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No Sweet Tune for Zune
"The product [Zune] wasn’t particularly attractive. At the end of the day, you put it on a shelf and it just didn’t compare". Technology "consultant" Rob Enderle puts down the Zune, which is probably the most downright pro-Zune thing this site will ever say.
http://blogs.wsj.com/holidaysales/2006/11/27/no-sweet-tune-for-zune/
Microsoft's Zzzune (The Sound Of iPods Flying Off The Shelf)
Nice title.
http://ce.seekingalpha.com/article/21479
Microsoft Zune: "The Patient Is Barely Breathing"
Another Enderle quote: "Microsoft came to the conclusion after market research that the new hot color is brown... No other hardware company has come to that conclusion." Incidentally, if you know the tech press, you know the name Enderle and its reputation. The article linked here is another odd reminder that media sources have come to the conclusion that Enderle is a technology consultant, though no tech press reader has come to that conclusion. But if a random cosmic ray can turn Reed Richards into a rubber man, we'll accept that one can grant a "pundit" the amazing power of normal human lucidity, if but for a moment. Or maybe it's not cosmic rays, it's just the mind-clearing awfulness of the Zune. In any case, we digress and will get back to work now. Sorry.
http://www.ipodhacks.com/article.php?sid=2057
Japan Does The Shuffle: iPod Tops in Japan Too
No surprise there. South Korea was the only major market where the iPod struggled. Anyone know how it's doing there now?
http://ce.seekingalpha.com/article/21228
Microsoft eating PlaysForSure young
" 'What you might be seeing are upgrades coming from some iPod users but probably more so from people who purchased PlaysForSure devices' said Gartner analyst Mike McGuire."
http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=6782
From the Dark Side: M$ Zune Sales Drop Precipitously from their Tepid Start
"Sales of the Microsoft Zune have dropped like a rock since their introduction in mid November."
http://www.macsonly.com/index.html#_14
Sales Dept: Zune No iPod Killer
But as many have pointed out, it is slaying some non-iPod players – i.e., Microsoft's "Plays for Sure" partners/victims. Oh, and a commentator mentions the Zune's triumphant sales win over a shower radio (cue Vangelis music and slow-mo shot of running Zune). Someone's been reading this site!
http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=6773
How's the Zune selling?
Article subtitle: "Microsoft Corp., analyst differ". Yes, the analyst lacks a criminal record, but they differ in other ways too.
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20061129/1064216.asp
Microsoft 'may need a rethink' on Zune
"Hi Bill, Steve B. here. Just rethinking: maybe we should have built a good product." http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2a9fff40-8165-11db-864e-0000779e2340,_i_rssPage=...
TechTrends: Microsoft Zune Fails With Color, Sex Appeal
"According to merchants NBC11 spoke to, shoppers are virtually ignoring the Zune." That and more quotes from "analyst for the Enderle Group, Rob Enderle"! How lucky this man was to be hired by a "group" that bears his own name.
http://www.nbc11.com/news/10417822/detail.html
Did Microsoft Copy the Wrong iPod?
The question "Did Microsoft copy the <blank>" is a silly one, because the answer is always "yes". But to ask whether it copied the wrong <blank> – now that could be enlightening.
http://daringfireball.net/2006/11/did_microsoft_copy_the_wrong_ipod
