Comments on: Zune Team Responds on the Zune 80 Availability Issues

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:30:14 +0000

Yep— it’s March 26 ‘08 and you still can’t find the 80gb in many places, basically just Target and maybe Circuit City.
Their merits aside, you can tell how badly the flash Zunes are selling by glancing at store shelves. I was at a Circuit City the other day looking at flat panel TV’s and noticed this: the Samsung P2’s shelves wiped out; all the ipod shelves, wiped out; Zune 80gb shelf, wiped out except for two; the flash Zune 4 and 8? There were four neatly stacked rows, of the 4gb and 8gb, all full. People are liking the 80gb, the 30gb—the flash ones? Not so much.
The popular flash players right now seem to be the Samsung and Sony players and Sansa Clip.
Personally, I think we’ll see a radical re-think by Microsoft regarding their flash players, especially now that both Apple and Sandisk have released 32gb flash players. The hard drive dap market is definitely on the wane.

By: Microsoft Zune

Microsoft Zune — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:11:58 +0000

Its strange, 4 months down the line and some still have trouble finding Zune 80’s. There are much less 80’s available than Zune 4’s and 8’s thats for sure.

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:49:48 +0000

I have read on the forums that Wal Mart is getting alot of these now.

By: Experience Mobility » Blog Archive » Zune Team Responds on the Zune 80 Availability Issues

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 18:39:13 +0000

[...] Here is the news you were waiting for and it comes from Got Zune? [...]

By: Zune 80 to be Widely Available in 7-10 Days [Zune]

Zune 80 to be Widely Available in 7-10 Days [Zune] — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 14:48:36 +0000

[...] Cesar at Zune Insider says a full batch of Zune 80s are ready to ship and will be in most stores within the next week (give or take a couple of days). Apparently, Microsoft anticipated a greater demand for flash Zunes, leading to the Zune 80 shortage. Be afraid, iPod cassic. Be very afraid. [Zune Insider via Got Zune?] [...]

By: Torgo

Torgo — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 03:23:44 +0000

I got an 80 gig Zune at a Target nearby on Monday (thats 6 days after its release). They had a total of 2 available that day. The next day, I went to another Target, and they had 5 of them, and while I was there (a total of 10 minutes), 2 were sold.

I don’t think its anything but underproduction on Microsoft’s part, hopefully they will step up production. It is, however, undeniable that these things are in high demand and an excellent value for the money and pretty much wipe the floor with anything else in its price / feature range. I am extremely happy with mine.

By: Ipod Express » Blog Archive » Zune 80 to be Widely Available in 7-10 Days [Zune]

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 02:41:43 +0000

By: Leif902

Leif902 — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:22:39 +0000

Marketing ploy sounds like a very real possibility, however, Amazon had plenty (And sold out) and I know a Circuit City and Fry’s in Atlanta, GA had quite a few which sold out on the first day. However, the Fry’s did not get the 80GB player until a day or so before launch (About three days before I was there and asked for one, he said he would sell me the 8 but that he didn’t have the 80 yet).

Personally I’d say MS just didn’t expect the 80 to sell as well as the 4 and 8 and put it on the backburner production wise. They most likely expected people to look at the old 30’s (I love them, but you have to admit it was a pretty big flop, hacked together like that) and judge the 80 based off of their experience with that while the flash based Zune would appear like something new in the eyes of the consumer.

My two cents,
- Leif

By: Lynda

Lynda — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 02:55:04 +0000

A marketing ploy? Hmm, possibly, possibly…Its actually a pretty good one to get people all hyped up. But its not like the Wii shortage this year or anything. What I’d like to know is more on sales….How their intake it doing, I think their selling :) But thats just my very hopeful alternative to a marketing ploy.

-Lynda

P.s Thanks for the update =)

By: wetworker

wetworker — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 02:22:22 +0000

I just hope they have a good amout next month,
and start selling it to us canadians. come on MS, give us the goods!!

By: vaibhavk

vaibhavk — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 01:35:07 +0000

pst… pst…. people on the other side of the fence (read apple fans) are already calling hard-disk based players dead or atleast soon to be dead. Microsoft may have made that assumption and thought that people will go after their flash based Zunes like crazy. We will know how the zunes do by the end of the year, but it is a bit sad to see that the 4/8 are not doing exictingly well at least on Amazon, but who cares, we will see how the equation changes when the 80s are in stock around 1.5 weeks from now.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 01:25:34 +0000

I agree I think it might just be the Marketing plan to limit the supply of the Zune 80 and then when the holiday season does come Bang… A whole bus load of Zunes show up at all the stores. Thats my take on the situation but who am I?

Trevor

By: doogald

doogald — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 01:16:37 +0000

Yeah, I’m thinking that this is more a marketing spin than a real unexpected sell in. They either didn’t make enough, couldn’t make enough, or deliberately decided not to make enough and then planned to spin it this way.

Apple pulls stuff like this all of the time, too.

By: Noble

Noble — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:42:31 +0000

Wow. I guess they nver expected it to sell this well. Wow, I dont know that to think about this one.

By: Jaxim

Jaxim — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:29:27 +0000

I really don;t think it has anything to do with high demand. The stores by me never had them. If each of the store near me had about 10 Zune80s and now they are out of them, then I could see blaming it on the demand. But they never had them so you have to blame it on supply.