“Microsoft this week can exult in the fact that the hard drive-based version of its new Zune portable media players, the Zune 80, is sold out online and in retail stores around the country. But this apparent success is muted by a simple fact: The Zune 80 was never manufactured in volume, and many retailers never got a single unit to begin with,” Paul Thurrott writes for WinInfo.
“While there are rumors of manufacturing delays, the truth is quite a bit more pragmatic: Looking at the market, Microsoft decided to prioritize the manufacturing of the flash RAM-based Zune 4 and Zune 8. These devices, which offer 4 GB and 8 GB of RAM, respectively, compete in the most lucrative part of the MP3 player market,” Thurrott writes. “That market, incidentally, is currently dominated by the Apple iPod nano, which also comes in 4 GB and 8 GB variants and costs the same as the respective Zune models.”
“The lackluster original brown Zune, now dubbed the Zune 30, is currently the best selling MP3 player on Amazon.com. Why has last year’s most amusing joke turned into a best seller, you wonder? The price has dropped to less than $90,” Thurrott writes.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Douglas” for the heads up.]
Even Thurrott seems to have no patience for fake “Zune is suddenly popular” twaddle. Not a good sign for Microsoft’s Zune (in keeping with its entire history).
Woohoo! first comment… Zune Tang is slipping!
wow! the zune is down to $90? they drop it another 100 it will be worth buying…..
Oh and to add to my comment… I work in a retail store that sadly caries the Zune’s… and we NEVER got the 80GB. Never even got signage for it. Only the 4GB, 8GB, and 30GB Models
Woot had them for like 60 bucks or something like that a week ago. Price a dog turd cheap enough and someone will think it is a deal… but you are still stuck with a dog turd in the end.
The Dude abides.
So, they made twelve and they’re sold out now? Check to see if they’re buried in Ballmer’s massive front lawn for some sort of twisted Easter Egg hunt.
Just because its on the best seller list doesn’t mean its selling the most units. It means that Amazon wants to promote it. Any out of the box webstore software allows you to manually input what is the best selling item, so I’d think that Amazon could figure out how to do it. The Kindle was the “top selling” electronics gizmo and isn’t even out yet…hmm…This is a well known phenomenon on other lists such as the NYT best sellers list.
Zune Tang®, oh Zune Tang®.
Where for art thou now,
Zune Tang®?
Zune 80? SOUNDs so 80s.. old, lame, outdated.
magic word: SOUND! Lol.
” . . .but you are still stuck with a dog turd in the end.”
And that’s why I avoid the bargain bin at PetSmart.
The old rule still works…
If you make it cheap enough or free,
then even junk will become popular.
@Jaco
I’ve often wondered about those lists too.
@ZuneTang
simply the silence before the storm.
ROFL!
The best way to sell out of any product is dont make any.
This is priceless – I nearly wet myself reading this!
Microsoft really is desparate if they use this tactic “Oh we sold out of the Zune online and in retail stores” they can tell the press.
What they wont tell the press is the reason they sold out of zunes is because they only made a few of them in the 1st place.
So, taking all these facts in consideration you can safely say that Microsoft sold the same amount of Zunes at the original version – ZERO.
Feel sorry for the kids, who will be getting the discounted Zunes for Christmas.
Apple Mexico has opened, does that means that iPhone is coming to Mexico?
The hilarity!
Heck, I could fetch more than $90 for my 4GB iPod mini.
“According to major electronics retailers in the suburban Boston area, no Zune 80s were shipped to stores at all”
That statement says it all really.
SPIN SPIN SPIN…
I actually want a brown Zune now, for $90. Maybe in my stocking (fingers crossed). I mean, I wouldn’t actually turn it on, or even open the box. But it would make a good conversation piece in a few decades when Apple is the dominant global manufacturer of consumer electronics and Microsoft is a distant memory, like Wang Computer or Lotus.
We are still waiting for the iPhone too, and we are one of the countries in the world with the highest per capita number of mobile phones, second to Finland only I belive.
P.S. I never saw a Zune, brown or otherwise…
Paul Thurrott writing the truth? What the hell? Better get those lotto tickets now…….
This is about as fair an article as what he normally spits in Apple’s direction. The best selling Zune is not really much of a “best seller” and the Zune 80 was never much of a seller at all. The Edsel, by contrast, sold well. It’s first year. Then several things converged to kill it – only one of which was the fact that it was over-priced. Before you jump up to say “it was a piece of @#$%”, let me remind you that most cars of that decade were not much – if any – better. Why do you think foreign cars were able to grab market share?
Dave
Even better deal — they are giving brown Zunes away.
Buy a $468 speaker system from Amazon.com and get a free Zune.
http://amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_5830832_2?ie=UTF8&docId=1000159351&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=gp-center-7&pf_rd_r=0CBC47TE8HD6TZNM0SE1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=323958901&pf_rd_i=172623
I’m here to defend Zune Tang’s honor!!1
just kiddin’… lol.
Typical MS approach, give it away free or sell it for a loss so that they can increase market share. Then Ballmer takes the stage to say how well the product has been selling or how much “segmented” market share it now has.
