No Zing for the Zune

Part of the problem luring music fans to the Zune is that people seem pretty happy with their iPods, says Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Jupiter Research. "That's probably the single biggest challenge (Microsoft) has out there."

In addition to Apple's smaller, sleeker product and its cachet, Gartenberg says, the song-sharing feature Microsoft has touted comes with restrictions that consumers don't like. Songs can be beamed wirelessly between Zunes, but expire after three days or three plays.

Not to mention, "until there are more people with Zunes, there's no one to share that music with," he says.

The lack of multiple players and prices is also likely hurting the Zune, McGuire says. The smaller configurations and price points are attractive to commuters or for working out at the gym, for instance, and that's something the Zune doesn't offer yet.

Apple only launched with one model, too, but the market was very different back then, with no clear entrenched player, he says. "Microsoft is going to have to move quickly with ... filling out the product line."

In addition to the lack of awareness in brick-and-mortar stores, the Zune has not been selling well online at popular sites like Amazon.com (AMZN Quote).

Apple iPods hold four of the top five spots on the list of bestselling consumer electronics, which includes MP3 players, digital cameras, headphones, GPS devices and digital pictures frames, among other items. Meanwhile, the black Zune is at No. 92. The cardboard brown model doesn't even crack the top 100.