Not a single teen plans to buy a Zune, Microsoft's ill-conceived challenger to Apple's iPod.

And that's probably just as well, given it looks like Microsoft is sending its player heavenward following what's looking like the Zune's final physical manifestation.

Piper Jaffray's biannual report even suggests these could be the new owners' second iPods. While 92 per cent already owned an MP3 player, 86 per cent already had an iPod.

Just four per cent owned a Zune, meaning Microsoft beat Sony and Sandisk for second place but that it also tied with the "other" category.

That'll make tough reading for the few remaining Zunesters at Microsoft planning a new round of Zune hardware before the end of the year and who must be wondering why they've been left manning this particular fort.

The Zune unit was disbanded and broken up in February, and once the new hardware is finished, the focus will be on services for the PC, phone, and TV.

The software and services portion of the Zune unit were absorbed by Microsoft's Media Room and Media Center TV businesses. The hardware people were taken over by Microsoft's Windows Mobile unit. ®

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