“After two years in the music player business, Zune only has a 2 percent market share,” Saul Hansell reports for The New York Times.
“When the Microsoft delegation arrived last year to unveil the second generation of players, Chris Stephenson, Zune’s marketing head, said the company’s low market share in its first year was because it had only offered a hard-drive model at the high end of the market. With the addition of less expensive flash players, starting at $149. Mr. Stephenson said the company hoped to vault to No. 2 in the market, leaping past SanDisk,” Hansell reports.
“‘Fifteen percent [market share] would be great for us,’ he said,” Hansell reports.
Hansell reports, “SanDisk still sells four times more music players than Microsoft does.”
When Adam Sohn, the head of public relations for Microsoft’s Zune division, demoed the “new” Zunes models, Hansell reports, “I didn’t see anything in the third generation of Zunes that is going to shake up the market. Like Apple, it added capacity at its existing price points. It’s got a little trick to let you identify songs you hear listening to the FM radio and buy them from Zune’s music store.”
MacDailyNews Take: Wonder where they got that idea?
• Sony unveils four ‘Xplod’ Apple iPod-compatible car stereos with Apple iTunes Tagging – August 28, 2008
• Clear Channel Radio now broadcasting over 340 HD stations compatible with Apple iTunes Tagging – April 08, 2008
• Apple iTunes Tagging explained – March 13, 2008
• Bloomberg News columnist William Pesek: Why doesn’t Apple just buy Sony (or Nintendo?) – February 18, 2008
• Apple Stores to sell Polk Audio iPod, iTunes Tagging for HD Radio products throughout U.S. – February 04, 2008
• Sony unveils Made for iPod shelf systems, car stereos, HD Radio with iTunes Tagging – January 08, 2008
• Apple to push HD Radio boomboxes with iPod docks and iTunes tagging at Macworld Expo – December 28, 2007
• High hopes for Apple iTunes tagging for HD Radio – November 05, 2007
• How does tagging for Apple iTunes work? – October 10, 2007
• Clear Channel teams with Apple on iTunes tagging for HD Digital Radio – October 03, 2007
• Polk intros I-Sonic Entertainment System 2 with Apple iTunes Tagging – September 07, 2007
• Apple, iBiquity Digital, major radio broadcasters announce iTunes tagging for HD Radio – September 06, 2007
Hansell continues, “Two years after introducing the only really groundbreaking feature on the Zune — its WiFi access — Microsoft finally will let users buy songs directly on the device using the WiFi. (Yes, Apple, which has had WiFi devices since the iPhone and iPod Touch, added wireless purchases last year.)”
Hansell reports that Sohn “admitted that the new $229 starting price point for the iPod touch, which has a larger screen yet, was going to cause some trouble in that corner of Zune’s tiny market.”
“Unlike Apple, Microsoft has a big division devoted to advertising. The WiFi connections on all the Zune players would be ideal to stream ad-supported video and maybe music,” Hansell reports. “We’re working on it, Mr. Sohn told me.”
MacDailyNews Take: There’s a selling point. 
Hansell continues, “Meanwhile, Apple continues to weave its way deeper and deeper into the music, video and now telephone business. And it has a shot at defining the next platform for handheld computing as well.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “HMCIV” for the heads up.]
“Unlike Apple, Microsoft has a big division devoted to advertising.
Forever thinking about enterprise and how they can tap another revenue stream!
It’s never been about an enjoyable consumer experience and therein lies the difference between the two companies.
Is Microsoft anti-consumer?
Poor Zune Tang…
You MAC dorks just don’t get it, do you? The massive majority of Windows market share makes buying a Zune a no brainer. Ask anybody at Microsoft. You’re just jealous.
Your potential. Our passion.™
No need to “knife” the Zune. It’s already dead. Zune Tang will soon be in serious need of another loser-product to champion. How about Vista, Zune Tang? Don’t you just swoon every time you picture it?
@ZuneTang
no brains is correct
Things are looking bad for the Zune with Dell set to enter the alsoran market.
Cheers,
Tim.
“The massive majority of Windows market share…”
aren’t buying Zunes. They’re buying iPods!
The percentage of Windows-using consumers who own iPods exceeds the percentage of Mac users who own iPods by an order of magnitude.
@TimD
Things are looking bad for the Zune with Dell set to enter the alsoran market.
That’s right, and the Dell player, though lacking in many respects, will eclipse the Zune market share within two holiday seans. If it ever makes it to market.
People aren’t buying the Zune because of the baggage that comes with it. The problem with the Zune is it comes with Microsoft.
•
Personally, I don’t believe this is a good investment for Dell right now. Dell should reel in any spending whatsoever and use the money from the sale of its factories just to get through this holiday season.
They’ve lost 19 billion dollars of market capitalization in the last few months! I can’t believe the Dell’s board hasn’t asked for Mikey’s resignation.
