1 million times.
Let’s see…there’s an sucker born every minute….sixty times 24….times 30…times 7…
yeah, it could happen.
Bigger screen and can share music. This makes it better than the overhyped ipod.
Does MS even HAVE a million employees? Who else is buying the “dogfooded” Zune?
In other news, Microsoft today announced a deal with Frito-Lay to provide one million in-box prizes for Cracker Jack® between now and the end of May, 2007.
Sorry, frakked up the estimate. By my figures, they’ll still be 700,000 short.
“Nothing stops. Nothing… or you will do the hardest time there is.”
“How long until they pull the plug on Zune?”
Don’t you mean “How long until they flush the Zune?”
It would cost Bill Gates or Fester Ballmer only a quarter of a billion dollars to buy a million of those brown turds. That is a pittance to BG. He could buy them up cheaper at bulk, I bet. Then, he could donate them to third world countries so all the kids could have big bulky MP3 players. Too bad they would not have power to charge them, computers to load them, etc. OK, so maybe he could fertilize corn fields with all of those turds.
Translation for my boy….
“Bigger screen (at less resolution) and can share music (for three days before it’s lost). This makes it better than the overhyped ipod (in no way whatsoever).
The halo effect of the Zune smells like a toilet that overflowed.
Don’t pass the koolaid:
don’t you mean bigger pixels?
Don’t pass the Koolaid? More like don’t look at the real specs. Yeah, you can share songs…kind of. Borrow my song for 3 days or 3 plays, but only if you can find the other guy in your state that has one. Bigger screen? Yeah, with the same amount of pixels, meaning that your picture will be grainier while viewing. Sorry Senor!
Yeah, the market has been clamoring for years for a larger, lower battery life device for the same price as the iPod.
The iPod clearly suffers from the fact that there is an established music/movie/TV/Audibook/Podcast store that is easy to use and uses a proprietary “currency” based upon the country you live in. What is Apple thinking?
Plus, I don’t know about you, but I love the idea of sending a DRMed “ad” to my friends for music. It is so much easier then simply telling them about it or passing an ear bud. Definitely work the WiFi premium in battery life, weight, size, and cost.
Lastly, features such as low quality FM radio are HUGE! Why would you want to carry around your entire music library when you can’t even listen to the same songs mixed by some other DJ in lower quality FM?
ignore the previous poster
@ Don’t pass the Koolaid.
It’s quite obvious that the only person suffering a coolaid addiction is you. It must be one helluva strong brew too.
You don’t recognise it yet (you will) but it’s time to put Microsoft into a box and six feet under.
mdn – your take on needing “leap year” was a nice touch
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Apple is currently selling 1 million iPods every 4-5 days. Zune was released on Nov. 14, so Microsoft thinks it’s “actually pretty awesome” to sell 1 million Zunes in around 200 days? Who believes that one?
Take the biased blinders off. Apple offers approximately 11 models of iPod for sale worldwide. Zune has one model and is offered in the US only. Comparing HD iPods sold in the US to Zune sales is far more accurately reflects the impact that the Zune is having.
Strip out international sales. Strip out flash sales. Divide HD sales by two, and you get the market that the Zune currently addresses.
Unlike MDN’s childish attempts to dismiss the Zune, something a competent analyst would never do, the market seems to be embracing the Zune.
One million Zune players in 7 months is doing pretty well, considering that it started from zero and is going up against the world’s leader and approximately 5 other established manufacturers.
Personally, I have no doubts that Microsoft will sell 1,000,000 Zunes by June. The practice is called Channel Stuffing. Basically, before your deadline, you send out tons and tons of product and claim victory. Of course, next quarter, they all end up coming back but that doesn’t get mentioned.
Apple did this a few times in the 1990s in order to inflate it’s sales numbers. In some cases, it can be considered illegal by the SEC.
I think they need to adopt an Icon. You know, like the Geico Caveman or the Aflac Duck. Or maybe a celebrity?
Kevin Federline!
So far I’ve heard sale ranks and such, but does anyone have any solid numbers on how many zunes have been sold so far?
BTW, I’m waiting till I can install Linux on a Zune before I buy one, as an MP3 player tied into MSh*t it’s worthless to me (I love iPod) but as a general use gadget it would be fun to play with, expecially with WI-FI (and I bet with Linux there would be no limitations on it, I think all of that is MS’s Zune OS).
Best Buy loses $35,000 worth of iPods
http://aapl.bloggingstocks.com/2006/12/06/best-buy-loses-35-000-worth-of-ipods/
Sounds like someone wants to push ZUNE at Besy Buy. Wonder who that could be.
OK, Greg Thurman, now let’s add a bit of reality to what you are saying. We can really divide the iPod line into 3 distinct models. Regular iPod (hd based), Nano and Shuffle. The various sizes of iPod, along with the colors, should not really be divided into separate models. So, we should probably really compare the standard iPod w/video to the Zune. Do you have numbers on that?
And in reality, you have crossover sales too. Some folks that are looking at iPods or Zunes don’t really want them for video – they want them for music. So in reality, the Zune IS competing against the Nano as well, and even the Shuffle, although to a lesser extent.
As for the market embracing Zune, that is the joke of the day. The sales are dismal. Amazon is a good benchmark for that. Go look over there.
If M$ started subsodising these things they would sell, but they KNOW they would NEVER regain their investment, so ergo it will die faster.