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Microsoft sells 1 million Zunes

Published on 29th May 2007 by Brett Thomas

"The little player that couldn't" - The Zune has finally sold 1m units, six months later.

Does everyone remember how Microsoft hailed the Zune as the "iPod Killer"? How about its tag-line, "Welcome to the social"? Well, it's finally stepping out of being anti-social. Microsoft can finally breathe a sigh of relief now that one million Zunes have been sold.

Yay?

The Zune hasn't exactly been the most widely heralded toy to ever come about, and one million units being shifted six months later says two things. One, you have to be impressed with how Microsoft's advertising has succeeded, and two, even the greatest advertising can't sell something that has that many problems.

Of course, the lacklustre sales can't entirely be blamed on the product - the Zune still has not seen the light of day in any country but America. Microsoft has had problems getting the device into the EU due to royalty issues, the music store, and countless other regulatory difficulties. The Zune isn't even expected to hit Europe now until the end of this year - of course, the delay is almost immaterial with the iron grip that the iPod has on music.

So, the iPod Killer has 1 million down, and only 99 million to go. The first step is always the hardest? Tell us your thought on the (lack of) success in our forums.

18 Comments

Discuss in the forums Reply

Ramble 29th May 2007, 15:31

Wow, that's pretty awful.
Just make something that is simple and works, none of this drm crap.

yodasarmpit 29th May 2007, 15:57

I was going to say, if it hadn't been for the likes of bit-tech I would never have heard about the Zune, there has been zero advertising.

Then I read this, which explains why.

Quote:

Originally Posted by article
Of course, the lacklustre sales can't entirely be blamed on the product - the Zune still has not seen the light of day in any country but America. Microsoft has had problems getting the device into the EU due to royalty issues, the music store, and countless other regulatory difficulties. The Zune isn't even expected to hit Europe now until the end of this year - of course, the delay is almost immaterial with the iron grip that the iPod has on music.

pendragon 29th May 2007, 16:19

one of my coworkers says his brother owns one and loves it ..especially because he has an Xbox and they work off the same 'point' system, etc.. for buying and transfering songs ..personally, i'll stick with my Creative player for now

<A88> 29th May 2007, 16:23

I'm split on whether to buy a 1st gen Zune off ebay when I get my tax back or wait for the rumoured 2nd gen one which will allegedly fix all the hinderences of the WiFi whilst adding a larger screen, smaller casing and larger storage. Ironically, everyone I know who's got a Zune or tried one seems to love it, they're just being mocked for sales rather than the player itself- the latter is technically better than most devices on the market and still simple to use.

<A88>

Breach 29th May 2007, 17:36

Given their success breaking into the Console world, I think they will do well with the Zune eventually, but it will take a lot to dethrone the iPod.

bushd 29th May 2007, 20:46

The Zunes look real nice - especially as how Toys R Us is doing 20$ off and the Zune case for free with it. However, the only thing stopping me from getting one is the battery issues I've heard about on it.

Hugo.B 29th May 2007, 21:04

A certain software company should be ashamed of making .mp3 players merely because a rival does...

H.B.

pendragon 29th May 2007, 21:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugo.B
A certain software company should be ashamed of making .mp3 players merely because a rival does...

H.B.

meh, i don't see it as their only reason.. it's more likely they see how big of a market there is for .mp3 players and therefore figured they'd take their slice of the pie, so to speak

DXR_13KE 29th May 2007, 21:42

wasn't it already dead?

devdevil85 29th May 2007, 21:59

Ok, the player supposedly couldn't even download the #1 song on the MSN Music Store I heard due to the DRM issue. How is ANY player supposed to beat the Ipod with crap like that? Also, I loved how Microsoft said you could 'advertise' a party via the Wi-Fi to other's in the social chain. Ok? so....am I not getting this?.....you're standing 15-30 feet away from somebody who just might have a Zune...why not just tell that guy and everybody else nearby about the party? OMG their marketing is just horrible....I wonder if the bugs have been fixed yet...... The Zune V.2 sounds like a better bet in terms of being worth purchasing because even at the price it's at now I don't really consider it worth buying over Creative's new Zen Vision:M.

Sparrowhawk 30th May 2007, 00:24

According to the Yahoo story, Microsoft didn't sell one million Zunes, they shipped one million units.

Quote:

San Francisco (IDGNS) - Microsoft has beaten its goal of shipping over a million Zune digital music players by June, according to a newspaper report.

