Only last week, when asked about a March Bloomberg News report that Microsoft was planning to cease introducing new versions of the Zune music and video player because of tepid demand, a Microsoft spokesperson said: "We do not have anything to share regarding Zune hardware at this time."

Now, the Zune Player Support and Service page says: "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."

We're not recalling when Microsoft had previously announced that it would no longer be producing Zune players. But whatevs.

There was a bit of confusion earlier Monday, too, when Microsoft pulled all references to the Zune HD devices from the Zune site, then said that that was a mistake, according to Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet.

The Zune HD was put back on the site, where it's currently listed as being for sale, with a link to buy it from Walmart.

We have an inquiry in to Microsoft to find out if there is a timeline for when Microsoft will stop producing Zune players, or if it has already stopped.

Microsoft says on the Zune Player Support and Service page that the move would have no effect on current Zune users and that "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."

Zune software, and the Zune music and video service, accessible through PCs, Xbox, Windows Phone, and existing Zune players, live on.