With the announcement of the Xbox Music entertainment service on Monday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft dealt a killing blow to the Zune brand -- what was left of it, that is.
A rep from the Xbox team told The Huffington Post in an emailed statement that Xbox Music will become Microsoft's "definitive music service." The rep went on to write that "[c]urrent Zune customers will become Xbox Music customers and will have access to everything they love today, plus a whole lot more." We weren't able to learn whether this switch will happen automatically for users, but Microsoft has promised to issue more details soon.
Launched in November 2006, the Zune player was meant to be a serious challenger to Apple's iPod. However, early reviews were less than stellar: For example, Engadget was "underwhelmed" by the first Zune, while Ars Technica said the device suffered from "strange schizophrenia of spirit."
The Zune line was a commercial flop. In October 2011, Microsoft discontinued its struggling media player business to instead focus hardware efforts on new Windows Phone devices. The company did say that Xbox 360, smartphone and PC users would still be able to access a few branches of the Zune family tree, including the Zune music and media player software, Zune Pass streaming service and Zune Marketplace.
But the Zune name is over now.
A Q&A page on the Zune website briefly explains that current Zune Music users should expect to have their accounts switched to Xbox Music, which will be available on Xbox 360, Windows Phone, and tablets and PCs running the forthcoming Windows 8 operating system. The page also says that subscribers to the Zune Music Pass streaming service will see a switch to Xbox Music when Microsoft releases the service, which should happen in the second half of 2012.
The differences between the Zune services and Xbox Music don't appear to be major. Microsoft has more or less axed one unsuccessful brand name and attached a more popular brand (plus some new features) to the existing services.
Take a look at the promo videos (below) to see how Microsoft's new Xbox Music compares with the Zune services for Xbox, Windows Phone and PC.
XBOX MUSIC (2012):
ZUNE FOR XBOX, WINDOWS PHONE, PC (2011):
Flick through the gallery (below) to view some of Microsoft's biggest gadget flops:
Loading Slideshow
Kin 1 and Kin 2
The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/01/microsoft-kin-dead-micros_n_631439.html" target="_hplink">Microsoft Kin</a> smartphones debuted in April 2010. Marketed for teens, the devices were priced at $50 for the Kin 1, $100 for the Kin 2. Less appealing were Verizon's $70-per-month subscription plans, as were early reviews calling the devices "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/13/microsoft-kin-review-phot_n_574697.html" target="_hplink">not smart enough</a>" and "<a href="http://dvice.com/archives/2010/04/why-microsoft-k.php" target="_hplink">downright ugly</a>." In June, Microsoft pulled the plug on the Kin family and focused exclusively on Windows Phone 7.
Spot Watch
Launched in 2004, the Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) watches connected to Microsoft's FM radio-based network (MSN Direct) and delivered weather reports, news snippets, stocks and sports scores to users. <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9927213-1.html" target="_hplink">Writes</a> CNET, "Microsoft put a lot of money behind the Smart Watch and partnered up with Fossil, Suunto, Swatch, and even Tissot, which produced a high-end, touch-screen model that cost $800." Critics and consumers were not buying it, though. <em>Washington Post</em> reviewer Rob Pegoraro tested a $300 Suunto model and <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2008/04/microsofts_spot_watch_winds_do.html" target="_hplink">wrote</a> the following: "[It was] too big, too ugly, too useless, too expensive (especially with a $9.95/month subscription charge for Microsoft's MSN Direct data service)."
The devices were discontinued in 2008.
Courier Tablet
The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/29/microsoft-courier-cancele_n_557493.html" target="_hplink">Courier Tablet</a>, leaked in 2009, was expected to be announced shortly before the iPad's debut in January 2010. According to rumors, the device would have featured two seven-inch screens that folded shut. However, this innovative twist on the tablet PC never saw the light of day. Microsoft instead unveiled a comparatively "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/07/hp-slate-tablet-microsoft_n_414364.html" target="_hplink">underwhelming</a>" single-panel tablet device called the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/07/hp-slate-tablet-microsoft_n_414364.html" target="_hplink">HP Slate</a>, which PCWorld called "<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/186247/hp_slate_lowers_the_bar_for_apples_tablet_pc.html#tk.mod_rel" target="_hplink">a mediocre device</a>" and "<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/186172/why_the_microsofthp_tablet_is_a_big_disappointment.html" target="_hplink">a big disappointment</a>." By late April, both the Courier Tablet project and the HP Slate were tabled.
