Zune may be strongest iPod-killer to date, but is there room for both players to coexist? Apple is currently approaching annual sales volumes of 40 million iPods, and the overall global market for media players is continuing to expand. But how much growth can this sector expect? According to Bryan Lee, corporate vice president of Entertainment and Devices at Microsoft, the market will could reach yearly volumes of hundreds of millions of devices. That could open opportunities for Microsoft, though Lee still characterized the iPod competitive threat as “daunting”. The comments were made at the Citibank Global Technology Conference on Tuesday in Manhattan.
Lee also addressed other aspects of the release, mostly confirming earlier information. The executive noted that the Zune player would be part of an ecosystem that resembles iPod+iTunes, an architecture that is rather insular. That continues suggest a shift away from PlaysForSure, though that system will not be abandoned, according to earlier comments from other Microsoft executives.
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