Zune Community Site Goes International; Surpasses 2 Million Pageviews

Bellingham, WA (PRWEB) June 1, 2007 -- Zunerama, a website devoted to Microsoft Zune, has responded to its growing international audience by offering translated versions of its site in Spanish, French, German, Italian and Japanese.

"We've noticed more and more people coming to Zunerama from outside the U.S., and rolled out these translated versions of the site to respond to that," says Harvey Chute, who founded Zunerama last July. Zunerama is a leading Zune site and has had over two million pageviews since its launch.

Zune was released in the United States in November 2006. Microsoft has not yet announced worldwide roll-out dates for Zune or for its online music service, Zune Marketplace.

Despite Zune's limited launch, Zunerama reports that its site is frequented by readers in over 150 countries. "While the majority of our viewers are from the United States, increasingly we are seeing visitors and new members from around the globe," Chute noted. "In the past week, for example, we've had 38,000 visits from five continents."

According to Zunerama's visitor statistics, the countries with the most Zune enthusiasts, after the United States, are the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Venezuela, Spain and France.

While few options exist at this point for acquiring Zune players outside of the U.S., international Zune users are buying players while on trips to the U.S. or through indirect channels such as eBay.

Zune Marketplace cannot yet be used for music purchases from locations outside the United States; the service requires that Marketplace accounts have a U.S.-based credit card. Zune owners can, however, load most existing music from their PCs onto their Zune player, without using Marketplace.

Zunerama offers its translated pages through Google's Translate service, currently in beta release. "Today, the Spanish-language version is the most popular translation of the site," Chute said.

Zunerama offers resources for Zune owners, including user forums, daily news and analysis, answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), accessory reviews, player tips and tutorials, and advanced tricks and hacks.

"Our aim is to be a one-stop for all things Zune, not just for people in the U.S. but worldwide," Chute said. "I expect we'll see even more international visitors as the Zune roll-out continues. And we want to be ready for that."

Established in July 2006, Zunerama (http://www.zunerama.com) is an online resource center for Zune. The site serves as a hub for the Zune user community, and provides Zune user forums, a blog with Zune news and commentary, FAQ, archived original Zune stories, reviews of Zune players and accessories, documentation library, specification sheets, buyer's guides and online store.

Microsoft Zune is a wireless-enabled digital media player, with a 30-gigabyte hard drive, 3-inch screen and built-in FM receiver. Through Zune Marketplace, Zune owners can download music either by purchasing individual songs or through a Zune Pass subscription service.

In Zunerama's user forum, Zune enthusiasts gather to share reviews, facts, tips, opinions and other information. In addition, Zunerama offers more Zune giveaways than any other website. The site has given away over 100 Zune players, cases, armbands, skins, software and other Zune accessories to its members.

Zunerama also publishes reviews of Zune accessories, and provides a "Recommended by Zunerama" rating to guide Zune enthusiasts on products that have passed Zunerama's accessory reviews.

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