Microsoft: No More New Zune Models?

by The Ology Team .

On Mar 15, 2011

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Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes, Geekologists. I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.

Reports are making the rounds that Microsoft is planning to stop releasing new models of the Zune, its video/music player and would-be iPod usurper. If the reports are true, this would essentially mean the slow but inevitable death of the device. Nothing's official yet, but it's tough to deny that the Zune has had trouble finding a niche in the media player market since its introduction way back in 2006. The device definitely has its proponents, but for the most part, the Zune has fought an uphill battle for the last five years. The fact of the matter is, Apple's various iPod devices rule over the media player world with an iron touchpad. Cracking Apple's dominance of the medium would be tough for anyone. Some might say the little guy didn't have much of a chance--by the time the Zune made its debut, most Americans had already made their media player decisions. Years later, a combination of brand loyalty and support from Apple has consumers sticking with those decisions. Microsoft tried to turn the market around with a price drop last year, but failed to gain ground--last year's NPD data shows that Microsoft devices didn't even make the top five.

That's probably why Microsoft is looking at cutting its losses with regard to the Zune in order to focus on its developments elsewhere on the mobile device battlefield. PC World's article on the Zune cancellation points out that in 2009, Microsoft split the Zune team into two divisions--hardware and software. If Microsoft means business and actually axes new Zune models, the hardware division won't have much to do. The software division, however, will likely see a brighter future, as Microsoft continues investing in their work to integrate existing features from the Zune platform for use with the Windows Phone 7 smartphone, with the Xbox and its assorted peripherals, as well as with Windows itself. As for existing Zune models, Microsoft isn't planning to recall them or anything--they'll probably keep selling what they've got at least until the current stock runs out. At that point, it's anybody's guess--no one can be sure yet whether they'll cease production or continue making the current generation of Zunes.

Do you guys think this is legit? I'm inclined to believe it, myself. The iPod can be an unstoppable force in the gadget world, and it's already stomped a fair few challengers in its day. Feel free to mourn the possible passing of the Microsoft Zune in the comments below. It's hard out there for a music/video player.

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