MICROSOFT KILLS ZUNE HARDWARE...AGAIN!

Last week, Microsoft put up a support page announcing that it would no longer build or sell Zune hardware, choosing to instead focus on Zune software for Windows Phone and other platforms. ”We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players,” the company said in a statement on the Zune website. Shortly after the page went live, Microsoft said it was a mistake and pulled the note. Now, the page is live again and Zune devices are dead again, presumably for the last time.

AUGUST US GAME SALES PLUMMET 23%

Sales of video game hardware, software and accessories in the United States continued to slide in August according to new data from NPD Group, again dipping more than 20% compared to the same period last year. Overall industry sales slid 23% to $669.9 million last month from $873.8 million in August 2010. Hardware sales were down 12% from last year to $249.4 million, accessory sales were down just 1% to $134.7 million and software sales plummeted 34% to $264.8 million. ”August 2011 sales saw a decline versus August 2010 in all categories except for portable games hardware,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in a statement. “In software, the bulk of the decline can be attributed to the shift of the annual Madden release from August to September (8/30 release falls within NPD’s September 2011 reporting period).” Frazier continued, “Even though year to date performance of the new physical portion of the industry is down 5%, more than half of industry sales in this channel are still to be realized in the back four months of the year. Given the strong release schedule in the coming months, new physical retail sales could still be flat to slightly up once full year sales are tallied.” Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the best-selling console for the seventh consecutive month in August with 308,000 units sold.

RUMOR: MICROSOFT TO LAUNCH OWN TABLET NEXT YEAR

According to a report on Wednesday from DigiTimes, Microsoft is hard at work on a tablet. The Redmond-based software company is said to be cooperating with Texas Instruments and multiple Taiwan-based manufacturers in an attempt to push a Microsoft-branded Windows 8 tablet out to market by the end of 2012.

Outside of the Xbox gaming console, Microsoft has not had much luck with consumer hardware in recent years. The company’s line of Zune media players were never widely adopted and its KIN line of messaging phones were cancelled shortly after their release before later returning to Verizon shelves with barely any fanfare. DigiTimes’ sources suggest those failures won’t stop the company from trying, however, and the buzzing tablet space is an obvious next point of attack.

NEW iMACS LOCK OWNERS INTO APPLE'S HARDWARE EVEN MORE

Letting Apple control most facets of your computing experience is just a fact of life for the Mac faithful, but the company may have gone too far for some with the most recent iMac refresh. Want to swap out that hard drive for a bigger one or replace a dead disk? You've got no option but to go straight to Apple thanks to a new proprietary cable and special firmware. The standard 4-pin SATA connector has been replaced with a 7-pin configuration that keeps you from hooking up just any old hard drive, and without that magical firmware the iMac won't even boot.

RUMOR: NO iPHONE, iPAD OR MAC HARDWARE ANNOUNCEMENTS AT WWDC 2011

Apple released the invitation for WWDC 2011 this morning and it only mentions software, specifically OS X Lion and iOS 5 previews. Nowhere on the invitation does it mention any hardware. Rumors are running rampant that this confirms earlier rumors that the iPhone 5 would be delayed into the fall or even until 2012.

Apple’s apparent focus on software in its WWDC announcement backs up what "sources" are saying about the annual conference. That is, expect a software show in 2011, not a hardware event.

At past WWDCs, Apple might show off a new piece of hardware, but Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg warns about getting too caught up in the past.

“You get caught up in patterns, and it holds true, until it doesn’t,” Gartenberg stated. “There is no reason for Apple to follow a predictable yearly pattern, and it keeps their competition off guard a little bit.”

MICROSOFT KILLS ZUNE HARDWARE; FOCUSING ON SOFTWARE

Microsoft has apparently killed of the hardware side of Zune. According to Bloomberg, a "person familiar with the decision" has confirmed that Microsoft won't be producing any new Zune media players, and that the company will instead focus solely on the Zune software that already has a foothold on the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone devices (it's not clear if the name will stick around). Microsoft will apparently continue to sell its existing Zunes as long as it has stock of them.

VIDEO GAME HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SALES DECLINING

There was a time when you couldn't go three years without having to shell out $300 for the latest and greatest videogame console, something with mind-blowing graphics and slight refreshes of the games you'd already bought twice before. Those days are past, with the Xbox 360 over five years old and the PlayStation 3 four, yet neither having any replacements in the wings. Perhaps this is partly why videogame hardware sales are declining, down eight percent in January compared to this time last year according to NPD. Software sales are meanwhile down five percent

APPLE ENDING XSERVE SALES

Apple will stop selling their version of rack mountable server, the Xserve, in January. Apple is promising full support for those that have already been sold, including all warranties and extended service programs. To soften the blow for those who might still insist on using OS X in their servers, Apple has put together a "transition guide," advising that users switch over to the Mac Pro or ... the Mac mini (REALLY??), both of which come with the option to have Snow Leopard Server pre-installed. [Engadget]

RUMOR: AMAZON WORKING ON iPAD-LIKE TABLET

TechCrunch has received a tip from a source close to Amazon that says Amazon is working on an iPad like tablet that will likely run Android.  This would make sense since there is another rumor Amazon is working on an Android app store.  There have been plenty of rumors about more hardware from Amazon and Jeff Bezos confirmed about a year ago that the Kindle was not going to be Amazon's only hardware device.  There are no specs for the rumored tablet only speculation at this point. [TechCrunch]

TiVo GETTING OUT OF HARDWARE?

TiVo marketing VP Joe Miller suggested to PC Magazine their hardware business won't be the companies focus for long.  Miller also stated software is the "core competence," said it was "in our blood" and "the thing we do well," and even added that "the software is what we're all about."  With the plethora of DVR devices on the market, it is no surprise TiVo would move to focus on their outstanding software and license it to the hardware manufacturers. [Engadget]