Thousands of Microsoft's Zune digital music player froze on Wednesday due to a problem with the device's internal clock driver, which was tripped up by leap year, a Microsoft spokeswoman told
The
Wall Street Journal.
The problem, in which the player got stuck with an unresponsive Zune logo screen, only affected the 30-gigabye model and resolved itself once the device moved to
Jan. 1. Microsoft advised its customers to let the battery run out before recharging and restarting their devices.
Zune, of course, pales in comparison to Apple's iPod in the market for
digital music players. According to NPD Group, the iPod corners more than 70% of that market. Analyst Matt Rosoff of Directions on Microsoft, a research firm that tracks the company, said the Zune
glitch underscored the device's weakness compared to Apple's device. He said Microsoft had "missed the boat" in the market for digital music players.
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