Zune, about a common as a blue moon?

[Woochifer]

Doesn't look like it but I'm sure your smart phone does (iPhone excepted).

Removable memory (as well as another missing feature -- user-replaceable batteries) would make the device thicker. That was obviously something Apple was looking to avoid. They made the calculation that most iPod owners have zero interest in prying their devices open to switch out the internals, and focused instead on making the iPods smaller and sleeker. Given that other device manufacturers have followed Apple's lead, it looks like their choice was the correct one for the majority of buyers.

Portable players are going to disappear as phones become more capable. Who wants to schlep multiple devices? Who wants to leave their phone at home? Apple figured this out 3 or 4 years ago. Most of the mobile service providers got it a a year or two ago. Microsoft still does not get it apparently.

An underreported story is how the iPod touch, which was released more or less as an afterthought without nearly as much hype or marketing or swooning from the typically jaded tech press, now outsells the iPhone. Smartphones are the future, but there obviously remains a place for portable audio devices that don't require a contract and a monthly service fee.

They will pull the plug on it the day Apple goes out of business. I don't look for either to happen any time soon.

I see it happening a lot sooner if the current sales trends hold up. The Zune had a year-to-year sales decline last quarter, not exactly a promising sign. And this is happening after MS has already burned through more than $1 billion in losses on the Zune. Unlike with the iTunes store, which also supplies apps to the growing iPhone market, MS does not have a similar synergy going for its music service.

The MP3 player market has begun to level off, and Apple has stated in the past that it's becoming a mature and saturated market. That's why they focus so much attention to the iPhone, because that's where future growth is going. MS introduced the Zune just as the standalone music player market growth had already begun to level off. Entering a market that's already maturing and getting saturated does not create good odds to build an all-new music service.