“Microsoft’s ambitious multimillion-dollar Zune digital music recipe oddly lacks a key online marketing ingredient: dot-com domains,” Red Herring reports.
Red Herring reports, “The Redmond-based software behemoth last week announced a $249.99 price tag and November 14 as the date the device and its accompanying Zune Marketplace online music site will become available.”
“Zune.com is registered to one Antonio Nogales of London. Mr. Nogales was unable to be reached for comment at the out-of-service phone number found in Network Solutions’ Whois record on the domain, created in June of 1998,” Red Herring reports. “For Microsoft, this is just par for the course in its Zune strategy, though.”
“How else can you explain a black under-construction page at Zune.com? Right now Zune.com brings up a black page in a web browser that says ‘Welcome to zune.com’ and ‘UNDER CONSTRUCTION.’ Microsoft confirmed that the company does not own Zune.com. Microsoft did register Zune.net, but not until June 26, 2006, according to the Whois database record,” Red Herring reports. “‘Someone else owns Zune.com and that’s the deal,’ a Microsoft representative said. ‘It’s Zune.net and it’s not launched yet.'”
“Meanwhile, Microsoft keeps Comingzune.com as their placeholder for all communications on the Zune launch,” Red Herring reports. “But the official site will be at Zune.net—if you can remember it’s a dot-net.”
Full article here.
Brown is the color of dried blood.
Related articles:
More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: Dell’s ‘DJ Ditty’ flash-based MP3 player is dead – August 22, 2006
More blood on Apple iTunes Music Store’s play button: MyCokeMusic is dead – June 20, 2006
More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: iRiver gives up on digital media player market – May 23, 2006
More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: Sony’s Walkman Bean is cooked – February 13, 2006
More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: Dell dumps ‘DJ’ hard-drive MP3 player line – February 04, 2006
More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: iRiver pulling out of Europe? – February 01, 2006
More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: Thomson gives up on MP3 player, CE markets – December 12, 2005
More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: BenQ withdraws from MP3 player markets – November 28, 2005
More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: Olympus halts production of portable digital music players – November 09, 2005
More blood on Apple iPod’s Click Wheel: Rio is dead – August 26, 2005
Apple’s iPod has blood on its Click Wheel: Virgin Electronics is dead – March 08, 2005
Apple’s iTunes Music Store has blood on its play button: BuyMusic.com is dead – March 28, 2004
Microsoft rigs Zune with tricky pricing and proprietary money schemes – October 03, 2006
Why Microsoft’s Zune won’t kill Apple’s iPod – October 03, 2006
10 Apple iPod vs. Microsoft Zune myths – October 02, 2006
Analyst: Zune could lead to ‘civil war’ between Microsoft and Windows Media partners – September 29, 2006
Thurrott on Microsoft’s Zune: ‘The makings of a disaster, what the heck are these people thinking?’ – September 29, 2006
Analyst: Microsoft Zune’s as good as dead on arrival – September 28, 2006
Microsoft sets 30GB Zune price at $249.99 – September 28, 2006
How Microsoft’s Zune can kill Apple’s iPod – September 21, 2006
Microsoft’s Zune insanity – September 21, 2006
The Microsoft Zune 1.0 dud – September 20, 2006
Microsoft’s underwhelming Zune a ‘viral DRM’ device – September 18, 2006
SanDisk teams with RealNetworks against new common foe: Microsoft Zune – September 18, 2006
Creative does Apple’s dirty work by immediately attacking Microsoft’s Zune – September 17, 2006
Motley Fool’s Jayson: Microsoft’s ‘just plain ugly’ Zune a meager offering, not an iPod killer – September 15, 2006
What’s in a name? ‘Zune’ a French-Canadian euphemism for penis or vagina – September 15, 2006
Crave at CNET: ‘Microsoft Zune, all the excitement that brown can bring’ – September 15, 2006
Microsoft’s Zune underwhelms – September 15, 2006
Enderle: Microsoft Zune ‘a design mistake’ – September 15, 2006
Microsoft hypocrisy exposed with Zune: What ever happened to ‘choice?’ – September 14, 2006
Analyst: Microsoft Zune with fake scroll wheel ‘hardly an Apple iPod killer’ – September 14, 2006
Analyst: Microsoft Zune won’t spoil Apple’s biggest iPod Christmas ever – September 14, 2006
Microsoft unveils Zune 30GB player, Zune Marketplace; declines to disclose prices – September 14, 2006
Analyst: Microsoft’s Zune an ‘underwhelming’ repackaged Toshiba Gigabeat; no threat to Apple iPod – August 30, 2006
Microsoft confirms brick-like Zune to be made by Toshiba – August 25, 2006
Microsoft Zune is chunky brick made by Toshiba – August 25, 2006
Microsoft to spend hundreds of millions, several years on Zune trying to catch Apple iPod+iTunes – July 27, 2006
Zune: Apple cannot lose. Microsoft cannot win. – July 26, 2006
Computerworld review: ‘Apple’s new iPods are better than ever’ – September 27, 2006
PC Magazine’s 19th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards for MP3 players: Apple iPod line – September 25, 2006
USA Today reviews new Apple iPod nanos, updated iPods, iTunes 7 (each earns 4 stars out of 4) – September 21, 2006
Time Magazine’s Gadget of the Week: Apple iPod 80GB – September 21, 2006
CNET Editor’s Choice: Apple fifth-gen updated iPod – ‘best, most attractive iPod to date’ – September 20, 2006
Disney’s remarkable 1st week iTunes movies sales should have studios clambering aboard Apple train – September 20, 2006
Disney sells 125,000 movie downloads via Apple’s iTunes Store in first week – September 19, 2006
PC Magazine review: iTunes 7 ‘Apple’s best effort yet’ (4 stars out of 5) – September 15, 2006
CNET Editor’s Pick: Apple’s new 2G iPod nano – ‘sure to be top choice among wide range of users’ – September 14, 2006
Apple debuts new iPod in 30GB and 80GB with Hollywood movies, games and new lower price – September 12, 2006
Apple intros new iPod nano with new aluminum design in five colors and 24-hour battery life – September 12, 2006
Apple unveils new iPod shuffle: world’s smallest digital music player – September 12, 2006
Apple debuts iTunes 7 – September 12, 2006
and poop!
