Bye, bye Zune hardware…..

A couple years ago, I wrote a post about how Microsoft would never shoot an arrow in Apple with the Zune and oddly enough, the dedicated Zune hardware is now a thing of the past.  When I wrote the post, I was talking more about the software but being that Microsoft is discontinuing the Zune hardware just goes to show how hard it is to stand up to Apple when it comes to portable music players.
Even though the Zune software is still trailing behind iTunes, as far as ease of use, it offers something that Apple does not, pay as you go music.  For about $15 per mouth you can listen to most of the music that the Zune market place offers on your computer, new Microsoft powered smartphone or if you are lucky, a dedicated Zune that you bought when they were the “in thing” to have.
I will admit, the Zune HD interface is no where near as easy to navigate as an iPod Touch but being able to keep thousands of songs on my sons Zune and mine for $15 a month is still very attractive.