Microsoft declares Zune success

MICROSOFT has claimed early success for its Zune hand-held music player and entertainment device (a hard drive-based killer in the iPod category).

Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division president Robbie Bach told the San Fransisco Chronicle that the company had sold 1 million Zune devices, exceeding expectations.

Mr Bach claimed sales since its launch had earned Zune a 10 per cent share of the market.

“We're still about nine months into having Zune in the marketplace. We're very pleased with the progress,” Mr Bach told the Chronicle.

“When we finish our fiscal year in June we'll have sold a little over a million Zunes. In the category we're in, the hard-disk-based category, we've got about 10 per cent market share. It's a good start. It's not an overwhelming start,” Mr Bach said.

The Zune was only at its early stages of market development and penetration, he said, with Microsoft planning investments in the product for the long term.

Though not specifically talking about the creation of a Zune phone, Mr Bach did not discount the possibility. He said the company had plans to add great social networking features to the device, particularly around the music files could be stored and used.

“As we look to the future, you're certainly going to see us continue to invest in that category. We don't enter things like that lightly,” Mr Bach said.

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Without peer: Apple sells 100 millionth iPod

IT IS more than five years and 100 million iPod sales after Apple virtually created the portable digital music player market and the company still has no credible competitor in the market.

And it is not like the company is going to let anyone forget it. Apple wheeled out a truckload of celebrity spokespeople to celebrate its 100 millionth iPod sale – from hip hop chick Mary J. Blige to pushbike rider Lance Armstrong.

Apple has released 10 new models since the first iPod was launched in November 2001, including five generations of iPod, two generations of iPod mini, two generations of iPod nano and two generations of iPod shuffle.

Since 2004, the market has been flooded with other music players, all competitors to the iPod. But none of those competitors has looked like presenting a challenge to Apple’s dominance of the space.

The iPod has also sparked an ecosystem of more than 4,000 accessories made specifically for the iPod, ranging from fashionable cases to speaker systems. More than 70 percent of 2007-model US automobiles currently offer iPod connectivity.

The iPod companion, the iTunes Store features the world’s largest catalog with over five million songs and 350 TV shows. The iTunes online store has sold more than 2.5 billion songs.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs called the 100 milionth iPod sale an “historic milestone” and claimed the music player had helped rekindle a love of music in millions.

“It’s hard to remember what I did before the iPod,” said Mary J. Blige.

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