Microsoft over the weekend provided a more definitive answer on the end of the Zune after repeated confusion as the Zune HD exited stock in earnest. Best Buy, the Microsoft Store, and Walmart all now show the MP3 player as out of stock. Microsoft had pulled the Zune HD from its Originals plan but, until now, still had supply in other stores.
The company’s support page claiming the end to Zune HD players also returned after a temporary return following the company’s earlier confusion. The statement reinforces Microsoft’s strategy of shifting focus for the Zune’s services to Windows Phone as well as its desktop and Xbox 360 components.
Microsoft still hasn’t formally ended the Zune line outside of its statements, although it finished September by ending its long-running Zune Insider podcast with an abrupt notice at the end of its final episode. No mention was made at the time of the devices themselves going away, but the two key Zune team members hosting the show were moving on to other projects.
