Zune dies

After some back and forth, Microsoft might actually stuck to its guns and discontinue the Zune.

Microsoft has been something of a tease when it comes to Zune. For the better part of the last year, we’ve simultaneously seen the PMP production come to a halt while Microsoft has insisted there is life yet for the device.

The mixed messages came to a head recently when the company announced it was finishing making and selling the Zune while support team members said otherwise, and Microsoft pulled the page explaining Zune software would live on for WP7.

But nothing could will the Zune back to life, and it looks like the iPod rival is finally being laid to rest. The support page has been updated, explaining Zune production is indeed done and that the Windows Phone will now be the focus of Microsoft’s media content distribution.

Given Microsoft’s will-they-or-won’t-they dance with Zune, who knows if they will resurrect what has been an incredibly capable and comparatively popular device. Our guess, however, is that Microsoft wants to put all its eggs in one basket, and that basket is Windows Phone 7. Kudos to the company for attempting to streamline what in the past have been fragmented, disconnected platforms into a cohesive mobile brand. But farewell to a quality gadget that gave the iPod the best run for its money to date. 

Showing 11 comments

  1. Akbar Hossain at 11:59pm 9th December 2011 I've owned a Zune as well tbh it was a quite an experience but I didn't like the ideo of them making another software to compete with iTunes when microsoft had wmp they could've revamped that to make it look like the Zune software instead but I ended up goin back to iTunes since my Zune 30 crapped out on me
  2. doman at 4:34pm 11th October 2011 Yes, I owned a Zune, and loved it! I have an iPod now, and the hardware is fantastic, but I really miss the Zune software. It automatically located all of my music and videos for me and iTunes is still back in the stone-age when it comes to file management. Am I missing something? For those that actually did use the Zune software, does iTunes have a similar feature?
  3. Akbar Hossain at 10:49pm 11th October 2011 its about time. kill of the stupid software and use wmp instead
  4. Theresa Varney at 9:35pm 11th October 2011 I love my Zune... I hope it never breaks, I'm not wasting my money on any Apple product crap.
  5. Michael Durwin at 8:59pm 11th October 2011 of course it is.
  6. Lorne Hammond at 8:39pm 11th October 2011 Look at the first 100 friends on your friends list, how many of them own a zune... thats what I thought.
  7. Paul Remensperger at 8:35pm 11th October 2011 Goodbye you cheap iPod knock off. I'm sure someone somewhere will miss you. /playtaps
    1. doman at 4:39pm 11th October 2011 I've gotta defend the Zune on this one. It wasn't a cheap knockoff at all. Yes, it did play music and video, as does an iPod, but that's where their similarities ended. Both are great premium devices, but the iPod definitely played a more impressive role with Apps. I think that was Zune's downfall. It's too bad, though, because competition is healthy for the economy and peoples' wallets.
  8. Amon Namanya at 8:30pm 11th October 2011 Rest in peace.
  9. Josiah O'lad at 8:27pm 11th October 2011 Who is Zune?
  10. Robert Burnham at 10:02am 11th October 2011 If this is the case, it will be interesting to see what happens to the Zune software for Windows.
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