New iPods: Zune Killers?

Apple dropped a bomb in the portable media player market this afternoon. The Cupertino Company released a completely new line of iPods, including a new iPod nano, a new iPod Touch and a 160Gb iPod called the “Classic”. All those new devices also have extremely attractive prices as well. Even the iPhone gets a $200 price drop!

The iPod Touch  has a Wi-Fi connection with an embedded Safari browser and the ability to buy content online through the iTunes Wi-Fi Store. Almost even more than what we dreamed about for the Zune.

The Zune already had a tough time competing with the old iPod, it now has a even tougher enemy.  And with the iPod Touch, Apple seriously takes the lead on portable device software.

But what can Microsoft possibly do to compete with the iPod? Buy RIM? Create a Zune based on Windows Mobile? Embed the Zune in Windows Mobile to get access to all Windows Mobile phone out there?

So many questions!

Zune Grabs 10% Market Share – New Models Coming Soon?

Retail research firm NPD Group report that for December, Zune represented 10.2% of all units sold. These numbers are for the 30Gb Hard-disk based MP3 players only. The Zune market share is well below if you look at the MP3 market as one category. For 45 days of sales since the introduction of the Zune, this is no bad at all. That growth is also in line with Microsoft's expectations of exceeding 1 million units in sales by June 30.

Apple announced the iPhone: A threat to the Zune?

Apple is finally introducing the iPhone. The unit is packed with dream features. Check it out here on iPhonefreak.com to get more info on it.

What does it mean for the Zune? Any thoughts? It is certainly not a good news but how bad is it?