Microsoft began selling its Zune digital media player on Tuesday, marking its foray into the market dominated by Apple Computer’s iPod. While the software giant is a latecomer to the digital music scene, industry analysts will be watching closely.
That’s because Apple has enjoyed a runaway success, garnering over 70 percent of the portable music player market with no serious threats to its dominance so far. Further, the iPod has fueled a turnaround for the Mac maker. Revenue from iPods accounts for 40 percent of all of Apple’s sales.
“Apple is certainly aware of Zune,” Directions on Microsoft analyst Matt Rosoff said. “Steve Jobs knew it was coming.”
Make no mistake. When Microsoft enters a market, the game is forever changed. Take Xbox. The software maker has catapulted to the No. 2 spot in game consoles. And it won’t be long before Microsoft shares nearly half of the console market with Sony, according to analysts at Yankee Group.
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