Microsoft's score against Apple: Zune $85 million, iPod $3.4 billion |
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Microsoft's score against Apple: Zune $85 million, iPod $3.4 billion
That's how much revenue each company's portable media platform pulled in last quarter, according to their respective financial reports. Is it any wonder why you don't see many people walking around with Microsoft's portable media player?
The results for Zune come from a line in Microsoft's latest 10Q filing. In the past, the company has lumped Zune's results in with other products from the Entertainment & Devices Division, making it difficult to tell how well the device is doing. But this time, the company disclosed that "Zune platform revenue decreased $100 million or 54% reflecting a decrease in device sales."
So, with a little number-crunching, we now know that Zune platform revenue in the December quarter was $84 million, compared with $184 million in the same quarter a year ago. Apple's iPod revenue also decreased over that period, according to the latest data from the company (PDF). Even so, iPod revenue still came in around $3.4 billion, dwarfing the Zune.
Keep in mind that the iPod is available worldwide, whereas the Zune is sold only in U.S. and Canada. Even so, the numbers show just how much Microsoft still needs to catch up in portable media players -- assuming it stays in the game.
Related coverage: Wall Street Journal and Engadget.
About Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
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