Microsoft responds to death of Zune hardware claims

By Tom Warren, on 15th Mar 11 1:04 am with 8 Comments

Microsoft has responded to reports that the company has killed off its Zune hardware range.

The software giant issued two separate statements on Monday, pledging that the company remains committed to Zune services. The first statement:

“We have nothing to announce about another Zune device – but most recently have introduced Zune HD to Canada via Zune Originals store and remain committed to supporting our devices in North America. We are thrilled by the consumer excitement for Zune across many new platforms, including Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360. Our long-term strategy focuses on the strength of the entire Zune ecosystem across Microsoft platforms.”

The second statement was posted at Zune’s official Facebook page:

“We’re absolutely committed to providing the best movies, music, and TV show experiences through Zune on Xbox, the PC, Windows Phone 7 and Zune devices. We’ll share more information about the evolution of the Zune entertainment service and Zune hardware as future plans develop.”

The statements follow news from Bloomberg that Microsoft has killed its Zune music players. The news is hardly surprising and has been a long time coming for Microsoft. WinRumors recently reported that Microsoft is planning to merge some Zune services into the Windows Live brand but it appears the changes go deeper than that. Microsoft was originally quick to respond and state that the company isn’t “killing any of the Zune services/features in any way.”

Microsoft’s first statement almost confirms the news. “Remain committed to supporting our devices” suggests that the company will still support existing devices but that it might not have plans to produce any further devices. My thoughts are that the hardware part of Zune is the first in many changes to the brand and services of Microsoft’s music and video offerings. Zune is dead one way or another.

  • http://twitter.com/NorrathReaver Shane Nokes

    …or so you assume yet again.

    The way I read the original Bloomberg article reads to me like they are merely sourcing Paul Thurrott, who HATES to have egg on his face, but LOVES to try to spread his fame.

  • http://jeftek.com Jef

    Zune services…on Android. Android is stIll missing a cohesive media ecosystem yet it has far more numbers than dune hardware/wp7. I loved zunepass but tying it to an unpopular hardware platform limits its growth

    • Viruela22

      Zune is too perfect for a system so berreta and of poor quality as it is android

  • GP007

    If they make a deal for the Zune software to be used by other PMP OEMs then sure, you could say they killed the hardware but have they really?

    MS should’ve licensed out the ZuneHD OS as is (or with a few tweaks) to OEMs years ago. That why they could flood the market with Zune compatible players and boosted the marketplace. The only problem with this is that MS still can’t get full Zune services running in every part of EUrope or other countries. Maybe that can finally happen with the Nokia deal though? Or MS should just buy up a few streaming music services that are EU based and get the licenses that way.

  • http://www.timacheson.com/ Tim Acheson

    Don’t underestimate Zune, under any logo. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:-

    http://twitter.com/timacheson/status/22874929169

    There’s a tendency in certain circles to dismiss Zune and even laugh at it, but these people are uninformed. Commentators often confuse one experimental device with a much broader brand — whether they do so deliberately or through genuine ignorance.

    You can buy a movie, music video or music track on Zune and enjoy it on your TV/Xbox, PC, Mac, Win Phone, etc. Download or instantly stream. Full true HD 1080p. Welcome to the future.

    http://www.Zune.net

    • Guest

      The device wasn’t experimental. MS launched it fully expecting it to succeed against iPod. But it failed, mostly due to MS’s mistakes. Yeah, the software is good. Yeah, aspects of the subscription are good. Yeah, even the hardware was finally good by the third version. But it still failed. Maybe the software lives on through WP7 or maybe WP7 fails too. We don’t know.

  • A2282692

    When will come ZuneHD to Europe?

  • George Busch

    Zune was dead long ago. I like my Zune, but you can’t connect it to anything. No adapters to connect it to car stereos, home player units – if you want to use it you have to use earphones. And the software sucks (not that iTunes is much better). And a oh-so-fashionable square box – come on. MS never backed it. They were just hoping to get a toe-hold on the market before they threw their might behind it and it never caught on. MS marketing is pitiful and their staff has no foresight. They are reactionary, never revolutionary. In the meantime, I think I’ll pick up another discounted unit while their still available. I’ld rather have an Ipod (plenty of devices to connect to – even my car has an ipod adapter on the radio), but the Zunes are so much cheaper.