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All posts tagged "pricing"


Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Zune HD Pricing Leaked (and Amazon Confirmed)

Posted by Adam Krebs in "Zune News" @ 08:30 AM

http://gizmodo.com/5334801/amazon-c...zune-hd-pricing

"Yesterday, a Best-Buy-based-tipster revealed that Zune HD pricing would be $220 (16GB) and $290 (32GB). Now, Amazon's pre-order page is confirming the price. For Best Buy and Amazon to get pricing wrong seems highly unlikely."

Well, now we know. $210 for 16 GB and $290 for 32 seem like a great deal when compared to this generation's iPod Touch line, but keep in mind that the Touch is likely to get upgraded around the time the HD launches. One big concern I've been hearing is the lack of a 64 GB option at launch, though there are rumblings about a mid-year (read: April/May/June) refresh that will bump up capacities. Let us know: is this a deal-breaker for you?

Also confirmed is the September 8 launch date, but we don't know anything about options for Zune Originals or other promotional editions. I'm debating whether to pick mine up on day 1 (as I did with my 80), or wait until the Originals series comes out (as I wish I did with my 80).


Thursday, September 28, 2006

Zune Marketplace Details Announced

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Media" @ 11:36 AM



There's not much to go on here, but the first official details about Zune Marketplace have emerged: the all-you-can-eat subscription cost will be $14.99 USD per month, and the service will contain "millions" of songs. Individual songs will cost 79 Microsoft Points, which work out to 99 cents USD. And that's it for the official information.

Let's unpack that a little - first, the pricing at $14.99 USD. That's the same as Napster with a NapsterToGo subscription, which is what is required for playback on devices. It's 50% more expensive than the Yahoo! Music Unlimited To Go offering at $9.99 USD per month. Microsoft's pricing then would seem to be hardly market-leading, and I firmly believe market-leading is where they need to position themselves to make serious in-roads on the already established players. If I can get unlimited music on my Creative Zen Vision:M for $9.99 USD a month from Yahoo!, will the WiFi goodies on the Zune be enough to justify the $60 more a year? I would have much preferred Microsoft to position their service with more aggressive pricing - $9.99 USD per month has a nice ring to it. We can always hope that the $14.99 USD pricing is for monthly payments, and a yearly payment would cut the price back.

The issue may be moot however, as the Zune Marketplace is going to be limited to the United States only at launch. I held out slim hope that there'd be a footnote someplace that said "Oh yeah, Canada too", but a Microsoft source confirmed for me that it was limited to the USA. This is going to be hugely frustrating, although it's not unexpected. Regardless of where Microsoft launches the Zune hardware, people from outside the USA will get their hands on the hardware. They won't be able to use the device to it's full potential though without access to the Zune Marketplace. This issue is made more glaring by the fact that the Zune will not work with any other online music services. The "Zune Experience" might be easier than other services, but the question is how quickly will Microsoft be launching the Zune in other countries? MSN Music still isn't available in Canada, though they did launch in seven other international markets (Australia, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom). Will the Zune launch in more countries, and faster? I sincerely hope so.

A word about track pricing: 79 Microsoft points converts to 99 cents USD, which is standard for the market. I hope that pricing will be different when the Zune launches in other markets: 79 points is $1.26 Canadian, which is 27% more expensive than the 99 cents CAN iTunes users in Canada pay. Interestingly enough, Darius (who's in Australia) tells me that the $1.30 Australian that 79 points converts to is less expensive than iTunes in Australia. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in international markets.

There are still many unknowns: what about Zune Marketplace on multiple PCs? One would hope that, at minimum, they'd match Napster's three-PC offering, though as someone with six regularly-used PCs in his home, I'd love to see a more aggressive offering. What about multiple Zunes on one Marketplace account? Questions, questions.


Z Day: November 14, $249.99

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Talk" @ 08:54 AM

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/sep06/09-28ZunePricingAvailabilityPR.mspx

"Microsoft Corp. is putting the social into digital music, starting this holiday. Today the company announced that the Zune™ digital media player and online service will be available to consumers in the U.S. on Nov. 14, 2006, just in time for the holidays. The Zune device will retail for $249.99 U.S. (ERP) and will create new ways for entertainment fans to connect and share media experiences device-to-device through the use of wireless technology and new software scenarios."

Okay, folks. It's no longer a guessing game. The Zune will launch in the United States on November 14 for $249.99 (trivially discarding previous discussion about Microsoft not being undercut by Apple, since the Zune is priced at 99 cents more than the 30GB iPod). Accessories will range from $19.99 to $99.99, and can be bought individually or as packs (additional details after the break).

Read more...


Thursday, September 21, 2006

Microsoft: "We Won't Be Undercut By Apple"

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Talk" @ 05:30 AM



Well, those of you hoping for Zune to be cheaper than the 30GB iPod have a reason to stay positive. Matt Jubelirer, a product manager for Zune, recently stated the magic words: "we won't be undercut by Apple". And David Caulton, who runs the Zunester blog seems to jibe with it all. While not exactly a word-for-word "it's $249 or less", this is one of the strongest hints yet that the iPod won't be beating the Zune on price this Christmas. Oh, and all that buzz surrounding Wal-Mart and its leak? Like I said in that post, take it with a grain. ;-)


Monday, September 18, 2006

Wal-Mart Says $284

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Talk" @ 08:10 PM

"Thanks to some vigilant Wal-Mart watching by a friendly tipster, we've got a good idea as to the Zune pricetag, though we're still no closer to a specific launch date. By the time we got to the Zune's product page, the pricing info had been removed, but it can still be spotted in the MP3 player category listing at a lean $284 flat."



Earlier today, Engadget reported that Wal-Mart leaked the not-too-shabby price of $284. Microsoft still hasn't released any official pricing details, so the advice here is that until Microsoft spills the beans, take whatever figure you see with a grain of salt. ;-)


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