Microsoft: Reports of Zune's death greatly exaggerated

Thu Jan 15, 2009 11:17AM EST

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The still-struggling Zune—hardware and all—isn't going anywhere, Microsoft execs told Wired this week, despite some recent speculation to the contrary.

A Zune spokesman told Wired blogger (and my former colleague at CNET) Eliot Van Buskirk that "we're not getting out of the hardware business at all," and that Microsoft remains "deeply committed" to the Zune—and yes, that includes the boxy HDD- and flash-based hardware players.

Speculation about the Zune spiked after this Financial Times story, in which Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says that we "should not anticipate" a Zune phone (no, really?) and that Redmond (as the FT paraphrases) "would stick to its strategy of developing software to support a range of mobile devices."

The Financial Times story then goes on, noting that Ballmer "seemed all but ready to throw in the towel on the Zune mobile device" during his CES keynote, and speculating that "if there is a future for Zune, it lies in planting the software and online service linked to the player in other devices."

Indeed, that line of reasoning seems consistent with recent rumors that Microsoft is prepping "a set of consumer-focused premium service" for Windows Mobile phones, which might include "Zune-like services."

But Zune spokesman Adam Sohn insists that the Zune hardware is here to stay. "A lot of people ... took [Ballmer's comments] and ran in the wrong direction," Sohn told Wired, adding that it's not a question of "either/or," for the Zune hardware and software, but rather "a 'both/and' situation."

OK, sounds good—but for now at least, the Zune software has yet to land in, say, a Windows Mobile phone or the Xbox 360 (a platform that seems ripe for Zune services).

For example: I'd been hoping that Ballmer would announce at CES that, perhaps, the Xbox was getting Zune Marketplace access, or that Xbox Live movie rentals/TV shows would be compatible with the Zune … or that a Zune mobile app was on tap for a Windows Mobile-powered smartphone.

But … no dice, and beyond the standard platitudes ("there's a lot of opportunity … I don't think anything's off the table … all things are possible," Sohn told Wired), no promises either.

Related:
Microsoft Plans to Continue Zune Hardware, Embrace Other Platforms [Wired]

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  • 6 Posted by fatpasta on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    after all the zunes crashed, mine still didnt work so i called zune support n was told to buy an ipod. not in those exact words though. went like this, "your zune is out of warrany. you can send us your zune for refurbishing but it will cost more than a new zune. id recommend buying a new zune". until that day, i was a loyal microsofty. im even an MCP. that day was the last day im buying anything from microsoft.

  • 7 Posted by bbcl714 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have yet to see a Zune in public. Anywhere. The fact is the Zune was a grotesque afterbirth to try to compete in a market dominated (no, OWNED) by the iPod. From a Brown Zune to a buggy terrible online store, it was a failure out of the gate. But hey, you can believe what you want. iPod owners may be "zombies", but at least there's support.. How's that Plays For Sure player going.. oh right, M$FT killed that just like they'll kill the Zune. 2009 is it's last year.

  • 8 Posted by fragil3 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:02PM EDT Report Abuse

    I hate Microsoft. They really don't innovate anymore...they've survived on their pangs of copying everything that's out there: Xbox from Playstation, Zune from Ipod, Vista Interface from Mac OS, IE's tabbed browsing from Mozilla's Firefox. To add to this they had that pathetic ad regarding their search and how it has fallen behind. I can't wait to see them fall. Maybe they'll come up with a copycat to TiVO, Netflix and Krispy Kreme.

  • 9 Posted by edlaham on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    Haha to the Mark Twain refence, well done

  • 10 Posted by fkaiser30 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    The Zune player is Junk...Go with the new Nano4G, you'll be happy you did. Save yourself wasted money, aggrevation and time. Buy something new, innovative, durable, fun and slim - go with Apple.

  • 11 Posted by wishfulldragon on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:47PM EDT Report Abuse

    Proud owner of 30gig Zune for over a year. Works quite fine for me(never crashed, reliable battery), will cringe at the day when I am forced buy and iPod and it's totalitarian software, ACC format, and DRM's. Long live MP3 format and all its players!! Freedom of choice is always nice.

  • 12 Posted by pfun69 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    In my eyes this is how the basic Zune stacks up vs. the basic iPod... not the iPhone or the iPod Touch. I have owned and used both and I am a big fan of the Zune the Zune has a Bigger Screen, better visuals both on the software and the device itself, a much easier to use and edit software program, the Zune Pass is great with the unlimited music. In my book the only thing going for iPod is the brand recgonition in both the device and downloads (iTunes anyone!) then their are all those people who have "drank the kool aid". They have everyone equating the mp3 player with the iPod without a second thought. Look the basics are this... the iPod is great but if you get past the whole "Apple is AMAZING and microsoft is the enemy" group think you will relaize that the Zune is the better product.

