Zune sales may fall short of expectations...

Microsoft's Zune media player is struggling to meet expectations since its launch in mid-November, according to several reports. BusinessWeek points to a slippage in the popularity of the iPod competitor following a loss in marketshare that put the Zune in fifth place after just two weeks on store shelves. The most popular black Zune model fell to 19th place among music players over the weekend, and was outsold by 13 iPod models as well as five non-Apple music players. The white Zune is suffering from worse sales numbers, according to Businessweek's Stephen Wildstrom, who said "if you want to sell a white music player, it had better be an iPod."

iProjector debuts with iPod connectivity

Ion Audio today previewed the iProjector, a system that links any dockable iPod directly to an 800x600 display while projecting photos or videos onto a screen as large as 90x30-inches. The iProjector also charges an attached iPod, and features extra video inputs to accept more conventional multimedia sources such as VCRs or DVD players. Image quality on the projector is expected to prove superior to that of the iPod itself, according to Electronista, with 24-bit color and a claimed 1,000 ANSI lumens of brightness. The Ion is expected to make an official launch at CES in January, and will ship in glossy black for an unspecified price.

Micro Heaven offers Pulse, iTrip for iPod...

Micro Heaven has begun offering the Pulse Technology FM Transmitter and iTrip for Apple's second-generation iPod nano. The Pulse Technology FM Transmitter is compatible with all iPods that feature a dock connector, offering high fidelity and stereo digital PLL as well as a blue backlit LCD display. The device includes 200 selectable transmission channels (from 88-108MHz) alongside multiple memory channels, and draws power from the iPod which negates the need for an external power supply. The Pulse Technology FM Transmitter is shipping today for £20, and the iTrip for second-generation iPod nano is due to ship in early January for £35.

iRiver debuts iPod shuffle challenger

iRiver has debuted its new flash-based iPod shuffle alternative: the S7 is a screenless player "emphasizes style by taking advantage of its directional click interface from the Clix and S10: by asking the owner only to tap the borders of the front face for track navigation, freeing space for artwork that would normally be obscured by buttons, according to Electronista. The player offers support for "HD" audio and is one of the few to support SRS WOW HD for enhancing the audio field and is capable of playing a diverse number of formats, ranging from the more common MP3 and WMA standards to FM radio and OGG files. It is expected to launch on Tuesday in Korea for about $100, while shipments to other regions are expected to follow in the near future.