Wednesday, September 7, 2005
The iPod Has Become a Platform
Posted by James Fee in "THOUGHT" @ 03:33 PM
"The iPod arguably is a platform now, although I would contend it achieved that status sometime ago. Apple claims there are 1,000 accessories now available for the iPod. That means third parties make money off stuff they have created for the iPod. Then there is content, 2 million songs and lots of exclusives, audio books and now podcasts. Third parties make money off the first two, anyway. Some games and other content is available for iPod, and not distributed through Apple or its iTunes music store. Then there are the 10 million iTunes accounts. The question: What will Apple do with this platform? I don't think Apple has truly figured that out, otherwise there would be a serious software development kit and even more opportunities for third parties to extend capabilities."
We've gone back and forth on the topic "Is the iPod a Platform" and I'm thinking we've crossed over to it being THE platform for digital media. I guess it is time for me to drop my Dell Axim and use my iPod to store my contacts and calendar from Outlook. With the Nano being released, I'm guessing it is going to be a cold dark winter for Microsoft and its partners. The only solution I see at this point is for Microsoft to take a bigger role in marketing their music offerings because their partners just can't seem to compete with Apple.
We've gone back and forth on the topic "Is the iPod a Platform" and I'm thinking we've crossed over to it being THE platform for digital media. I guess it is time for me to drop my Dell Axim and use my iPod to store my contacts and calendar from Outlook. With the Nano being released, I'm guessing it is going to be a cold dark winter for Microsoft and its partners. The only solution I see at this point is for Microsoft to take a bigger role in marketing their music offerings because their partners just can't seem to compete with Apple.
