Microsoft Zune revenues were down a cool $100m (£71.7m) the last financial quarter and many are now claiming the 'end of Zune' is in sight.
Adding insult to Microsoft's latest injury is the fact that Apple's iPod sales increased 3 per cent over the same financial quarter.
Zune 2.0 was initially reported to be launching in the the UK and Europe in late 2008, but never actually managed to grace us with its presence.
Publicly committed, privately unsure
Microsoft continues to publicly claim to be "deeply committed" to the Zune. Privately though, it's widely suspected that the commitment to the ailing portable may not be so strong.
Silicon Alley Insider notes that: "In light of the most recent numbers and Microsoft's self-professed desire to cut costs, there's no point left in pretending the Zune's not a failure. Time for Microsoft to cut its losses and move on."
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northerngeek
January 26th 2009
1. "Zune 2.0 was initially reported to be launching in the the UK and Europe in late 2008, but never actually managed to grace us with its presence."
Yeah, rumors said that for the most part, the main piece of info from staff is a European representative saying revision 3 hardware will be released in 09 in Europe as well as America.
I really hope they don't stop it, the Zune is the best device I have used hands down, even the folks at my local Apple store like it. They don't need to make revenue on the hardware so long as they can get subscriptions- it's like the whole Xbox Live thing. Releasing to more markets will only make it easier to make money from subscriptions- it doesn't have to be a failure yet.
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