I think y’all are a little too hard on this device. I mean, let’s face it, at the very least it’s added a useful word to our vocabularies. Example: “I had a little too much fibre today; I’d better go take a Zune.” Or, “When strolling along the sidewalks of Paris, be careful not to step on a piece of Zune”.
What light through yonder window breaks?
Tis Zune Tang, and MS is the _______ (fill in your favorite).
$90 for a brown Zune……
I might get one, if Microsoft gives me a $200 rebate!
otherwise, forget it…..
The iPod touch hasn’t left the Amazon mp3 player Top 10 since it was announced. In this day where all anybody seems to think about are capacities, it’s strange to see something with the memory of a nano sell for more than a hard drive player. Looks like Apple successfully did enough to make people see that the sacrifice in not having a gazillion gigabytes is worth it and I wouldn’t be surprised if the iPod touch itself outsold the entire Zune lineup this holiday season.
wow, it’s like IE vs. Netscape all over again. M$ wants to corner the MP3 player market by (practically) giving away their product.
if i spend $350 on a shiny new iPod, can i get a Zune for free? i can clear out the insides and use it to store some spare smokes.
What’s wrong with Edsels?
LOL when the Oxford English Dictionary admits the word Zune – with the meaning sh!t..
@ http://www.apple.com/mx:
The fact that Apple had finally opened online
store, is a great step towards bringing Apple
products to Latin america. I am Latin American
and I can attest to the fact that latinos is a
marketing emerging with tremendous buying
power!!
There were only 120,000 untits manufactured.
Ok – so WOW… they are all sold out.
Poor me – I guess I can always
ask Santa to have his elves make me one.
Stephen Jenkins
That Redmond must almost literally give away Zunes to compete with MAP pricing iPods. That is a losing strategy in the beginning, middle and end. Nice on Bill’s, your shareholders should just love you right off the board and out the company!… If they were smart.
I want that Zune 8 unlocked and WORKING on any OS I wish…
plus remove all WMA and WMV (DRM) and sell it for under 40 bucks.
I have the court order ready in hand.
Dougless
Well put Shinobi !!!!!
I’m in on that!
Whatever you people think, apparently other people are buying them.
Do you speak Latin?
MS is doing what they always do. Sell low at a loss until they run everybody out and then jack the price.
But they’ll have a hard time running Apple out this time.
Apple is hep to that game
Wow…someone want to organize a search party for Zune Tang…I’m getting a little worried…
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I heard somewhere that the Apple Lisa is sold out too.
“Zune 80 ‘sold out’ – so are Edsels”
Well, at least the Edsels are still worth something….
And DL, I have never heard that about the Edsel. It was always about marketing, timing and looks. Imports caught on big time 10-20 years later.
– Wundabar radio, it was self seeking for stations.
As I was doing “sets of measure zero” in class today, I felt compelled to write with the brown marker on the board.
One big difference here is that a person can take much greater pride in owning an Edsel.
@www.Apple.com.mx
Thanks for the heads up about Apple Mexico online store opening. Before, on Apple’s Latin America’s site, you would just be given the nearest Apple Authorized Reseller and prices were always quoted in US Dollars. [ I just bought my 24″ Aluminum iMac a few weeks ago here on the Riviera Maya but after waiting for 1-1/2 months on backorder and having to drive 2 hours away to Cancun. ] Today, you can order all Apple products online and have them shipped in Mexico and prices are quoted in pesos.
Starbucks started popping up here in the Riviera Maya for the first time this past year, and MacBooks and MacBook Pros now seem to be 50% of the laptops you see there now. The one Apple authorized repair center in Cancun is now busy when I visit ( I don’t know if that’s good news or bad ;-D ). But you might be right, Apple may be gearing up for an iPhone introduction in Mexico next year.
miss quoting the MDN Magic Word
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If you only build a few units then selling out is no great feat.
How many Edsels did Ford sell compared to total Zune 80s sold?
“In the first year, 63,110 Edsels were sold in the U.S. with another 4,935 sold in Canada. Though this was below expectations, it was still the second largest car launch for any brand to date, second only to the Plymouth introduction in 1928.
For the 1959 model year, there were only two Edsels: the Ranger and the Corsair, which was really a relabeled Pacer. The two larger cars were not produced. The new Corsair came in two-door and four-door hardtops, four-door sedan, and two-door convertible. The Ranger came in two-door and four-door hardtops, two-door and four-door sedans, and the Villager station wagon. In the 1959 model year, 44,891 cars were sold in the U.S., with an additional 2,505 sales in Canada.
For the 1960 model year, Edsel’s last, only the Ranger and Villager were produced. The 1960 Edsel, in its final model year, emerged as a Ford. Its grill, hood, and four taillights, along with its side sweep spears, were the only real differences separating the Edsel from the Ford.
Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on Thursday, November 19, 1959. However, cars continued being produced until late in November, with the final tally at 2,846 1960 models.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel#End_of_the_Edsel
“The lackluster original brown Zune, now dubbed the Zune 30…”
Isn’t that the Zune Turdy?
MW: Indeed
Wrong! We can’t make these things fast enough for the makket!
