Maybe they could sell the Zune in international marketplaces?
Could you imagine Microsoft only selling XBox or Windows & only in the USA?
As long as they only sell the Zune in the USA it reeks of a Marketing Beta project. If I were in the USA I would be cautious about buying a Zune as I would not have the confidence that this is a long term product.
It wasn't just that they didn't make the HD and Marketplace not available in Canada, but they KILLED the remaining product line here as well. They toyed with the consumers and the major electronics retailers here in Canada for a year and then pulled up tent pegs and left.
If they want to be taken seriously in this market space, they need to behave as such. (Of course, one might argue that this is a Marketing Beta project...)