Redmond (WA) - The original Zune was something of a punchline when it debuted to dismal sales, but the newer high capacity model is having a more impressive initial reaction.

According to the Associated Press, the 80 GB Zune player, which was released last week, has been selling out at major online retailers including Amazon.

In fact, some pre-orders for the device were pushed back by as much as 10 days. It is also unavailable at BestBuy.com and CircuitCity.com.

The 4 GB and 8 GB versions of the Zune, however, are well available. They are also new, and are based on cheaper Flash memory standards. Microsoft said its focus was on those models and that it was unable to meet production demand for the higher capacity device.

"They probably wanted to get anything out the door as soon as they could," said Directions on Microsoft analyst Matt Rosoff in an AP story.

The 80 GB Zune retails for around $250, while the 4 GB and 8 GB units go for $150 and $200, respectively.