It’s official: Microsoft announced on Monday that it will no longer produce Zune hardware, ending its 5-year run. From the Zune’s support page:

We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players. So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing. Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices. Customer service has been, and will remain a top priority for us.

This should come as no surprise. With iPod sales being cannibalized by the iPhone, more consumers are moving towards using their smartphones as digital media players. From AppleInsider’s coverage of Apple’s Q3 2011 conference call:

iPod sales continued their steady decline in the most recent quarter, slipping 20 percent year over year to 7.54 million.

If the industry-leading iPod was taking a hit in sales, I could only imagine how the Zune was faring.