06.04.07 - 03:01pm
In an interview, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer told to a German magazine “we decided not to enter new markets so far” and will not do so until “after we have reached some of the goals outlined. When this will be the case, I cannot tell you today.”
Ballmer went on to say that the Zune was a business that was losing money and that to go into new markets would be dangerous.
While the Zune will apparently hit the 1 million mark this month, just in time for the June goal deadline, it is still 99 million units behind Apple’s iPod. Thus it is not exactly big news that the Zune has not quite become the “cash cow” that Microsoft has hoped it would be.
Zune product manager Cesar Menendez further clarified the situation, stating, “We will not expand the device family or our geographical footprint until we are positive that we can provide the best experience from the start.”
Category: Zune | Tags: 1_million, ceo_steve_ballmer, europe, german_magazine, Zune | Be the First to Comment »
05.29.07 - 04:29pm
Microsoft said they would sell 1 million Zunes within a year and they have crossed that goal line just a mere month before their initial end of June prediction!, or so was said in the San Franscisco Chronicle and reiterated in papers and blogs worldwide, it was however a slight misquote. (We should have known - it would seem like the millionth Zune sold, more than a month ahead of time, would have had Bill Gates sending out a universal “Party like its 1999″ Zune wi-fi sharing moment!) Instead, nothing - one article in the paper, with no official Microsoft fanfare announcement for Zune lovers at all - and after all that love.
The quote in the paper said this, “We’re still about nine months into having Zune in the marketplace. We’re very pleased with the progress. We’ve sold a little over a million Zunes. In the category we’re in, the hard-disk-based category, we’ve got about 10 percent market share. It’s a good start. It’s not an overwhelming start. I’m not going to pretend it’s some gigantic move.”
Category: Zune | Tags: misquote, one-millionth, party, san_franscisco_chronicle, Zune | Be the First to Comment »
05.18.07 - 12:24pm
Halo 2 is one of the most popular video games, ever, producing a record 125M in its first 24 hours on the market. Now, Halo 3 set to be released in September and it is already generating quite a stir in the video game world. It is a stir that Microsoft is hoping will propel lagging sales of the Zune forward.
The new Zune, which will be released next month will come encased in collectible packaging and come pre-loaded with artwork, trailers and music from all three “Halo” games. It will also include a new episode of “Red vs Blue” from the machinima creator Rooster Teeth Productions LLC.
The “Halo” Zune will be available June 15th, and Halo 3 will be kicked off on September 25th.
Category: Zune | Tags: halo_3, release-date, video_games, Zune | Be the First to Comment »
05.15.07 - 01:04pm
Who says that only your cell phone can have a nifty little MP3 player, complete with an iPod look-a-like click wheel. After all why can’t your desktop phone have one as well. At least it has the potential for probably some pretty good speakers.
Microsoft showcased more than a dozed new phones at the Windows Hardware and Engineering Conference presenting one complete with a click wheel for navigating through contacts and a huge music library.
Guess if the Zune doesn’t make it perhaps Microsoft’s land line MP3 phones will. Why not? As long as it has a headphone jack it would just be like listening to your computer - why you wouldn’t just listen to the music through your computer I haven’t figured out yet, - you can tell me if you do.
The phone is reported in public beta testing along with eight other devices.
Category: Zune | Tags: desktop_phone, ipod-click_wheel, microsoft, mp3_player | Be the First to Comment »
04.18.07 - 11:29am
The Zune was the first to come out with Wi-Fi in a little music device and while it certainly didn’t make it overpower the iPod in any way it did point out a distinct feature the iPod lacked. Now rumors are abounding that the iPod will be releasing a Wi-Fi enabled iPod in the second half of 2007.
According to reports from Digitimes the new iPods’ Wi-Fi modules will be produced by Universal Scientific Industrial and Foxconn will perform as the OEM assembler.
A Wi-Fi iPod is almost a must as competition is heating up in the world of MP3 players. Even as Apple was patting itself on the back for breaking the 100 million mark of iPods sold, SanDisk was releasing their new MP3 player which allows users to wirelessly download songs through a Wi-Fi network, and gives them access with an $11.99 monthly paid subscription to as many songs as they wish to download.
Category: MP3 Players, Zune, iPod | Tags: iPod, mp3_players, sandisk, wirelessly, wi_fi | Be the First to Comment »
03.30.07 - 01:19pm
After having angry Zune users fill up the Zune blog with spiteful hateful comments when the update was not released on March 23rd, Microsoft got to work and has released the promised update!
