On the daylight Apple expose its first WiFi - enabled , touchscreen iPod , Microsoft ’s rival to Apple ’s wildly democratic multimedia system participant got a little less expensive .
The Zune equipment from Microsoft now costs $ 199 , $ 50 less than its original price tag . Microsoft announced the price cut on itsZune Insider blogon Tuesday , a day before Apple was rumor to be introducing new iPod models at an event in San Francisco , which the company did indeed do .
Naturally , Microsoft did not mention Zune ’s pixilated competitor in its web log post , saying that the terms swing had been in the whole kit and caboodle for some metre .
“ It ’s part of the normal production lifecycle , something we ’ve had on the rule book for months , ” consort to theblog Wiley Post . “ We just got some research back and customer atonement with the 30 GB gimmick is really high ( around 94 percent ) and we expect even more consumers will now want to discover the Zune experience at the newfangled lower monetary value . ”
Withthe new iPods introduced by Apple CEO Steve Jobsin San Francisco on Wednesday , that prediction does n’t seem too likely . The novel iPod hint that Jobs unveiled is the first iPod with Wi - Fi capability , one of the differentiators between the current iPod lines and the Zune gadget , which was launched with Wi - Fi last November . iPod touch also is standardized in look and feel to the recently plunge iPhone , and have touchscreen controls that are making Apple ’s phone / multimedia twist combination a hit with client .
In other high-risk news for Zune , Apple on Wednesday also has burn the price on its 80 GB iPod from $ 349 to $ 249 , which gain it only a fraction less expensive than the 30 GB Zune . It also has introduced a 160 GB iPod for $ 349 . According to Jobs , Apple has sold 110 million iPod to escort .
There are rumors that , to vie more sharply with Apple , Microsoft will introduce fresh Zune gadget by the holidays with novel feature and mannikin factors , but so far the ship’s company has declined to divulge specific details . There have also been suggestion from executive that an iPhone rival is in the works . Microsoft has said from the beginning that Zune is a long - term investment , and expect it will take some time before the twist will be a worthy competition to iPod , which has a five - year headstart and Apple ’s brand power behind it .
