Europe shafted again – No ZuneHD in Europe this year

In an interview with Mobinaute, Francois Ruault, director of the division entertainment and terminals of Microsoft France made it clear the much hyped new media player from Microsoft will not be making the trip across the Atlantic any time soon.

"I’m not saying the Zune HD will never leave US, but for now, we have no intention of marketing (it here)” he said, adding it was not expected to come to Europe before the end of this year.

This does come as a blow to many who were hoping for an attractive alternative to Apple’s iPod Touch franchise, and continues Microsoft’s inexplicable ignoring of the worldwide market for their media players, in markets where they may very well have made more progress than in US, which is Apple’s strongest market.