Wow, and so it finally happens... well, unofficially. Microsoft basically killed off the Zune HD five months after its release, so this is no surprise whatsoever. All I remember is getting marked down like crazy a year ago for suggesting basically the same thing as this article. I wasn't alone either, anyone with the time should have a quick look at the official Zune forums, it's not pretty.
"because of tepid demand."
LOL, it was never marketed to begin with. Has anyone here ever seen a Zune HD commercial? I'm not even sure I've ever seen an advert for one... anywhere. It probably doesn't help that software development for the device was locked from the get go, or that Microsoft basically killed off what little development existed for the device 5 months into its release.