Zune is a success. No, this is not a mock article. Zune is actually a success. The digital media player from Microsoft beat all the odds, contradicted all the criticism, and proved yet again that the marketing department at the Redmond Company is doing a hell of a job. Kudos to Zune...

Why is Zune such a success? Because it grabbed the number two spot on the U.S. digital music player market. And it did it in its first week of sales. At this time, we cannot speak of the global impact of the device since it still has to be introduced on the world's markets, but the U.S. success is illustrative of the Zune's performance at a global scale.

By being no. 2, Zune confirmed the word of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. "We want to either be No. 1 or on our way to being No. 1," stated Gates during the third annual TechNet Innovation Summit over two weeks ago.

Of course Apple is still no.1. , as runner up Zune is still lagging far behind in the shadow of the iPod sales. Apple Computer accounts for a total of 63% of the U.S. digital media player market with 72.5% dollar share according to data from NPD.

In Zune's young existence, Microsoft managed to gather a 9% share of the U.S. digital music player market. This is equivalent to 13% dollar share in just the first week of sales. These figures guarantee Zune the no. 2 spot occupied until now by SanDisk.

"This was especially impressive given the Zune's single capacity configuration and relatively high price point," said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD.