$50 Zune price cut a sign of Microsoft desperation?

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 06 September 2007 02:17

Opinion and Analysis

Not long before new iPods were announced, Microsoft made an announcement of its own, dropping 30GB Zune pricing by $50, in a desperate attempt to get Zune sales zooming – but who’d want a Zune when they could buy an iPod instead?

Reuters has reported on Microsoft’s attempt to deflect some of Apple’s global ‘new iPod’ hype by announcing, just hours before Apple’s iPod launch, a US $50 price cut to the 30GB Zune taking the new price to just US $199.

Sadly, that’s it. No new features, no Zune phone, no larger hard disk capacities. Just the same ol’ Zune that no-one’s buying, now at a cheaper price!

Ok, so the bit about no-one buying Zunes isn’t quite true – Microsoft itself reported last June that they’d somehow managed to shift 1 million Zunes, and clearly are hoping that the new price cut will get rid of the remaining stock.

After all, Microsoft is reported to be producing at least three new Zunes – a smaller model to compete with the iPod nano, a beefed up model to compete with the regular iPod and a Zune phone to come sometime in the future.

According to the Reuters report, a Microsoft blog stated this price cuts had been in the pipeline for months, so at least Microsoft tried to spoil Apple’s fun by making the announcement on the cusp of Apple’s new lineup, in an attempt to deflect some of the global media attention Apple is receiving as we speak.

News reports on TV will focus on Apple’s new models, if the Zune gets a mention at all it will be very, very minor.

So, now that the cheaper Zune is here, loons who hate iTunes can read the runes, check for blue moons, and avoid hoons and goons as they soon cruise down to the store to stand in a lonely queue to buy their Zune at high noon.

As for me? Heck, fly me past the Zune and let me sing among the iPods. It’s where I wanna be, and with my iPhone, I’m already there. Microsoft, your price cut didn’t come zune enough, and surely is too little, too late.