•
It’s too bad Dell failed to elevate the stature of Alienware. I’ve seen absolutely no advertising of this brand.
Man, if only Apple would scarfed up Alienware and produce a line of computers with Boot Camp embedded in the ROMS, loaded with both Leopard & Windows, Apple could have carved out double the Switcher rate, just by leveraging the iLife brand.
Instead of licensing OS X direct, Apple should sell OS X with a PC. Get it? Just as they do with the Mac, they should promote the hell out of a PC that comes with OS X. The PC consumer will think to themselves, “You know, I need a new PC and if this brand also comes with OS X installed, then my minds made up, I’ll buy the Apple PC!”
Apple, it’s all in how you deliver the message. Just don’t tell them it’s a Mac!
Remember, you heard it here first.
That’s holiday seasons, not seans. I dropped the so
This argument really makes me mad. As an avid Nintendo fan, years ago we heard the same thing. Nintendo wasn’t selling like hot cakes but they were still selling and making money. Just because they weren’t selling 20 million copies of Pokemon every day doesn’t mean they are going under.
NOT ONLY THIS, but without a strong competitor, lets not give a small company a reason to say that Apple has a monopoly on MP3 playing…like a one certain Apple did to Microsoft years back over OS domination…
“They’ve lost 19 billion dollars of market capitalization in the last few months! I can’t believe the Dell’s board hasn’t asked for Mikey’s resignation.”
Why do you think Dell’s bought up so much DELL stock lately?
Insurance?
@loru
apple never sued for the whole monopoly thing. it was for stealing the UI.
nintendo is more comparable to apple than to microsoft. i am sure others would agree. quality vs quantity. nintendo, apple = quality…. microsoft = quantity (except in the case of the zune). in the case of the ipod, they just got both going for them.
Who wants to listen to the rubbish on the radio when you have your music with you anyway. Maybe for the news?
Compare the look of the current Zunes to the current iPod Nanos. Microsoft should be embarrassed. Zunes are so ugly. No teenager or anyone else would be caught dead with one.
They could GIVE the Zune away for free and still not make an appreciable dent in that market.
“After … years in the … business, (it) only has a 2 percent market share”
Remember, folks: market share never stopped Mac OS.
Where are the arguments about certain luxury car makers who’d be “ecstatic” with 2% of the market? Or of Apple having the “top” percentage of the OS market?
Not that Zune isn’t a joke (it is). But let’s be consistent on how we view market share.
“On Wednesday, Adam Sohn, the head of public relations for Microsoft’s Zune division, told me: ‘Babies are born every day without an iPod. We will get there.’ “
And all but 2% of those babies are gonna buy an iPod… or whatever Apple comes up with that’s better by then!
“After … years in the … business, (it) only has a 2 percent market share”
Right and even if they continue to lose money on this POS, they will keep funding it with their guaranteed revenue stream. The whole idea is to wear down Apple. Apple can’t afford to lose money, heck what company would continue to produce crap that loses money? None, they would discontinue it. Unless they have guaranteed profits quarter after quarter to blow their wads on.
M$ and Zune = ZZZZZZZZZZZ
Enough said.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ …
Monopolies snuff out the competition, like Standard Oil did, undercutting the nearby gas stations, but with the iPod it’s rather different because the competition is slitting their own throats. I bought a “Barbie” MP3 player for my 8 year old daughter and it took me two evenings after work to figure out how to load the 10 songs she wanted on it. The hardware on it is OK but the software and the manual were terrible. Neither the wife nor the kid would let me swap it for a Shuffle. I saw a SanDisk unit but the manual was so skimpy and vague, I didn’t buy it.
Zune Thang for 2 years you have been spewing your crap “MAC dorks.”
For your information THICK HEAD the massive majority are buying iPods NOT Zunes. They are putting their money where your mouth isn’t.
If you could I would think you may have considered another option. YOU ARE MORONICALLY STUPID.
But as I don’t think you can.
Your stupidity. Our laughing at you.™
Hey, Zune Tang is a satirist. Oh, and that does not mean he has taken too many blue pills.
“On Wednesday, Adam Sohn, the head of public relations for Microsoft’s Zune division, told me: ‘Babies are born every day without an iPod. We will get there.’ “
So that’s their marketing strategy – they are advertising to newborns. Must be why I have not seen a Zune ad in months.
I agree with Pechuro, Apple is a lot more like Nintendo in your analogy. Also, technically (and legally) speaking, having a monopoly isn’t illegal. Abusing one is. That’s why Microsoft gets into so much trouble-their abuse of their monopoly. I won’t get into all of the legalese here, you can google it if you’re interested, but being successful and providing the product that people happen to want to buy the most is not against the law. It would have been fine for Microsoft if their business practices weren’t so underhanded.
sorry man. got your name wrong. My bad.