The Zune 1.3 update takes on the skipping as well as making its more reliable when it is trying to dectect those other Zunes (after all the Zune was made to be “social”, it wants to shed its cocoon!)
And hey! no more putting the battery to sleep when the Zune is put to sleep with a still running FM tuner. Now your Zune can sleep nicely through the night and wake up still charged!
All in all a good Friday for all Zune users.
Category: Zune | Tags: battery, fm_tuner, skipping, Zune | Be the First to Comment »
03.23.07 - 01:12pm
The Zune is said to be coming out with a pink Zune in May, but “pink” won’t come close to fixing Zune’s many problems.
It seems that Zune users would prefer simply to have the promised firmware update, version 1.3, released. Reportedly the update was supposed to be released March 20th, with a fix for a skipping issue that occurs when playing content from Zune Marketplace, a fix for the FM Tuner so that it would not drain the battery in sleep mode, and other bug fixes to repair synchronization and detection problems.
Customers were so frustrated when Microsoft said the fix would not arrive till Tuesday the 27th, that they filled up the Zune Insider blog with anti-Microsoft rants.
One writer said “I just don’t get why no one let us know before because the Zune team blatantly must have known before today that they weren’t gonna make the supposed deadline.” Another wrote, “When I got off work this afternoon I boxed everything up, including the a/v kit, premium headphones, and Zune and headed over to Circuit City where I returned everything and purchased an iPod video.”
Category: Zune | Tags: firmware_update, microsoft, pink-zune | Be the First to Comment »
03.13.07 - 08:52am
Ifrogz has the coolest, sweetest iPod cases around and they have now added a special Zune case! Bonus! As an introductory special they are offering the case at 15% off regular price.
The Zune case comes in Gun Metal, Thick Black, Red Ruby, Hot Pants Pink!, Lyman and Aqua Spray. It is made from the same sturdy 100% silicone that has become the tradition with all ifrogz’s cases and has their famous “lifetime warranty” attached.
The case comes with one of ifrogz slick bands that are available in any color of your choosing. The case retails for $29.99.
You can add a Microsoft Zune Screen Shield for just $9.95 with ifrogz invisibleSHIELD. The screen protector also has a lifetime warranty and is virtually indestructible and utterly scratch-proof with a crystal clear glass like finish.
Ifrogz also offers you the choice of retaining the Zune colors while still protecting your music gadget from scratchs, scrapes and the like by offering the Microsoft Zune Full Body Shield also available through ifrogz invisibleSHIELD for $24.95.
Category: Zune, iFrogz Products, ifrogz news, ifrogz specials | Tags: | Be the First to Comment »
03.06.07 - 05:16pm
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….And the gloves come off - Microsoft, Apple and Google - the three big bad boys of the computer business, are starting to play dirty and it would seem that Microsoft is starting to have not just Apple, or just Google to battle separately (the no man is an island must have hit home with them), for it would appear that Microsoft will be battling Apple and Google together making a far more indomitable opponent than either one of them could be working alone - Is it possible that the great giant Microsoft will fall?
Microsoft may have been Apple’s savior back in 1997 when instead of not releasing their Mac Office 97 (something that may possibly have met the end of the already foundering Apple), they instead boosted Apple with a 150,000 million dollar investment and went on a full marketing campaign, keeping Apple alive. This may of course have been self motivating as at the time they were in full anti-trust government lawsuits and drowning their only competitor left dog paddling along certainly wouldn’t have helped matters. So in the end they saved Apple, and now like the scorpion riding on the Frogs back, Apple may be paying Microsoft back with a slow death. (the wonderful world of business)
Category: Zune, apple, iPhone, iPod | Tags: apple, competition, google, microsoft | Be the First to Comment »
01.31.07 - 03:43pm
We always knew that someday we would all have a car like Knight Rider and Sync takes us one step closer to the real thing.
Sync is a new automotive electronics system from Ford and Microsoft. What it does is allow the driver to speak to the car to make a phone call, listen to a text message - read aloud by the car, or find a music track from your iPod or MP3 player and play it without having to fumble through the click wheel (a definite asset while driving).
Announced at CES and the North American International Auto Show, Sync links Bluetooth mobile phones, kindred wireless and USB-based devices into the cars audio system. It offers a USB 2.0 port for control and charging of digital devices including the iPod, Zune, MP3 players and storage devices such as flash drives. One can access Sync either by speaking to it or through steering wheel controls.
Category: Bling Bling, Car Chargers, Car Mounts, MP3 Players, Zune, iPod | Tags: american_international_auto_show, iPod, mp3_players, sync | Be the First to Comment »