Ironically, the title of the story, only one line up, says one million sold. :(

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20070529/tc_infoworld/88888;_ylt=AoWt50lS3D8K7fu8HsYL7S4jtBAF

The_Beast 30th May 2007, 00:48

that is really sad, shipped not sold 1 million zunes

Navtrtl 30th May 2007, 03:34

I have had a Zune for a few months now. Can anyone tell what the issues are with them? I have had no real issues to speak of with the exception of one minor issue. The Zune has a "Lock" switch on the top to keep you from accidentally hitting a button. Every once in a while, the switch will move just enough in the lock direction so as to not look locked, but act like it is. You just slide it to lock and then back to unlock and that fixes it. It's only happened to me a couple of times. I would prefer that the switch not even be there since the buttons aren't sensitive enough to need it. I've never accidentally turned it on or raised the volume or anything of that nature. I use mine about 3 or more hours a day with the exception of weekends. Usually through the car speakers.

Also, what are the DRM issues? I've heard of one regarding old songs purchased prior to the new Zune site, but are there any other problems? All my songs come from CD's that I actually own, so I don't have to deal with DRM.

severedhead 30th May 2007, 13:34

There are problems with them? I have one and its been working flawlessly for the last 6 months or so. Its really easy to use and doesn't have a stupid touchpad on it.
The only downside is that it charges over USB which isn't useful on holiday somewhere remote. Fortunately the battery lasts a while.

Navtrtl 30th May 2007, 23:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by severedhead

The only downside is that it charges over USB which isn't useful on holiday somewhere remote.

I don't mind the USB charger because my EVGA 680i mobo (due to some glitch) will charge my Zune even when the PC is turned off. That's really handy so that I can leave my PC turned off to help keep the house cool.

completemadness 31st May 2007, 17:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Navtrtl
I don't mind the USB charger because my EVGA 680i mobo (due to some glitch) will charge my Zune even when the PC is turned off. That's really handy so that I can leave my PC turned off to help keep the house cool.

its called USB standby power (or something)

it allows USB devices to wake the PC, however your drawing power from your PSU's 5v standby rail - which often wont handle very much current

ITCHBZ 12th November 2007, 18:45

Tech support is not one of Microsoft's strong suits when it comes to attempting to compete with IPOD either. Last December we purchased two for our children. Originally we were planning to purchase the IPOD but the retailer sold us on Microsoft's "answer" to IPOD, so we purchased them. Within 6 months, neither would receive a charge. We couldn't locate the original receipt so we had to deal with the manufacturer instead of the retailer. We spoke with tech support via telephone and were unable to resolve the problem. Arrangements were made to send them in for inspection. Both were returned with the following response. "An inspection of your Zune has revealed damage not caused by any malfunctioins of the Zune iteslf. This type of damage is excluded from the limited warranty on your Zune. In addition, the extent of the damage to the Zune causes it to be not economically feasible to repair. Therefore, the Zune is being returend to you in the same condition as it was recieved, and not repaired."

When I spoke with them via phone they told me that the devices appeared to have been tampered with which voided the warranty. When I assured them that no one had attemted to open the product, I was asked to look around the device and see if there was anything that could have appeared as though someone had attempted to enter the devices. I revealed that there were scratches on the sides were the device had been dropped. I was told them that the fact that the device had been dropped voided the warranty. I was further told that the "moveable parts" inside could have been compromised when the device was dropped. However, no conclusive information as to why the devices stopped charging was provided. Unfortunately, now I own two devices that won't power up, so they are useless to me. MICROSOFT & ZUNE are going to have to step it up if they want to compete with IPOD.

yodasarmpit 12th November 2007, 18:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by ITCHBZ
Tech support is not one of Microsoft's strong suits when it comes to attempting to compete with IPOD either. Last December we purchased two for our children. Originally we were planning to purchase the IPOD but the retailer sold us on Microsoft's "answer" to IPOD, so we purchased them. Within 6 months, neither would receive a charge. We couldn't locate the original receipt so we had to deal with the manufacturer instead of the retailer. We spoke with tech support via telephone and were unable to resolve the problem. Arrangements were made to send them in for inspection. Both were returned with the following response. "An inspection of your Zune has revealed damage not caused by any malfunctioins of the Zune iteslf. This type of damage is excluded from the limited warranty on your Zune. In addition, the extent of the damage to the Zune causes it to be not economically feasible to repair. Therefore, the Zune is being returend to you in the same condition as it was recieved, and not repaired."

When I spoke with them via phone they told me that the devices appeared to have been tampered with which voided the warranty. When I assured them that no one had attemted to open the product, I was asked to look around the device and see if there was anything that could have appeared as though someone had attempted to enter the devices. I revealed that there were scratches on the sides were the device had been dropped. I was told them that the fact that the device had been dropped voided the warranty. I was further told that the "moveable parts" inside could have been compromised when the device was dropped. However, no conclusive information as to why the devices stopped charging was provided. Unfortunately, now I own two devices that won't power up, so they are useless to me. MICROSOFT & ZUNE are going to have to step it up if they want to compete with IPOD.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but the devices were dropped, causing them to become damaged and you're surprised Microsoft didn't replace them.
Most companies won't cover you for accidental damage.