<blockquote><strong>UPDATE:</strong> A post written for the official Microsoft Blog in 2010 clarified that the Courier "project" was <a href="http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2010/04/29/speculation-about-the-courier-project.aspx" target="_hplink">never an official Microsoft product</a>. The statement read: "<em>At any given time, across any of our business groups, there are new ideas being investigated, tested, and incubated. It's in Microsoft's DNA to continually develop and incubate new technologies to foster productivity and creativity. The 'Courier' project is an example of this type of effort and its technologies will be evaluated for use in future Microsoft offerings</em>." The HP Slate was the result of a partnership between Microsoft and Hewett-Packard.</blockquote>
Windows Ultra-Mobile PC
The first hand-held devices built on Microsoft's unique Ultra-Mobile PC platform launched to ample buzz in 2006. This new class of powerful mini-devices, which accepted pen and touch input, never caught on. The first U.S. release, the Samsung Q1, received <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/125919/mobile_computing_ultra_mobile_pc_update.html" target="_hplink">poor reviews</a> because of its hefty price tag ($1,099), buggy software, and odd keyboard design. Other releases suffered similarly.
The Zune
Microsoft's answer to the iPod hasn't had a good run. The Zune's share of the mp3 player market peaked at 10%, slumping to 2% in 2009, according to <a href="http://www.investorplace.com/34097/microsoft-kills-zune-mp3-player-smartphones-windows-phone-7/" target="_hplink">Investor Place.</a> <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/microsoft-said-to-stop-releasing-new-zune-models-as-demand-ebbs.html" target="_hplink">Bloomberg</a> reported that Microsoft would be killing off its music player due to "tepid demand" and cease releasing new models, though it would continue developing the Zune software.
<blockquote><strong>UPDATE:</strong> <a href="http://zune.net/en-US/products/software/download/default.htm" target="_hplink">Microsoft announced on October 3</a> that it "will no longer be producing Zune players."</blockquote>
MSN TV
Microsoft's MSN TV (aka WebTV) was a service that allowed users to access the Internet via their televisions. The product, which may have been ahead of its time, was ultimately a flop, failing to attract more than 1 million subscribers.
The <a href="http://cachef.ft.com/cms/s/0/a20ccd80-d16e-11df-96d1-00144feabdc0,s01=1.html#axzz1GxNEJiL8" target="_hplink">Financial Times</a> wrote of Microsoft's efforts, "Surfing the TV on a keyboard and web browser sounds about as enticing as pushing a rickety shopping cart across the plush carpet of a designer boutique."
Zune, we hardly knew ye.
With the announcement of the Xbox Music entertainment service on Monday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft dealt a killing blow ...
Zune, we hardly knew ye.
With the announcement of the Xbox Music entertainment service on Monday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft dealt a killing blow ...
Zune is not dead. Its design language and its interface lives on in Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. I have a matte black Lumia 822, when it sits next to my Zune HD with xbox music or Metro Radio, the differences are minor, it looks like a Zune phone and I love it. Windows Phone is a great product, you can thrash Microsoft's poor management but you cannot deny that there are some very smart engineers and designers there.
Jei_Art: Zune is not dead. Its design language and its interface
i appreciate that you did an article on this topic, but did it have to be so shallow? couldn't you have done it without turning it into a "yet another Microsoft flop" story?
i'll wager you never owned or even used a zune in your life. and as long as that's the case, i think you lack credibility in carelessly summing it up as merely "a flop." were there some negative reviews of the very first zunes? of course. but was it ever thus? did zune never manage to elicit anything but negative reviews throughout its run? you bet there were positive reviews of later zunes, but of course you couldn't be bothered to mention that. it wouldn't fit in with your predetermined "another microsoft flop bites the dust" theme. after all, it's so much more fun (and ADD friendly) to offer up slideshow hilarity like "Microsoft's Worst Gadget Flops" in your zune piece.
if you had bothered to do even a tiny bit of research and exhibit even a tiny bit of journalistic objectivity, you could easily have discovered that there are many, many people--including professionals--who feel that the later models of zune are superior to ipods. but no, that would have lessened the effect of your "Microsoft's Worst Gadget Flops" slideshow.
you, my dear, are a hack.
