Zune Falls on Hard Times

The holiday season was not kind to Microsoft‘s Zune. Sales of the the media player dropped by 54 percent, or $100 million, during the last quarter of 2008, compared to the same period in 2007. Adding insult to injury, Apple’s iPod saw a 3 percent sales growth during the last quarter. Consumers aren’t the only ones who are souring on the gadget; earlier this month, Financial Times wrote that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is “all but ready to throw in the towel” on the Zune. He’s happy that the mobile media player market is shifting towards software — something the company can really grasp. [SEC via Wired]