Opening Zune Sales Flaccid 451
An anonymous reader writes "As 'Black Friday' approaches and consumers line up for the Playstation 3 it looks like Zune has become an afterthought. Despite months of hype, opening Zune sales are only so-so. While Zune did reach the top 10 on Amazon's Top 25 list for electronic product sales on its first day, it quickly fell below the top 15 and continues to drop. Six separate iPod models now outsell it as well as SanDisk's e250 player. In-store sales are not much better."
A product no one wanted (Score:5, Interesting)
It was almost as if Microsoft said "Let's throw millions of dollars at a market and see if we can get a piece of it." The fact that it was trying to enter a market that is already flooded with similar products doesn't help. The fact that the Zune is incompatible with Microsoft's music files doesn't help.
This is not to say that Microsoft should stay out of consumer electronics. The Xbox 360 has a good chance of being the dominant console this generation (outside of Japan). The Zune just happens to be a waste of time and money.
Re:Zune's Problem IS......Balmer (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Welcome to the social? (Score:3, Interesting)
Seattle is fine with lots of people, traffic jam problems, beautiful countryside, the sound, etc. A short ways East in Redmond might be a diffrent story.
More seriously, Yet another incompatible lower feature format.. Get a clue. Trading very restrictive DRM in another incompatible format for a taste of Wi-Fi is not a selling point.
The only selling point for middle school kids is there is no DRM on photos. They can be transfered wirelessly. This is the hot new way to share porn.
Parents and teachers are not ammused.
Re:First pun! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:iTunes Music Store only looks like a lock in. (Score:3, Interesting)
Joe Six-Pack doesn't see iTunes' DRM getting in his way. In fact, the only time he notices it is when he types in his password (once in a blue moon), to get another computer authorized on his iTunes account. He doesn't notice the compression artifacts; he doesn't even know what "lossy" means.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Zune's Problem IS......Balmer (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Just another crappy MP3 player (Score:4, Interesting)
Although I rarely use it, I agree that the mass storage feature is nice to have when you need it; I can't image how an MP3 player could ship without it.
Some techies seem to waste a lot of time fretting over issues such as file formats, DRM, and technical specs. Meanwhile, everyone else is too busy enjoying their music to give a rats ass.
Re:Zune's Problem IS......Balmer (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Welcome to the social? (Score:4, Interesting)
If you are Matt Jubelirer, product manager for the Zune project, you are probably Sleepless in Seattle right about now.
Re:here's the thing... (Score:2, Interesting)
Take FM recording for example - with Zune you can listen to the radio but not record.
My 64$ player can do that (and in WMA too
Origami? (Score:3, Interesting)
Let's be sensible (Score:3, Interesting)
There's already a considerable ecosystem of accessories and attachments for the iPod.
It works with two open formats... mp3 and aac.
iTunes works with Mac, Windows 2K, XP, and Vista.
Does anybody want to buy this because they can send a song to a friend and he/she can listen to it 3 times. That's it? That's the feature I've gotta have? It doesn't even "Play for Sure!".
Re:First pun! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:this product... not so much (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Hurrah! Apple's near-monopoly is secure! (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Coming in at #83 (Score:4, Interesting)
Yes, Zune sales appear "flaccid," but you don't need to resort to Michael Moore tactics to make your point.
Re:Welcome to the social? (Score:3, Interesting)