sorry, article didn't copy. here it is..
Is Microsoft getting ready to walk away from its underperforming Zune? That was a question floating at CES, thanks to a Financial Times interview involving Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer. In the interview, Ballmer "seemed all but ready to throw in the towel on the Zune mobile device, which has failed to gain ground on Apple's iPod," according to the Times, though a direct quote was not offered.
Instead of the Zune and its rival iPod, Ballmer indicated that consumers are shifting towards a new class of smartphone, led by devices like the iPhone and Blackberry. But Ballmer also killed speculation of a Zune phone, telling the Times that consumers "should not anticipate that."
Elsewhere, in an interview with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Microsoft executive Robbie Bach also flatly dismissed the idea of a Zune phone. Separately, on the issue of the Zune, Bach also noted that the growth trajectory on dedicated MP3 players remains flat, though Microsoft would broaden development on media related software. "I don't think the portable media category goes away. I just think it's not going to be where most of the growth is," Bach said.
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January 13, 2009 at 11:58 PM
There's plenty of people in the world who would love to have access to an mp3 player but don't. It's the reason our CD sales still exist. MP3 player sales are going to continue to grow until they've finished their "trickle down" effect like cell phones. When Zunes and iPods are sold at gas stations like cell phones...
The digital divide is where our industry has the least oversight. We often forget that there are people who are stuck between CDs and MP3s.
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