Zune may or may not ship with video?

So word going around late this week was that the Zune, better known as Microsoft's supposed iPod killer, is slated to ship without support for video. Yeah, you heard that right. According to a report on from the New York Post, "Microsoft called up some content providers and said the video portion of its Zune device... was being delayed." (The other juicy tidbit was that they'd have ad-supported downloads, but that's still unsubstantiated as far as we know.) Microsoft's Zune PR, of course, provided us with the following statement with regards to the story: "We do not have product details to share at this time and as such cannot comment on rumors or speculation." Then, on top of that TechWeb reported that Microsoft actually referred to the rumor as "speculative." It's all the standard fare non-denial denial, we know, but we still don't have any strong reason to believe the Post's report has any weight. Besides the fact that sources told us nothing of the like, Microsoft would effectively be committing Zune to launch failure this buying season if they trot it out into the market place not even as well equipped as your standard iPod. That is, after all, the point of Zune, right? To best the iPod in all the ways Apple's been dragging its feet, and provide a viable alternative? It's 2006, look at that device right up there. If you think that's not going to have video, well, may god rest Zune's soul.

[Via Macsimum News, thanks CoreyTheGent, Jon, and Conor]

Read - NY Post
Read - TechWeb