• by Emily Burg , January 19, 2007

Apple Inc. sold a record 21 million iPods for the holiday quarter, which helped boost the company's revenues by 50% and accounted for sales of $3.43 billion--half of Apple's total sales for the quarter, the company reported this week.

Stellar sales have earned the iPod a 72% share of the portable music player market. Microsoft's Zune, meanwhile, recorded 2.8% of the market for December, and 10.2% of all 30GB hard drive models sold, according to retail research firm NPD Group. *

Microsoft expects to exceed 1 million units in sales by June 30. The company set a three-year plan to carve out a significant market share and build the Zune brand.

Microsoft has announced that it is working on a robust line of accessories with established and emerging manufacturers such as Harmon Kardon, JBL, Griffin, VAF and Belkin, most of who already make accessories for the iPod.

The growth of an accessories market is necessary for Zune to gain any significant mileage.

Microsoft has also said it is "getting traction with some of the top automotive brands like Ford and others to deliver integrated solutions for Zune while on the road," following in the tracks of Apple's relationships.

Marketing Dailynamed Apple its Marketer of the Year for 2006.

* This article was modified after the original publication to correct the market share figures.