Study: Zune Sales Slow But Steady

While Microsoft is adamant that sales of its Zune player are 'meeting expectations,' data from market research firm Current Analysis indicates that the device failed to break into the top 10 in sales, and is competing in the wrong market segment. As a hard drive based player, Microsoft has already limited itself to 20 percent of the overall digital music player market. Eight of the top ten players were Apple models, with the remaining two belonging to SanDisk.

However, within the HDD player segment, Redmond is actually performing quite well, with about one out of every eight players being a Zune, or 12 percent. Current's sales data only includes sales from five retailers: Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Staples and RadioShack. The player is found in most of their stores. Publicly, Microsoft has said it expects to sell 1 million players by June.