iPod sound too good to be true

Apple competitors challenge hegemony of player by introducing lesser-quality players

The Christmas gift rush has begun, and we can reasonably expect the iPod to remain one of the best-selling gadgets to end up under a tree. Having acquired the status of a cult object, Apple's small player now represents 92.1 percent of the market of hard-drive-based music players, up from 82.2 percent one year ago.
Impressive figures, all the more so if one considers the over two million units sold in the last quarter, which will surely increase when the deal with HP goes ahead. This is not due to a lack of competitors, on the contrary: there are plenty of models on the market, ranging from Dell to Creative, from Sony to SamSung, etc. Every major manufacturer is trying to establish a position in what is perceived as a rapidly evolving sector. Dethroning the iPod, however, will not be easy, and even if market shares were to change slightly in favour of the competitors, this would be just a physiological adjustment.
Dell is challenging iPod as part of a plan to expand its brand name in the consumer electronics market. The PC maker last week launched a diminutive version of its Dell Digital Jukebox portable music player, dubbed the Pocket DJ 5, along with an updated Dell DJ 20 music player. Virgin Electronics also made its play lately with the $249 Virgin Player, a digital audio player with a 5GB hard disk. The device supports MP3 and WMA music formats and is capable of working with various digital music services. Other manufacturers have introduced, or will soon, their new models, but to date no one has come up with an "iPod killer".
Cutting prices or adding features has not produced big results, but it must be said that nobody has managed to create a product cooler than Apple's through design and marketing.
The iTunes-iPod integration has certainly played a fundamental role right from the start, and its effects are felt even today.
Over the past two years, Apple has continued to invest heavily in promoting its player, but it also used effective ads to establish the iPod as synonymous of digital music.
Dancing silhouettes brandishing an iPod lined for months the walls of North American and European cities, while TV ads enticed viewers to stand up and dance. No other manufacturer invested as much; many, on the other hand, hoped to capitalize on the success of the iPod.
An in-depth analysis of the factors that contributed to this success would take whole pages of this magazine, but we will only look at two of them.
The iPod's first characteristic is its ease of use. Built around an incredible design, Apple's player owes its success to the scroll wheel controlling all functions. The scroll wheel has been through three alterations. The first one actually rotated; then there was the touch-sensitive one; and finally there's the clickable one found on the iPod Mini and fourth-generation iPod. No millions of buttons and an incredible speed on browsing your long list of songs. To date, no one has managed to simplify Apple's design any further.
The iPod's other trump card is its accessories. Tons of them. Ranging from speakers to Prada and Gucci cases, the universe of the gadgets for the iPod expands every day to accommodate the most diverse requests. Do you want to incorporate your iPod onto your BMW? No problem. Any BMW dealership will be glad to give you assistance in controlling your player from your steering wheel.
Microsoft's arrival on the digital music market will not be of immediate assistance to the various manufacturers supporting the WMA (Windows Media Audio) format, unless some of them begin to think outside of the box. "Listen more" is the message coming from the community of music lovers. A good product is not enough; every aspect should be taken care of, such as the name. Gmini XS200, or Yepp YP 55, have something in common: they don't sound too good.

Publication Date: 2004-10-24
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4526