  • 13 Posted by brjohnso on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:13PM EDT Report Abuse

    I used to use a Zune, but the software that came with it was beyond awful, and it did not support all audio formats I needed, like audible (I think they do now). This forced me to get an iPod, that woked great, but it had a small screen for video. Now I have an iPhone and it is all I use. I only use the Zune very rarely for watching video on long trips, something it excels at. It is unfortnate the Microsft did not emphasise the Zune as a video player, since it has a much better screen than even the iPhone, and more storage space.

  • 14 Posted by spartan117warrior on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:35PM EDT Report Abuse

    You Mac lovers may hate on Microsoft now, but if MS really did go out of business, then you people would love the current unnecessarily high prices on Macs. If there is no competition from MS, who's to stop the blowhard Steve Jobs from jacking Mac prices even more? Not to mention to the person that complains that MS copies everything: Steve Jobs stole the idea of a GUI from Xeox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). And tabbed browsing was done first by Opera, not Firefox. Buy Macs if you want, but the second you put any MS software on it, quit complaining about MS, you hypocritical bigots.

  • 15 Posted by keithac2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    the iPod causes headaches...too many things dont do what I want them to. My zune - does everything I ask. *will the hackers of the world please just create one virus for macintosh...so that people will shut up about how great they are?*

  • 16 Posted by clarevalenti on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:26PM EDT Report Abuse

    I've had a ton of issues with my Zune. Poor battery life, screen freezes... you name it, it's probably happened to my Zune. I've had Microsoft products all my life and have never had as many problems as I have had with a Zune... what can I do? I'll probably buy a Mac when I go off to college.

  • 18 Posted by dukhunr on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    my daughters zune died exactly 1 yr after purchasing it. no bug fix has fixed it. battery wont charge, software wont recognize it. when i spoke with customer service, i was told for $125 they would "diagnose" the problem. she now enjoys her new ipod with no problems.

  • 19 Posted by keithfevola on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    I love my Zune. Far and away a superior product to the Ipod. Better Sound quality, bigger screen, more interesting menu, and better software by far.

  • 21 Posted by mz_kymi on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:32PM EDT Report Abuse

    I owned the original 30G and in 08' upgraded to the 120G. I did losts of research between Zune, Ipod, and Creative. I have no desire to join the Ipod cult, nor have I had any problems with my Zune's. It does offer features the Ipod doesn't and there is huge potential in it's capabilities. In time they will capture it's full potential.

  • 22 Posted by slyrabi on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    Having used both, I can say the iPod is actually the better product. MS just isn't making really good products. They make 'okay' products. The iPod quality is far, far superior, and iTunes is a descent piece of software even if it doesn't do 'everything' (no, it's not 'virus-like' - what a silly comment). The only useful feature I found on the Zune and not the iPod is the FM tuner, otherwise the iPod wins hands down in features, quality, reliability and ease of use. Maybe that's why it's so popular, maybe? Oh, and iPods continued working when the calendar rolled into '09.

  • 23 Posted by bennice2002 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:05PM EDT Report Abuse

    The Zune kicks the iPod's arse when it works properly. We have an 80GB and 30GB Zune in our house as well as a 16GB iPhone, 30GB iPod Classic, two iPod Nanos and an old Shuffle. All of them freeze up every now and again, but the Zunes do it a lot more often. Recently one of the Zunes stopped working all together, so we sent it back to MS for repair. They sent it back unrepaired saying something about negligent use. They didn't even give us a call to ask if we wanted to pay for whatever repair was necessary. If the same thing would have happened with one of the iPods, Apple would have handled it much differently. If MS could get customer service right and produce stable products they'd cut deep into Apple's market share. But it's MS, and that's not likely to happen. Needless to say, I won't be replacing any of the MS products once they all die.

  • 24 Posted by ramonv.rm on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have a Creative, and my wife has a Sony. Both are better, do more, and cost less than an ipod. Zunes are ugly and overpriced, as are iphones.

  • 25 Posted by slyrabi on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    wishfulldragon: I'm glad your Zune works. However, the iPod does have better build quality, the software is not totalitarian, AAC format is an industry standard with non-painful licensing, DRM is only on some songs if you buy them from the iTMS (iTunes music store), no DRM on anything you add yourself, and now that Apple finally got the music labels to agree, DRM is being removed from all the songs in the iTMS. iPod also supports mp3 and several other formats include wav and aiff. There has never been a problem with choice... nobody forces anyone to buy an iPod; most people do because it's the best quality device availabe right now.

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