Microsoft has revealed that its popular Zune media player has hit 2 million units sold since its launch in November 2006. What the figure also reveals however is low or flat growth for the device, especially compared to sales of the Apple iPod.
The company originally promised it would hit one million sales before June 2007 and it did so but since then has kept quiet on sales for its player or any predictions on it.
Despite the flat growth the sales still helped Microsoft move up a percentage point in overall US marketshare, from 3 to 4 percent. Those figures are courtesy of the NPD Group.
It seems, for now at least, that there is fragmentation in sales after the launch of the second generation of Zune players. The original million sales were from the original 30GB model but since November 2007, Microsoft has been selling two cheaper flash-based Zunes as well as two HDD-based players.
The slowdown in sales could possibly have nothing to do with Microsoft at all. The current US economic recession has staggered spending all across the board and non-necessities such as MP3 players are sure to see a hit. MP3 players are also approaching saturation in the market and there are fewer first time purchases being made, regardless of brand.
Apple continues to flourish however with their iPod lineup and still control the market handily. In the last quarter 10.6 million iPods were sold, over 5 times the amount of Zunes sold in almost 2 years.
Despite the flat growth the sales still helped Microsoft move up a percentage point in overall US marketshare, from 3 to 4 percent. Those figures are courtesy of the NPD Group.
It seems, for now at least, that there is fragmentation in sales after the launch of the second generation of Zune players. The original million sales were from the original 30GB model but since November 2007, Microsoft has been selling two cheaper flash-based Zunes as well as two HDD-based players.
The slowdown in sales could possibly have nothing to do with Microsoft at all. The current US economic recession has staggered spending all across the board and non-necessities such as MP3 players are sure to see a hit. MP3 players are also approaching saturation in the market and there are fewer first time purchases being made, regardless of brand.
Apple continues to flourish however with their iPod lineup and still control the market handily. In the last quarter 10.6 million iPods were sold, over 5 times the amount of Zunes sold in almost 2 years.
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