Microsoft perseverance sees Zune HD a sold-out success
The Zune was a failure, right? Without a doubt, yes it was. But rather than traipse off with its tail between its legs moaning about Apple tying up the market with its quality products, Microsoft stuck in there and tried again. The Zune HD has now been on sale almost a week and select retailers are already sold out of the device. What’s more, reviews of the Zune HD are proving to be generally very positive.
The original Zune seemed to come out of nowhere and disappear back into the ether just as quickly. Those who bought it generally seemed happy with their purchasing decision but the number who made that decision failed to allow Microsoft to really make an impact in the marketplace. And make no bones about it, that’s what the Zune was designed for, to muscle in on the PMP market and steal some of Apple’s share of it.
Having failed to succeed the first time around, Microsoft went back to the drawing board and developed the Zune HD. Apple is still the main target, with the Zune HD going after the same sort of consumers who would be tempted by an iPod touch. While the iPod touch is unlikely to be beaten, either on usability or sales, the Zune HD could prove to be much stiffer competition than its predecessor.
Engadget is reporting that the Zune HD has sold out at a number of different retailers. “Amazon is listing a 1-2 month wait for the 16GB model and a 1-3 week wait for the 32GB, Best Buy has the player listed as ‘backordered,’ and New Egg shows ’sold out.’”
Microsoft’s own online store seems to have plenty in stock so there is the distinct possibility this is down to either low initial orders by the retailers or Microsoft holding stock back to create a demand. If the latter is true then it may have learned the trick from Nintendo, which spent the first two years of the Wii’s life producing less stock than was needed in order to create a buzz.
But even if that is the case and the Zune HD is only temporarily sold out, the fact is that people are already buying them, which didn’t really happen to the original Zune, even at the beginning. What’s more, the reviews of the Zune HD have been nothing short of revelatory, with CNET and TechCrunch, mongst others, having given their thumbs up to Microsoft’s new PMP.
I’d definitely buy one, mainly because I don’t want to buy an iPod touch and be forced to use iTunes, but Microsoft still isn’t planning to sell the Zune HD outside the United States. Though that could change if the Zune HD proves to be a huge success in America.
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September 20th, 2009
“reviews of the Zune HD are proving to be generally very positive.”
So were the reviews for Vista, and are the reviews for Windows 7 that nobody needs.
September 20th, 2009
@ilev
I love my zune HD (previous iPod owner). And yes, vista was a failure, but I’ve been using 7 since the beta in Feb and I can honestly say that 7 was more stable in the beta than vista with sp2.
Besides competition is good for the market. Does anyone honestly think that apple would have lowered its prices on the iPod if the zune HD wasn’t slated to come out a week later?
September 20th, 2009
I like the look of the Zune HD, and MS have done a stirling job, but it jas some crucial ommisions which means I would see no reason to switch from a Ipod Touch. They have too little memory for a device that is supposed to play back HD video, and once again no expansion slot for external memory. They still insist on using the proprietary connector instead of a USB connection. It would also be cool to see a GPS receiver built in as well as actually releasing the blasted thing outside of the US. These are features available in the Developers version of Creative’s Zii Egg.
September 21st, 2009
The Zen HD is a very good little piece of kit. It is simple to use and, if early reviews are anything to go by, quite reliable (a rare feat for Microsoft). It has got many features, but while you are not locked into iTunes, you also don’t get all of the applications which are available for the iPod touch.
In many ways, I hope they aren’t just trying to create a backlog, as it should force Apple to pull something special out of the bag and keep competition fierce, price wise and feature wise. I hope for Microsoft’s sake that they aren’t trying to generate demand though – because most people who want a portable media player and come across the Zune HD out of stock will go ‘ah well that’s out of stock, let’s go for an iPod touch instead’.
September 23rd, 2009
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November 28th, 2009
Cool post I will continue to look out for anymore of your future posts.
December 31st, 2009
The built in web browser is surprisingly good too. This isn’t too important to me, as I already have an iPhone, but it’s good to have for fallback. It’s not as polished as Safari on the iPod touch, but it came much closer than I thought it would.