The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg technology article (requires subscription) headline "The New iPod: Ready for Battle?" describes the new iPods and iTunes 7. For once I agree with his assessment, and especially with this one comment:
"Still, this autumn, the iPod could face its greatest challenge. Microsoft, after failing for years to combat the iconic gadget, will launch a new assault Nov. 14 with a player called Zune. Unlike past Microsoft music efforts, the Zune will be sold by Microsoft itself, and, like the iPod, it will be tightly integrated with companion software and an online music store.
Not only that, but this week, RealNetworks' Rhapsody music service, the best of the iTunes competitors, will announce its own player, jointly developed with SanDisk, which is the second-place player maker, albeit a distant second."
Yes Apple's iPod is a formidable competitor and the newest releases will solidify its market share for now. Although most of the press seems to be dismissing the competition, I agree with Mr Mossberg that the threats are looming. In 2005 SanDisk had 3.1% of the market, by the end of 2006 they expect to finish with 9.7% . This indicates that there is room for growth. And what if Apple's stumble a la Sony (Play Station 3) Microsoft could be poised to take a significant share of the market.
The new iPods definitely keep the challenge alive, although the upgrade was minor. I am not running out to replace my iPod 60GB. I wish they would provide a firmware upgrade for the search function on the 5th generation iPod. I don't see any technical reason for why it would not work on 5th generation iPods. Both the 5th and 6th generation iPod are running version 1.2 of the firmware, but Apple has chosen to turn off the search feature which in my view is not too customer friendly.
It is normal for a growing market to see new players coming and taking market shares.
Posted by: Zune | October 04, 2006 at 02:14 PM