Europe won't get Zune any time soon

STEVE BALLMER has told a German magazine that Europeans can forget about seeing the Zune music player in time for Christmas - the iPod rival won't be hitting these shores before 2008, at the earliest.

Speaking to Wirtschafts Woche, Ballmer revealed that Zune was a business that was losing money, and that to go into new markets with such a proposition would be dangerous. He declined to reveal when Europeans might get their hands on the Zune.

This probably isn't a terrible blow for music lovers. The Zune is hardly seeing wild demand - Microsoft has sold almost a million of the devices in its seven months on sale, while Apple is selling gazillions of iPods every quarter.

That said, the announcement is sure to be a kick in the groin for Microsoft, which is struggling to make money from its consumer division as the Xbox 360 continues to cost billions a quarter to subsidise. µ