The Redmond company seems ready to take Zune to the next stage, and take on not only the iPod but also the iPhone. However, there is still a consistent amount of work to be poured into the device. Microsoft's Zune digital media player hit the shelves on November 14, 2006. Applauded as an alternative to Apple's iPod, Zune had modest
goals set from the get go. And the device managed to live up to the mediocre Microsoft expectations shipping 1.2 items by mid July 2007. This was in fact Microsoft's goal all along since late 2006, to pass the 1 million milestone with Zune available for the general public from November and until the end of the company's past fiscal year on June 30, 2007.
Zune proved no match to the iPod, Apple pushing an estimated 20 million digital music players in the same period. But the fact that Apple shipped no less than 20 times more iPods than Zunes, did not discourage Microsoft, as the company hit its initially announced mark and is cooking the ZunePhone. Just watch the video at the bottom to get an idea of what I am talking about. It is of course a parody of a ZunePhone. Microsoft stated repeatedly that it would not deliver a mobile phone based on the Zune platform. Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer denied back in April that the Redmond company is even considering the concept of a Zune phone. Such a scenario goes against the strategy that Microsoft has adopted with Windows Mobile.
Meanwhile, Apple reported that the iPhone had an excellent start, and the queues formed by the public awaiting eagerly to be among the first to get their hands on a device is a phenomenon that was not synonymous with the Windows Vista launch for example. Apple CEO Steve Jobs revealed that the Cupertino-based company expects to sell more than 1 million iPhones by the end of the first quarter of the 2008 fiscal year.
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