10 Things Your Apple Won’t Tell You
1. “It’s good to be king — but my reign may be coming to an end.”
Since launching the iPod in 2001, Apple has been the undisputed leader in digital music players, owning 90 percent of the market. What has set the iPod apart is not only its hip, user-friendly design, but also its companion iTunes music store, the first online audio megamart, offering an ever-expanding catalog of songs for purchase at the click of a mouse. This two-pronged approach has given Apple a huge lead over competitors; so far the company has sold over 40 million iPods and more than a billion songs on iTunes. But the iPod’s days at the top may be numbered.At issue is Apple’s proprietary format, which makes the iPod incompatible with other digital-music technology. According to Chris Crotty, senior analyst for consumer electronics at iSuppli, such closed systems either move toward compatibility or get surpassed by the competition. Think of AOL’s early bid to set up its own online world — highly successful, until the bigger and better Internet rendered it obsolete. Apple is similarly positioned and could end up painting itself into a corner, just as it did with Macintosh. “Over time
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Written by bardissi on August 19th, 2007 with no comments.
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