Microsoft changes its story, concedes death of Zune hardware
Tue, Oct 4, 2011 - Less than a day after Microsoft denied that its Zune lineup of portable media players was being discontinued, the company has decided to confirm that its Zune players have in fact received the ax. ( 63 comments )
Microsoft Board criticizes CEO Steve Ballmer for weakened smartphones, Windows
Tue, Oct 4, 2011 - After conducting an annual performance review of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the software giant's Board of Directors took him to task for poor sales of its Windows Phone 7 operating system, dampened Windows revenue and the "need for further progress" with new form factors, awarding him just half of his maximum yearly bonus. ( 54 comments )
Microsoft removes, then re-adds Zune HD to its website [u]
Mon, Oct 3, 2011 - Microsoft temporarily removed references to all Zune hardware from the official Zune website Monday, an apparent error that was initially viewed as the final nail in the coffin for the media player that failed to gain traction against Apple's iPod lineup [update]. ( 61 comments )
Microsoft, RIM plan services to compete with Apple's iTunes
Wed, Mar 9, 2011 - Two of Apple's chief rivals are working on their own separate services to compete with iTunes, as Research in Motion has partnered with 7digital for its PlayBook tablet, and Microsoft is cooking up a secret project dubbed "Ventura." ( 47 comments )
iTunes tops movies; $10M in fake iPhones, iPods seized; Jobs' mansion nears demolition
Tue, Feb 8, 2011 - Sales figures for 2010 show that Apple's iTunes Movie Store remained on top with 64.5 percent market share among competing Internet video services in the US. Also, more than $10 million worth of counterfeit iPhones, iPods and other items have been seized by the Los Angeles Port Police. Finally, officials say the physical permit allowing Apple CEO Steve Jobs to raze the controversial Jackling mansion will be issued soon. ( 29 comments )
Apple's iOS pushes Microsoft to dial down Silverlight for HTML5
Fri, Oct 29, 2010 - While Apple's success with its mobile iOS platform is credited with invoking the proliferation of HTML5 video at the expense of Adobe's Flash, it's also causing a major shift in strategy for Microsoft's Silverlight. ( 53 comments )
Apple's Steve Jobs slams Google, RIM, rival tablet makers
Mon, Oct 18, 2010 - In a surprise appearance during the company's quarterly earnings call, Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs hailed the success of the iPhone and Pod while painting a bleak outlook for RIM's Blackberry smartphones, Google's fragmented Android smartphone platform, and the coming trickle of 7inch tablets. ( 181 comments )
Microsoft exec says Zune software coming to the Mac
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 - In an effort not to discourage Mac users from adopting one of its new Windows Phone 7 handsets, Microsoft will reportedly deploy later this a year the first version of its Zune media software targeted at Apple users. ( 134 comments )
Inside Apple's iOS 4: new feature parity with Snow Leopard
Fri, Jun 18, 2010 - Apple's iOS 4 features the biggest foundational leap for developers since the company first opened up iPhone OS 2.0 to development, now catching up to the core features of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. ( 82 comments )
Apple's success forces Microsoft to 'shake up' phone, media teams
Tue, May 25, 2010 - In the face of success from Apple and Google in the portable device market, Microsoft is expected to announce "major organizational changes" in the company's Entertainment and Devices Division, responsible for Windows Phone, Zune and Xbox. ( 80 comments )
Like Apple, Microsoft rumored to be creating tablet
Mon, Sep 21, 2009 - Just as they compete in numerous other markets, Microsoft and Apple could be going head to head with new touchscreen tablet devices in the near future, if a new rumor proves true. ( 142 comments )
Apple, Microsoft trade places selling iPod touch and Zune HD
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 - Apple makes its money selling hardware while Microsoft's revenues are from software. Yet in the mobile device war heating up between the iPod touch and the Zune HD, Microsoft is focusing on hardware features while Apple is shifting its marketing attention toward the iPod's vast library of third party software, particularly games. ( 84 comments )
Microsoft discontinues hard drives, "squircle" from Zune lineup
Wed, Sep 2, 2009 - With the impending launch of Microsoft's iPod touch competitor, the Zune HD, the Redmond, Wash., company will discontinue its previous offerings, which included high-capacity hard drive players and the "squircle" input method. ( 31 comments )
Apple "awash in cash" as Microsoft offers "buckets" to Zune developers
Fri, Aug 14, 2009 - As debt-free Apple has accrued a massive $31.1 billion in cash and investments, Microsoft allegedly recently offered one developer "a bucket of money" to write software for the new Zune HD. ( 55 comments )
Zune HD price leak: $100 less than Apple iPod touch
Tue, Aug 11, 2009 - A temporary price listing for Microsoft's upcoming Zune HD showed the device at $290 for its 32GB offering, a cost more than $100 cheaper than the comparable iPod touch model from Apple. ( 153 comments )
Microsoft stores to mimic Apple's with "Guru Bars"
Fri, Jul 24, 2009 - A leaked presentation has exposed Microsoft's tentative plans for its retail stores -- and the high degree to which they'll imitate Apple stores, down to their layouts and even the presence of a dedicated "Guru Bar" for help. ( 171 comments )
Microsoft suffers worst fiscal year ever while Apple rises
Thu, Jul 23, 2009 - Once accustomed to ever-rising profits, Microsoft has been dealt two blows with both its second quarter of losses in a row and its first-ever annual decline, all at the same time as Apple has had its best non-holiday quarter yet. ( 111 comments )
Apple, many others in crosshairs of touchpad lawsuit
Sun, Jul 19, 2009 - A small firm hoping to strike it rich through legal action has sued Apple, Microsoft, and virtually every other significant company making a media device under claims that they violate a patent for touchpads. ( 65 comments )
