Of course, Apple’s low-end but highly popular iPod nano has long been flash-based.
The first of Microsoft’s new trio to be released, in November, will be a higher-end hard drive-based Zune. By mid-November, the other two models, including the flash-based Zune, will be available in retail stores, Microsoft said.
So far, the Zune has failed to attract a large following. Microsoft had previously said that it had sold about 1.2 million Zunes during its fiscal year ending June. Apple, however, said it had sold 9.8 million iPods during its third fiscal quarter alone, which also ended in June.
