Splat goes the Zune
Looks like the many negatives I listed for the Zune are showing up in product sales:
But what is most telling is the item that lies in the number six spot, two places ahead of Zune. That honor goes to the SanDisk Sansa e250, the 2GB version of SanDisk's best player. SanDisk may have been the second best selling DAP brand prior to Zune's appearance, but that company certainly does not have anywhere near the advertising visibility Microsoft is committing to Zune. Zune's third place showing among MP3 brands has to be a little disappointing for Microsoft. But then again Microsoft did leap ahead of Creative, iRiver, Archos, Samsung, Toshiba and Sony on its first try and that is a clear accomplishment.
A middle of the pack showing is ok, but getting out of the gate behind the SanDisk is kind of underwhelming. I think they'll need to go back to the drawing board for the next rev.
Comments
[Charles Miller] November 19, 2006 3:33:40.289
And the Zune's position comes with the benefit of a huge amount of launch hype. Looking at the same Amazon sales figures four days later, the iPod is still in spots 1, 3, 5, 6, 12 and 21. SanDisk is in at #4 (the only non-iPod mp3 player in the top 20) and #23. The Zune has dropped to #25. How many more days until it drops off the charts all together?
[Charles Miller] November 19, 2006 3:45:03.171
And that's the black one. The Brown Zune is ranked at #108, and the white is at #250.