SanDisk CEO concedes that Apple's iPod has won the war
Wed, Jun 3, 2009 - Since the debut of the first iPod in 2001, almost every consumer technology company has tried to create an “iPod killer” to outsell it. SanDisk is one of those companies with its Sansa line of media players, but founder and CEO Eli Harari has now admitted that the iPod has sovereignty. ( 90 comments )
Early glimpse at Zune HD: "better" than iPod touch
Thu, May 28, 2009 - Just a day after it was introduced, the Zune HD has been demonstrated live and is already generating buzz from at least one major blog that it could provide an experience superior to Apple's iPod touch. ( 269 comments )
Microsoft says Zune HD is real, will get multi-touch
Tue, May 26, 2009 - After two years of watching iPod sales pass it by, Microsoft has drawn a line in the sand and says it has a new Zune with hardware features to thwart the iPod touch, including a multi-touch display. ( 181 comments )
Microsoft launches assault on Apple's "iPod tax"
Tue, May 12, 2009 - Microsoft is no longer content with turning up the heat against just Apple's Mac lines and has begun a new marketing campaign that attacks the perceived additional costs of filling an iPod with music versus a Zune, but one which omits key flaws in the process. ( 116 comments )
Microsoft may clone iPod touch as Zune HD
Fri, Apr 10, 2009 - Based entirely upon a leak of abstract new marketing graphics from Microsoft, bloggers have announced a new generation of music players that will apparently do most of what the iPod touch did when it arrived in 2007. ( 157 comments )
Samsung readies first mobile processor with Wireless USB
Wed, Feb 11, 2009 - Opening the door to true wireless sync for portable devices, Samsung has taken the wraps from the first handheld-sized processor with built-in support for the Wireless USB standard. ( 18 comments )
Microsoft's Zune crashes as iPod sales grow
Sat, Jan 24, 2009 - Microsoft's Zune hit the ground even harder in its third holiday quarter. After two years of annual sales that barely reached the million unit mark, the company reported a major new drop in device sales for the winter quarter. ( 166 comments )
Ballmer changes tune on iPhone, says no Zune phone
Mon, Jan 12, 2009 - Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, who once laughed off the iPhone, has now conceded to Apple's edge in the market while hinting at a very different future for his company's Zune players. ( 108 comments )
Apple in talks to offer more DRM-free tracks on iTunes [updated]
Wed, Nov 19, 2008 - Apple is in talks with three of the "big four" record labels about offering music tracks through iTunes that would be made available in MP3 AAC format without copy protection measures, a move that could further distance the digital download service from its rivals. ( 66 comments )
Ballmer changes tune while dancing around Apple's success
Fri, Sep 26, 2008 - Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, who's watched his company's PC business come under immense pressure from Apple, used a forum this week to discount the Mac maker's potential for future share gains and designate its mobile phone business as a doomed initiative that will "lose out" in the long run. ( 93 comments )
Microsoft may have thrown Apple an iPod nano headache
Thu, Sep 18, 2008 - Apple is notifying some of its customers this week that it will be unable to meet quoted delivery times for its new 16GB iPod nanos, fueling rumors that the company was forced to make a last minute change to the product line, possibly at the hands of rival Microsoft. ( 86 comments )
Microsoft to follow Apple's lead with third-gen Zune players
Mon, Sep 8, 2008 - Like Apple, Microsoft is expected to announce this month a new family of Zune media players that will introduce some new features while adopting others that have been available on iPods since this time last year. ( 54 comments )
Microsoft 10K warns of iPhone, Mac threats as iPhone nears 1.1% share
Sun, Aug 3, 2008 - A Microsoft filing with the US government reveals a newfound worry that the Windows developer's traditional stance of selling software alone won't work against an increasingly profitable Apple -- a concern that may magnify as iPhone 3G pushes Apple's cellular market share past one percent worldwide. ( 116 comments )
Microsoft sets sights on providing an Apple-like experience
Thu, Jul 24, 2008 - Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer on Wednesday issued a company-wide memo outlining his battle plan for the new fiscal year in which he singled out the Apple experience as a benchmark for future success. ( 119 comments )
NBC prefers Zune DRM [U]; VMware beta; iMac's 10th birthday
Wed, May 7, 2008 - NBC has persuaded Microsoft to filter out copyrighted material in its Zune jukebox while Apple refuses the same. Also, PA Semi has allegedly been bought out to design a future chip; VMware has released the first beta of Fusion 2; YouTube is offering iTunes referral links; the iMac has celebrated its tenth anniversary; and AppleInsider is giving away 500 free EverNote invites. ( 24 comments )
Teen iPhone share seen doubling as iPod, iTunes flatten
Tue, Apr 8, 2008 - In the latest round of its semi-annual teen surveys, analyst group Piper Jaffray finds that ownership of Apple's iPhone has doubled in six months and is set to double again, though cooling iPod and iTunes use suggests a changing of the guard. ( 23 comments )
Overly cautious Microsoft spurs first-ever Zune shortage
Wed, Dec 12, 2007 - Microsoft's cautious and surprisingly non-aggressive approach to the digital media player market has somehow resulted in a shortage of the company's new 80GB Zune player this holiday shopping season, reports iSuppli. ( 38 comments )
Report: Zune sequel to break cover as early as Tuesday
Mon, Oct 1, 2007 - Sometimes the target of jokes for its initial in-house attempt at a digital media player, Microsoft is poised to announce its first update to the line as soon as this week, if a new report holds true. ( 60 comments )
