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Microsoft to Launch Zune in EU
An anonymous reader writes "Happy with the sales from the little brown music player here in the states, Microsoft is working to launch the Zune media player in Europe by the end of the year. According to the Washington Post article, they are trying to have a realistic outlook on the entrenched Apple product line. They're not trying to play catch-up at the moment ... they're just trying to get on the map. From the article: '"Our next round of introductions will probably be in time for the holiday of this year." [Jason Reindorp] said Microsoft planned extensive research with focus groups in Europe to see how it could be modified for a European consumer. He said the Zune had a 10.2 percent market share in the U.S. in the 30 gigabyte category, according to the latest data, and that it was still in line to sell over a million units by June 30, the end of its current fiscal year.'"
Actually, since squirting certain songs won't be possible, maybe I should
wel-
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Summation 2
With a rollout in EU, and an anticipated 1M units sold by June here, what is the impact with the latest development whereby songs purchased for the Zune are not "squirtable" courtesy SONY's proscription? Is it really true about 50% of SONY songs purchased in the Microsoft way are not shareable with other Zune owners (if you can find them)?
I would guess that the sharing feature is not a show stopper for most people. The real question is whether or not the Zune will be priced under the iPod or any of the other "competitors". You have already mentioned the big reason why it's not a show stopper -- no one has a Zune anyway.
MOD PARENT UP!!
This statement sounds fishy: "He said the Zune had a 10.2 percent market share in the U.S. in the 30 gigabyte category, according to the latest data,..."
I suspect most people don't buy the 30 GigaByte iPod. I suspect that the "latest data" is only for new sales, and doesn't take into account all the iPods already sold in that category.
I also suspect that the "latest data" is a complete lie. Most people who call themselves marketing professionals are professional liars more than anything, in my experience.
I'd like to know how many people with no knowledge of MP3 players bought a Zune to give to someone as a Christmas present. I'd like to know how many Zune owners are dissatisfied with them.
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U.S. government violence encourages other violence.
They're going to launch the Zune in EU, but not in Canada? Do they fear our ability to legally download over here? Oh well... even if it isn't that, I never expect Microsoft to do things logically a lot of the time.
The Slashdot categories are quite broken and have been for ages. There is no section for Free Software, for example, so articles about GNOME or KDE end up in the Linux or BSD category, in spite of the fact that they are relatively kernel-agnostic.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
is your Boss, you had BETTER be quick & nimble with the BIG WORDS, & the HOT PLANS, & the NEW MARKET ENTRY at the NEXT HOLIDAY season, & (most important of all)...
You had best get your RESUME OUT THERE NOW, and get that FLACK JACKET & HELMET on because you never known when chairs are going to fly again.
None of this is surprising to anyone I've talked to. No One!
What I am hearing from diehard PC users I run across is subdued speculation, and NOT about Zune. The speculation is all whether VISTA will mean anything to them.
I pity the project managers under Ballmer, because their stomachs must be tied in a knot 24 hours a day. Been there, done that, and you can't survive long that way.
But in 2001, the marked for mp3 players wasnt that big. Like it is now. So its a little misleading. When you are saying it that way.
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
But then again, almost everybody who would ever want an mp3 player has one by now. Putting it that way, it's probably more difficult to enter an already saturated market.
The whole thing reminds me of the XBox: MS didn't sell many units at first, and we were laughing at them. But now, the XBox360 is already outselling the Wee and the Playstation3 (although not the PS2).