equinoxia: catharine smith, i appreciate that you did an article on
Amazing that while the demise of the ZUNE debacle (another failed Apple Killer) the lead story is a banner of Microsoft PR for the X-Box. The problem with Microsoft is quantity. It got used to being the Biggest game in town and thought that would be the way it always was. A kind of "get used to it" marketing philosophy. I remember the hearing where Microsoft's Gates claimed MS always was listening to customers and responding to supply what the customers wanted. Then the Netscape CEO asked the people at the hearing how many used Windows. All the hands went up. Then - How many people like Windows? All the hands went down. Today the future of Microsoft depends on all the new IT department heads being stuck on what their bosses used. But now THEY are the bosses and responsible for ROI and costs. The result is a steady decline of Microsoft Market Share and an increase in UNIX and Mac. iPhone is not the biggest but despite the spate of phony lawsuits every week, Apple continues to lead everyone else. Someone will pass them someday but it will not be Microsoft and it's pictures for DOS.
whitcombc: Amazing that while the demise of the ZUNE debacle (another
SO what does this mean for everyone that were forced into using Zune to transfer content to their Nokia Lumia 900 phones? This is the ONE THING that made me nervous about getting the Lumia 900 and being stuck with a renewal on a 2 year contract with AT&T.
Tom95134: SO what does this mean for everyone that were forced
So your gonna complain about using Zune software which makes it easier to transferr things on and off the phone based on never using it. What do you think Apple uses? It's an interface which I find works very well in keeping everything organized. Also it backs up items on your phone too. So tell me what would you use to do that?
ITGUY101: So your gonna complain about using Zune software which makes
As a Windows Phone 7 user, I suggest you save the following copy for use 3 to 5 years from now,
"Launched early in 2011, the Windows Phone 7 was meant to be a serious challenger to Apple's iPhone. However, early reviews were less than stellar: For example, many users were 'underwhelmed' by the first WP7, while others said the device suffered from 'strange schizophrenia of spirit.'
"The Windows Phone 7 line was a commercial flop. Earlier this year, Microsoft discontinued its struggling phone to instead focus hardware efforts on a new tablet designed to be Microsoft's answer to both Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle."
kentest2: As a Windows Phone 7 user, I suggest you save
care to elaborate? of course not. so much easier to just say "zune sucks." your comment is as insightful as it is erudite. i wonder if your other comments are as mature as this one? i suspect they are.
equinoxia: care to elaborate? of course not. so much easier to
I have both a Zune mini, and an HD. I use the HD for the HD2 channels, also because my Zune software is on a dead laptop. Shame to see it come to a chilling close. :(
Aaron_Nixon: I have both a Zune mini, and an HD. I
The Zune device was discontinued, Zune the service was never killed...
The failure to catch on was due to a multitude of things, but user feedback suggested it was NOT a poorly made product. Poor advertising, bad timing...most likely killed the device.
NerdyStudent: The Zune device was discontinued, Zune the service was never
I picked up a Zune HD right off the start and have never regretted it, wouldn't fly without it. It was also obvious from the start that MS wasn't backing it big time which I regarded as a good thing at the time. Besides the usual bag of goodies, HDFM on the road, great music quality(esp. classical), TV hook-up -what the *ell, I got my money's worth.
yauxeybalba: I picked up a Zune HD right off the start
I've got the Zune 80 and it's still going strong, some five or six years later. I like my Zune way better than my dad's ipod that was purchased at roughly the same time. One of the problems though, was that every accessory being sold in every store was made for the ipod. You want a portable dock? It's for ipod. You want a charger? It's for ipod. You want software that everyone else has? That's iTunes, and yes, it's for the ipod.
You want a way to connect it to your home stereo system? It's for ipod. The Zune itself sounded nice, was easy to use, and looked pretty slick too (with complimentary engraving on the back) - but with the world was already too deep into its ipod fixation, so Zune lost out.
As a side note, does anyone know why Apple has so much trouble providing iPhones with decent memory for a decent price? My iPhone 4s has a piddly 16GB of memory and to go up to 32GB, it would have cost me an extra $100. You can buy a 32GB for $35 almost anywhere. You telling me Apple couldn't afford to make cheaper built-in memory for the iPhone? Especially since there is no external memory option on the iPhone?
sureshot32: I've got the Zune 80 and it's still going strong,
I love it when Microsoft employees and reps use the word "innovation." It's like their PR mantra the last few years. Even Gates did it. In reality, it's like a huge guy having the nickname "tiny."
BilloBrillo: I love it when Microsoft employees and reps use the
Loading comments… 
The Huffington Post | By Catharine Smith Posted: 06/04/2012 9:19 pm Updated: 06/04/2012 9:25 pm