TT, apparently Ampar looked it up. Their marketing was fine, their timing was wrong, their looks were “interesting”. That vertical grill section that was their signature drew a lot of glances! VW, Saab, Volvo and BMW were all making in-roads in the late ’50s, particularly since none of them was anything more than “cheap” or “interesting”. The Saab was a sleek, under-powered machine, the BMW are well-suspended fugly box, the Volvo a retro-look bulb, and … well, we all know what the VW looked like, with its 30 or 40 horsepower. Maybe.
Still. The parts fit together, the fabric over-head fit nicely, and they didn’t break down much … by the standards of the day. A decade later, the same could still be said about them, and about the Japanese cars showing up on American roads. And this still surprised Americans used to what was built in the Good Ol’ USA.
Dave
Actually, Thurrott is the voice of reason. I am a longtime mac user but I rarely disagree with him. Much more balanced and cool-headed than most MDN takes.
BURN!!!!! BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve just picked up my $200. Dell from Walmart and am waiting for Amazon to deliver my Zune 30 that I just purchased on line. What a deal!
Does anyone know if my zune will work with my Dell? Its the latest version of vista it should right? Microsoft makes the software for both – they should work together right?…….they should work right?…even if not together right?…
Any advice would be appreciated
Does anyone know the return policy for Walmart and Amazon?
We ANONs don’t count anymore? HAHAHA, where is DMN based, Redmond WA? Whatever you do, DON’T mention the (lack of) privacy policy.
Dolita…
The 80’s are making a come back. Don’t be scared.
All of you calling for me, here I am. Now, I wish I had an Edsel! Maybe Zunes will one day be worth something too.
> …if they drop it another $100…
> …zune Turdy?
You can’t even use it as a paperweight ’cause it leaves skidmarks!
DL. I read the same article before I wrote my response.
I was speaking about your claim that most cars of that decade being bad, with imports catching on. Both of those happened in the 70’s.
And their marketing, beginning with the name, was off. The use of dealers for Edsels was a failure, and the “interesting” grill was compared to a vagina.
Now I understand how you come to your political conclusions.
Sorry, sold out of Brooklyn bridges, there is one left but it is reserved.
that isn’t yr regular style… protect your grounds of existence.
You apparently own a few of these devices.
“Maybe Zunes will one day be worth something too.”
Well they ain’t worth much.
Hope you have yours still in the original box.
Stephen Jenkins
As MDN pointed out once before…
Hide-A-Pod
I think this is called the Miata effect in advertisement. When that car came out originally, Mazda announced they were selling only 500 in the US, creating a massive demand. Later, they quietly shipped more…
re: I’ve just picked up my $200. Dell from Walmart and am waiting for Amazon to deliver my Zune 30 that I just purchased on line. What a deal!
Does anyone know if my zune will work with my Dell? Its the latest version of vista it should right? Microsoft makes the software for both – they should work together right?…….they should work right?…even if not together right?…
Any advice would be appreciated
—-
ROFL!
U been suckered.
God luck trying to get anything working with a Dell.
AND if you want any Zune advice – bin the Zune and get an iPod.
Infact do the same to the Dell and get a proper computer, they are Macs btw.
When you only make a dozen, by the time Steve Ballmer buys them for his whole family, they’re all sold out.
I just saw 2 Zune 80s in a Walmart in Orlando. I assume that they are still out there, just out of Microsofts warehouses.
en
Yeah, the Zune 80 has sold out. I bought them all myself to try and spark some investment in our stocks.
If you want one, I dumped them all in the dumpster out back of my office here in Redmond. Just stick a fiver in the letterbox on your way in and you can retrieve as many as you like.
I have coined a new phrase!
Edselzune………….. the new Gesundheit.
Ah, Apple fanboys. Just like the three gothic girls that stood in the corner at the school dance, mocking the rest of the kids in school as stupid sheep who don’t realize that in fthese gothics are the ones with brains and style.
Face it – Apple has used you.
It gives you minimal upgrades to ipod each year, and you have to buy a new one to get them. That’s okay, cover flow just slows the thing down anyway.
Why put in a radio feature when it would prevent customers from buying songs on iTunes? (Insert “I don’t need a radio, that’s why I bought an iPod” comment here)
Apple keeps its interfaces simple and elegant, but by design this takes control away from you and gives it to them. Fewer options, choices.
Touch is nice and looks amazing, but 16GB? Overpriced for now. Also, tactile interface is better for driving and other situations where you don’t want to HAVE TO look at your player for EVERYTHING. But this is Apple – style over substance.
Here’s the irony – Apple has become the complacent, dominating, arrogant, and ignorant company that Microsoft was/is. Microsoft, on the other hand, is becoming creative and re-inventive. Xbox360, Zune, Surface, etc. And they don’t need amusing yet inaccurate commercials bashing the other side like Apple.
“in a few decades when Apple is the dominant global manufacturer of consumer electronics and Microsoft is a distant memory”
I remember when they said this in the 80’s…and 90’s…and 2000’s…and so on and so forth….
But hey, you have a 10% market share of all pc sales!!!! WoOT!