Microsoft has announced that it will be dropping the prices of its Flash-based Zune players ahead of the holiday shopping season, increasing their competitiveness with Apple’s iPod nanos. The price cuts will see the company’s 4GB Zune drop to $99, the 8GB model cut from $149 to $139, and the 16GB model drop from $199 to $179.
Despite the fact that these price cuts put the 8GB and 16GB models lower than their iPod nano counterparts, Zune marketing director Adam Sohn said the cuts were not meant as a direct challenge to Apple, but instead to “ensure hopefully we have a good holiday season.” The price cuts will take effect Wednesday in the U.S. and Friday in Canada.
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