Reuters reports that Microsoft has announced its pricing stategy for the Zune music player (Photos) which will go on sale November 14th 2006.
Microsoft is pricing the 30GB Zune at $249.99 which is essentially the same price as the 30GB iPod. Meanwhile, songs will also be sold through the "Zune Marketplace" at $.99/song similar to the iTunes Store. Pricing the Zune at this price, however, means that Microsoft will be losing money on sales of the player at the start:
"We had to look at what was in the market and offer a competitive price," said Scott Erickson, Microsoft's senior director of product marketing for Zune. "We're not going to be profitable this holiday but the Zune project is a multiyear strategy."
Zune has additional features over the iPod such as wireless connectivity and an FM tuner. Zune users will reportedly be able to beam songs and photos with each other. At launch, the Zune Marketplace will only sell music (no videos) but will also provide a $14.99/month unlimited subscription option as well.
The music player is reportedly only the first step in a line of portable devices, and a Zune phone is said to be in the works. Zune, of course, provides no Mac compatibility.
Tuesday September 15, 2026 1:43 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries.
In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....
Monday September 14, 2026 10:48 pm PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple released iOS 27 this week, and despite the company's focus this year on refining its flagship operating system and nixing bugs, there are still many additional features to explore, not least of which is Apple's new context-aware Siri, re-tooled for the generative AI era.
Which iPhones Support Every iOS 27 Feature?
This year's major iPhone software update isn't all about AI, though,...
Monday September 14, 2026 9:00 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27.
During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14.
iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update.
Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...
