Zune Grabs the Second Place in The MP3 Player Market

Microsoft’s iPod killer, Zune, achieved after its first week of sale 9 percent of the U.S. digital music player market and outdid SanDisk Corp.'s Sansa, according to the market researcher NPD Group.

With these 9 percent, Microsoft’s Zune is placed on the second position, behind Apple’s iPod, which remained the market leader with 63 percent.

"Microsoft attracted early adopters in a successful launch week for Zune, eking out Sandisk as the No. 2 digital audio player vendor," said Ross Rubin, NPD's director of industry analysis. "This was especially impressive given the Zune's single capacity configuration and relatively high price point."

The Zune represents the software giant's most ambitious attempt to date to challenge Apple's iPod. Microsoft is hoping to catch Apple with features not currently available on the iPod, including a slightly larger screen, an FM radio tuner and new technology that allows the device to locate other nearby Zunes and wirelessly exchange music and pictures with a few touches of the button.