Does this mean no more Zune tattoos? Don’t say it! This from Cnet, which reports on a Piper Jaffray consumer survey of teenagers. Or, as technology executives at Microsoft and elsewhere call them, the Most Important Demographic Group in the World. (MIDGW, for short.) It seems that teens, when asked what brand of music player they planned to buy, responded 100 percent iPod and 0 percent Zune. In Piper Jaffray’s fall 2008 survey, the Microsoft device was still coveted by 15 percent of teens. That’s a pretty big slide in a short period of time.One reason, of course, not addressed in the Cnet link, is that fewer consumers in general are buying dedicated MP3 players. Teens, like everyone else, want their music integrated into their smartphones. (Music-only players may survive best as tiny clip-on models.) And, fortunately for Microsoft, even if it pulls the plug on Zune (sob!), its Windows Mobile platform runs on many smartphones. It currently claims about 12 percent of that market–way behind Symbian, which powers Nokia, not too far behind RIM (BlackBerrry), and ahead of Apple. See the Boy Genius Report for a nice pie chart on that subject. Not that teens will care.
More Stories From This Author
National Weather Service issues wind advisory for Puget Sound region
A wind advisory remains in effect from 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 through 6 a.m. Thursday, March 12 throughout much…
By
Steve Hunter • March 11, 2026 12:41 pm
Federal Way murder suspect added to FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list
The FBI is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
By
Joshua Solorzano • March 10, 2026 3:00 pm
Foster youth guaranteed full-ride college tuition
OLYMPIA — A bill guaranteeing full‑ride college tuition for all foster youth and students who experienced homelessness passed both legislative…
By Annika Hauer, WNPA Foundation • March 10, 2026 10:53 am
