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Well, it’s been widely know, or expected rather from other leaks and inferred comments, but yesterday on the Engadget Show it was confirmed (again). Steve Ballmer said that Zune Support would come in the “next release”. The question is, the next dot release or the next “big release”, Windows Mobile 7.0?

Next up, the Zune is in trouble as confirmed by Royal Pingdom…

Microsoft’s iPod competitor, Zune, has been revived with the newly announced Zune HD. But in spite of positive reviews, the overall response from consumers seems to be… well, lukewarm to say the least.

What is Microsoft doing wrong with Zune?

The short and sweet answer to the latter part of that multi quote is… Nothing. The closing question asks what is Microsoft doing wrong, but that’s not the problem here. It’s not what Microsoft is doing wrong, it’s what Apple HAS ALREADY done right. Apple doesn’t have a foothold on the market, they have the freaking Marianas Trench. The software and accessory ecosystem that has evolved around the iPod’s early success has made Apple unstoppable. Microsoft could make the VERY BEST media player and give it away for $19.99 and they would still NEVER pass Apple’s numbers. You know that, I know that, Steve knows that…

Sure, the charts and trends are cool and all and show what is obvious, but to call a device “in trouble” when they were “in trouble” before they even thought about starting up is not fair.

Yes, I run a Zune website and have some bias, but I also own more iPods and iPhones that most that worship the mighty Steve has.