It's impossible to vouch for the accuracy of AppleInsider, but the Web site quotes anonymous sources saying that Microsoft hopes to sell 3 million of its Zune media players, priced at $299, by the end of the year. Microsoft would not confirm the figures for AppleInsider, and so far the company has not given a launch date for the player.

Come year's end, there's likely to be a large discrepancy between the number of Zunes Microsoft will have shipped and those that were actually purchased by customers. That's because insiders say the company plans to literally stuff its retail and distribution channels with more units than it actually anticipates selling.