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After a promising start for the Microsoft Zune player, market sales dropped drastically.

Microsoft's portable music player Zune seemed to be off to a promising start, ranking second in U.S. market sales in the week that ended November 25. However, any revelry was short-lived as the device drops out of sight and into a fifth place ranking during its second week of sales.

Microsoft hoped to capitalize on the digital music player market with the release of Zune, which has already been cornered by the Apple iPod.

Apple has sold over 70 million iPods to date and features over 3, 000 accessories made specifically for it; it is by far the biggest name in MP3 players.

As of yet there has been no contender in the portable music player market coming within arm's length of reaching iPod sales numbers.

While Zune garnered 2.1% of the market during the week before Thanksgiving, ranking them second in market sales, iPod dwarfed the meager figure with 39.4% the same week.

According to Bloomberg, the already unimpressive Zune sales numbers were obliterated by SanDisk Corp.

SanDisk, as it usually does the day after Thanksgiving, slashed the price of their MP3 players in half, taking a 39. 3% share and bumping Zune from the number two spot.

The rankings for MP3 player market sales, week ending November 25 are as follows:

1. Apple
2. SanDisk
3. Creative Technology
4. Memorex
5. Microsoft and Disney tied

Perhaps Microsoft Zune will rise, like a phoenix from the ashes of poor sales and competitor's holiday price cuts, and reclaim the distant number two MP3 player spot.

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Autmn Davis is a staff writer for WebProNews covering ebusiness and technology.