Zune is Alive and Kicking

There have been so many reports during the course of CES that Microsoft is not interested in Zune hardware anymore given that there isn’t going to be a Zune Phone as cleared by Steve Ballmer and that Microsoft is focused on creating software for seamless integration with different services. Speculation quickly went around that Microsoft has finally decided to throw up the towel in it’s bid for Zune hardware to take over iPod.

Today, Microsoft has issued an official statement that Zune hardware was very much in their strategy. In short, Zune hardware is alive and kicking.

In an excerpt:

Basically, what happened last week, Steve [Ballmer] said a couple of things about the category," said Adam Sohn, head of Microsoft's Zune marketing division, causing speculation that Microsoft would stop making Zunes. However, he clarified, "we're not getting out of the hardware business at all," adding that Microsoft is "deeply committed" to continuing to its Zune hardware strategy.

Still, he told us about some other interesting twists and turns in Microsoft's roadmap for Zune, possibly including Zune music apps for non-Windows-Mobile phones. He didn't mention iPhone or Android by name, but made it clear that the company is ruling nothing out in its plans for a "multi-tuner" world in which music collections are less tied to specific devices.

"The other thing Steve said, which is spot on with our strategy -- and unfortunately I think a lot of people we haven't talk to sort of took it and ran in the wrong direction -- is that we do think the Zune device is not the only place you will access the Zune experience," said Sohn. "A lot of people jumped to an 'either/or,' when in fact it's a 'both/and' situation."

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