Taking aim at iPod: How competition for the market stacks up
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Apple Computer&#39;s lovely little music player dominates the market, and its design and simplicity make it hard to beat. But let&#39;s face it - the iPod is the luxury car of hard-drive music players.
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Investors usually get nervous when a company relies on the sales of one product. The exception is when that product is an Apple iPod. Just as consumers can't seem to get enough of the iPod, investors are foaming over companies having anything to do with the digital music player.
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Based on one Wall Street analyst&#39;s findings, the popularity of Apple&#39;s iPod is exceeding that of Sony&#39;s Walkman during the 80&#39;s and 90&#39;s.
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With iPods selling out across the United States and Canada, and excitement building about an expected flash-based &quot;iPod micro,&quot; the technopundits are wrestling with a familiar question: Will this latest hit make Apple a serious player in the future, or is
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Remember a couple of weeks ago when Steve Jobs took the stage and announced a $200 cheaper iPhone. That was pretty bad. And an iPhone that's just an iPod. Who needs that! The new Nano sure is cute, but cute insn't enough. I have a 1.5 year old 60GB video iPod that still works (sorry Steve) and I never use the video, so the $300 I have burning a hole in my pocket for my monthly Apple impulse buy (above and beyond the new Mini I bought last week) is going to (drum roll please) Nokia!  Yup, my next iPod/iPhone-alike thingy isn't even from Apple and it runs Linux, and comes highly recommended by geeks everywhere. I just put in the order on Amazon, I'll let you know how cool it is in a few days.  PS: This is my way of thanking Ben Bernanke for the huge windfall I got in the stock market yesterday and today. I think the 1/2 percent drop in interest rates is supposed to make us go out and buy stuff to stimulate the economy. Just doing my part Uncle Ben!
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Dan Frakes  likes what he sees. âThe screen makes it clearâno pun intendedâthat the design is a winner.â Awarding iPod nano 4.5 (out of five) stars, he points out that âmenu text is clearer and easier to read than it was with the previous model. And even though this is the smallest video-playing screen Iâve used, after watching a 90-minute movie on the nano I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. Picture quality is comparable to that of the iPhone, just smaller.â âEssentially a miniaturized version of the iPod classic available for as little as $149,â iPod nano offers âall the same features and capabilities including video playback and output.â
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A hands-on look at some of the distinctive features of the iPod Nano and iPod Touch.
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Apple is the undisputed champion of the hard-drive music market, but competitors are gearing up for a shot at the title.
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The Motley Fool - Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - News) is waking up to the music. In the latest attempt to capture the fast-growing market of online music the big M is fighting to break the hold Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL - News) iPod has on the market. The deal is to join up with a big-name financial company in hopes of making the sale of music more attractive.
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The MP3 player market, where the iPod Mini once stood alone, will soon have several new entries. IDC predicted last month that the segment will grow from 12.
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By all accounts, millions of people will buy or receive Apple Computer&#39;s iPod digital-music players this holiday season. The gadgets are beautifully designed and simple to operate, which is one reason they
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Apple's iTunes Store dominates the digital music retail scene--can it do the same with online movie rentals?
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Steve Jobs explains the new iPod lineup, the competitive pressures facing Apple and the potential for angry customers over the iPhone price cut.
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Apple's music player apparently is wildly popular on Microsoft's campus. Thousands of Microsofties own the devices, to the great irritation of management. By Leander Kahney.
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(InfoWorld) - Apple Computer's recent introduction of several new iPods shows the company is looking for better profit margins, not gaining market share, according to researcher Gartner. And the move could boost its rivals. The top sign Apple is going for the green is its lack of aggressive pricing, according to Gartner analysts Joseph Unsworth and Jon Erensen in a Monday report. The second-generation iPod Shuffle, for example, could have been priced closer to $49 to stimulate demand from users, since the cost of materials going into it amounts to only $30, the analysts said. Instead, the shuffle is priced at $79. The company could have also priced the new 8GB product lower than $249, since its materials only cost $130, Gartner said, the same with its 4GB, which at $199 is far higher than the $90 worth of materials inside, and the 2GB version, which is $149 and is made from materials costing only $70. The two Gartner researchers even lamented Apple's decision to discontinue the 1GB nano, which they say could have been a nice mass-market item for around $99. "Apple is in a secure position atop the portable media player market and has decided to strategically focus on its margin this time," the analysts said. Indeed, AppleÂ continued to leadÂ the U.S. digital music player market in the second quarter with a 75.6 percent share, according to the NPD Group, followed at a very distant second by SanDisk at 9.7 percent and Creative TechnologyÂ in third with 4.3 percent of the market. But a lack of revolutionary new functions in the latest lineup of iPods coupled with just a small price reduction could give rivals,Â Microsoft and its new ZuneÂ in particular, room to gain market share this year. For one thing, Apple's rivals may not be affected by strained component supplies, since Apple won't be taking as much as it could, according to Gartner. The market researcher had predicted a shortage of NAND flash memory chips in the fourth quarter due to strong sales of portable media players, USB (universal serial bus) flash drives, and other products requiring the chips. While it still forecasts a shortage, the situation won't be as severe as previously thought, the analysts said, perhaps a 3 percent shortfall rather than the 4.6 percent shortage originally predicted. NAND flash, one of the key data storage components for iPods, is 60 percent cheaper than last year on average, and with Apple's huge investment in NAND companies, it could have priced its iPods more aggressively to keep its market share, the analysts said. In addition, Apple's rivals won't have to work so hard this year to keep up with the iPod because the new lineup does not redefine the portable media player market like it did last year, Gartner said. And finally, the company only trimmed nano prices by $50, different from the past when the company's aggressive price cuts forced competitors to lower prices and increase storage capacity to compete. Jill Than, a spokeswoman for Apple in Hong Kong, declined to immediately comment.ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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Market research firm Telematics Research Group (TRG) reports that almost 50 percent of 2007 automobile models sold in the United States will sport iPod integration. The firm calls iPod integration &#8220;the most sought after feature&#8221; by new car shoppers.
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Apple will be getting some stiff competition in the coming year. A slew of manufacturers will soon offer players utilizing small 1&quot; hard drives that help propel the iPod and allow them to compete more favorably in the market.