Dec 25, 2006

Zune challenges iPod

Microsoft hopes to unseat Apple's killer ap

By Banks Albach / Daily News Staff Writer

They call it the iPod killer.

The Zune, now in its fifth week on store shelves, is Microsoft's answer to Cupertino-based Apple's immensely popular portable music player, the iPod.

Similar in appearance to the iPod, the Zune has a three-inch screen, a built-in FM transmitter, 30 gigabytes of storage and wireless Zune-to-Zune song sharing. The player comes in white, brown or black.

A Microsoft spokesman would not disclose sales figures so far but gave a rosy forecast for the Zune.

"With the strong start we've achieved, we're on a path to exceed 1 million units in sales by the end of the current fiscal year, ending June 30," a Microsoft spokesman wrote in an e-mail to the Daily News.

Even if that claim holds up, unseating the iPod will be difficult.

Apple shipped nearly 9 million iPods in the quarter ending Sept. 30, a 35 percent spike in growth from the same period last year, according to the company's fourth quarter statement.

Electronics retail giant Best Buy is stocking the Zune, but the company does not disclose specific product sales. But Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas indicated Microsoft has a ways to go.

"From our perspective, Apple is still the dominant player," he said. "They have new products out and they make great gifts. What we think about Zune is it provides choice."

But Microsoft is trying to go the distance.

The company has retained electronics and audio companies as Zune partners, including mouse and keyboard giant Logitech of Fremont, Palo Alto-based music player accessory company Speck, and Brisbane-headquartered Monster Cable Products Inc.

"We entered this space because the digital revolution is only beginning," the Microsoft spokesman wrote in the e-mail. "And consumers simply want choice."

E-mail Banks Albach at balbach@dailynewsgroup.com.