“Microsoft this week can exult in the fact that the hard drive-based version of its new Zune portable media players, the Zune 80, is sold out online and in retail stores around the country. But this apparent success is muted by a simple fact: The Zune 80 was never manufactured in volume, and many retailers never got a single unit to begin with,” Paul Thurrott writes for WinInfo.
“While there are rumors of manufacturing delays, the truth is quite a bit more pragmatic: Looking at the market, Microsoft decided to prioritize the manufacturing of the flash RAM-based Zune 4 and Zune 8. These devices, which offer 4 GB and 8 GB of RAM, respectively, compete in the most lucrative part of the MP3 player market,” Thurrott writes. “That market, incidentally, is currently dominated by the Apple iPod nano, which also comes in 4 GB and 8 GB variants and costs the same as the respective Zune models.”
“The lackluster original brown Zune, now dubbed the Zune 30, is currently the best selling MP3 player on Amazon.com. Why has last year’s most amusing joke turned into a best seller, you wonder? The price has dropped to less than $90,” Thurrott writes.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Douglas” for the heads up.]
Even Thurrott seems to have no patience for fake “Zune is suddenly popular” twaddle. Not a good sign for Microsoft’s Zune (in keeping with its entire history).