Currently, the Zune 80 is only available in black. Last Valentine’s Day Microsoft released a limited Red Zune. There is no schedule for the releases yet, but Cesar Menendez has confirmed that the red Zune will be in retail stores soon.
Microsoft released their fourth quarter earnings Friday. They missed earnings, but gave a good outlook for the next 12 months. What surprised me was that for the first time that I have been tracking the Zune was not mentioned in their earnings. The Zune is tracked with the Xbox360, which was mentioned.
Revenue from the division responsible for the Xbox 360 video game system ballooned 68 percent to $1.58 billion, which Microsoft attributed to robust demand for game consoles.
Overall, the Xbox division did very well, but game consoles were attributed to the success. I don’t want to read into anything, but I can only guess that sales for the Zune were flat or they would have mentioned it as a strength. Hopefully, they will release sales numbers soon because I’m curious how many Zune owners there are out there!
A few weeks back Microsoft announced a special Valentine’s Day Zune that comes with custom engravings schemes “inspired by the themes of love and sharing.” If you purchased on of these Zunes and expected it to arrive before Valentine’s Day you likely got a letters from Microsoft stating the device will not be delivered on the 14th, but will come with a full refund when it arrives. While it may be disappointing not to get the Zune on time, it must be nice to get a full refund!
Microsoft continues to pile up the billions of dollars. The company reported their second quarter earnings with a profit of $4.71 billion. Microsoft groups the Zune with the Xbox, so there is no telling exactly how much the Zune contributed to their earnings:
Sales from the division responsible for the Xbox 360 game console and the Zune digital media player edged up 3 percent to $3.06 billion. But the division swung to a profit of $357 million from a loss of $302 million last year, and Microsoft said the division is still on track to be profitable in fiscal 2008.
The company turned around a $302 million loss to a $357 million profit or a $657 million increase. Obviously, the record sales of Halo 3 had something to do with that. The good news is the Zune is selling well and Microsoft is likely seeing a nice return on investment pretty quickly.
From Zune.net.
Zune will be ‘bringing the music’ to the Winter X Games this year. Supporting ESPN in their efforts to bring the best action sport talent and related music to Winter X, Zune will be hosting onsite music including main stage acts; DJ programming and off-mountain VIP events. Join us at Zune events during Winter X, the premier winter action sports event in the world, featuring athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money.
The ESPN Winter Games will be held in Aspen, Colorado from 24-27 Jan 08.
Microsoft signed a $500 million deal with Viacom this week. Some details:
Among the content Viacom is offering up for Microsoft’s use are movies from Paramount Picture and TV content including Comedy Central and MTV shows. These Viacom properties will be offered in online forms and through the Xbox 360’s LIVE service, helping to make it a more viable competitor to iTunes in terms of TV and motion picture offerings.
This could get interesting if you are allowed to get MTV content for your Zune. A few months back Microsoft signed a deal to get ESPN content.
The Zune is the hottest item behind video game consoles this holiday season. From Yahoo News:
The hottest category was video games, with sales up 134 percent, said comScore. Within the video game sector the hottest product is Nintendo’s Wii. Consumers in search of the Wii hit both retailers and eBay. The online auction site saw 358 sold at an average price of $412, which is about $100 cheaper than from online retailers.
Microsoft’s Zune music player was ranked the second most popular gadget online by PriceGrabber, eBay and Shopping.com, although the sites saw differing levels of demand for the 30GB and the 80GB versions.
Here are some nice details of how the Zune stacked up against the iPod:
The Microsoft Zune beat all models in the Apple iPod line in searches this year. Interest in the Zune, has increased 246 percent in recent days and receives 13.3 percent of all inquiries in the MP3 market. The Zune offers a lower price point compared to similar players and includes a built-in FM Tuner.
Top-selling Products (online) on Black Friday
1. Nintendo Wii Console
2. Microsoft Zune 30GB Media Player - Brown
3. TomTom ONE 3rd Edition GPS
4. Activision Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock Bundle
5. Canon PowerShot SD1000 Silver Digital Camera
6. Microsoft Office 2004 Student and Teacher
7. Western Digital My Book Essential Edition External 500GB Hard Drive
8. Magellan Maestro 3100 GPS
9. Canon PowerShot SD750 Digital Camera
10. Canon EOS Regel XTi Black SLR Digital Camera