Old news MDN… I posted months ago on this site that Zune.com wasn’t even owned by microsoft but by this guy in england. Did a whois search and found it easy.
But hey.. I’m not bitter…
(sulks in corner)
You’d better have really fast bandwidth to access comingzune.com. Takes forever to load. I didn’t wait.
Three things:
1) the world is too fixated on dot-com domains. They’re not necessary at all. dot-com is severely over-used.
2) If MS has a valid product (ie. Zune), then they would be entitled to the domain name if the current own doesn’t have a legitimate use for it.
3) MS could easily buy the domain from the current owner at a reasonably outrageous price.
Pity that poor guy that’s stuck owning Zune.com.
Hehe a .net domain for the multimillion dollar launch of a player? Just as lame as the name!
How appropriate, Zune and .Net, two worthless Microsoft initiatives in the same domain name.
According to an article written back in August (http://www.terra.net.lb/wp/Articles/DesktopArticle.aspx?ArticleID=301639&ChannelId=16) M$ has already begun moving to block the ownership of Zune-related domain names or at least made it ugly for those who have them registered. They will own Zune.com soon enough – one way or another.
Meet Antonio Nogales, London’s newest to-be millionaire.
Microsofties… The gang who can’t shoot straight.
amyhre:
THAT’S funny!
I’ll cut them a good deal on my domain names (http://www.ZuneMyTunes.com, http://www.BestZuneTunes.com, http://www.CheapZuneTunes.com). Have Bill give me a call.
Hey wait, those didn’t work ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
http://ZuneMyTunes.com
http://BestZuneTunes.com
http://CheapZuneTunes.com
Now that’s better.
ComingZune.com? Didn’t MDN post a story about how Zune sounds like a penis or vagina in Canadian French? Perhaps MS should reserve ThrobbingAndComingZune.com
to Coolfactor:
Respectfully disagreeing with your “Three things:”
“1) the world is too fixated on dot-com domains. They’re not necessary at all. dot-com is severely over-used.”
having a .com domain (at least to us spoiled Mac users) means that all I have to type in the address bar is the “meat” of the domain. Only having to type “zune” vs. having to type “zune.net” doubles the typing required to visit the site. No matter how many times you tell them, I’ll bet 50% of the people out there will still hit Zune.com FIRST. On the rare occasion I’m stuck on a windows machine, it BOGGLES my mind how much less productive I am because of the lack of attention to the subtleties of usability in windows. Having to type out the whole URL – cant jump to the beginning or end of text input fields using up and down arrow, etc. Suffering Windoze is like typing with your feet.
2) If MS has a valid product (ie. Zune), then they would be entitled to the domain name if the current own doesn’t have a legitimate use for it.
I think that only applies if a company had a copyright BEFORE the domain was registered. I remember Apple having problems trying to secure iTunes.co.uk of something like that because some guy had registered it long ago.
3) MS could easily buy the domain from the current owner at a reasonably outrageous price.
IF the guy is willing to sell. Personally, I would hold it just to spite Microsoft. OK, no I wouldn’t. I’d make them pay me millions and then use at least half of the money to donate Mac labs to my kids schools and rip out All of the crappy windoze boxes… But that’s just me.
Hmm, ipod.com goes to Apple……
Oh, but that is because Apple actually thinks ahead and stuff…..
I hope the guy is an ipod owner.
monkey boy with the arm pit stained shirt is an idiot.
why is he running the company, he is a moran, a jack ass
poop brown, need I say more.
Cool factor,
the point of the article is, Microsoft , for whatever reason HASN”t secured the .dot com name yet. all on the eave of a huge new product launch.
T Y P I C A L
I also think .com is overrated…
Zune.flop should be the proper domain for this “wonderful” new product coming from Mafia$oft.
Hey Microsoft, this one’s available:
http://www.zuuuuuuuune.com/
Grab it quick!
‘having a .com domain (at least to us spoiled Mac users) means that all I have to type in the address bar is the “meat” of the domain.’
That trick doesn’t work on Internet Explorer for Windows. Try it sometime. It takes you to an MSN page.
WindozeKiller: “Only having to type “zune” vs. having to type “zune.net” doubles the typing required to visit the site.”
Er, strike that. Reverse it.
DB: “That trick doesn’t work on Internet Explorer for Windows. Try it sometime.”
He doesn’t need to “try it sometime.” He made your point in the original post.
GmanMac: “T Y P I C A L”
Actually, I don’t think this is typical of MS. Dumping a load of money into a superficially “better” product to compete with a popular existing product is typical MS, but not having your marketing lined up is not.
Wouldn’t one of the important steps of deciding on a new trademark be the availability of the corresponding .com domain?
ZuneSucks.com and ZuneIsDead.com is still available.
Right next to FailsForSure.com
ZuneSucks.com and ZuneIsDead.com is still available.
Right next to FailsForSure.com
1. Create a .NET “strategery”.
2. “Innovate” by creating a “me-too” MP3 player.
3. Forget to register Zune.com
4. Register Zune.NET
5. ???
6. Profit!