I finally managed to install Zune on my computer today (multiple tries, at least an hour or so of install tries and total time, firmware upgrades etc)...the Zune marketplace software is a blatant rip-off of MTV Urge, but that probably was the understanding that the two companies came to in the last few months, if not before. And then, after an easy music download and sync process (which I do really like for its simplicity), the hardware player itself is an exercise in Microsoft’s version of usability. It will make you jump through hoops: the wheel, the menu screen, the sub-divisions within that, everything. Or maybe I am just cranky today. (Oh, I also like the radio part. Simple…make it simple like a radio menu. Seriously.)
Anyway, to the point, WSJ has a story about how sales of Zune are not keeping up, judging by the charts on Amazon.com..it is about #20 in the list of top selling MP3 players...iPods and SanDisk players are much higher than Zune. Holiday weekend sales aren’t available yet, but analysts say the Zune is more likely to snag market share from other digital media players instead of Apple this holiday season. Sales estimates from a number of industry analysts for Zune ranged from 300,000 units to a high of about 500,000 units for the 2006 holiday season.
If Microsoft sells close to the upper range of sales estimates of 500,000, Zune would generate about $125 million, a minuscule amount in comparison to overall revenue, the story says.