This week: iTunes competition, iPod accessories

This week saw the debut of three new threats to Apple's dominance of the digital music market. iRiver's new T line of subscription-capable music players, SBC Yahoo's debut of its new online music service, and SIRIUS offering up a portable satellite radio signal the beginning of a fierce holiday sales race.... iTunes also came under pressure this week, with Yahoo Japan offering free song previews on any of 100,000 songs offered in an attempt to counter Apple's online music store. News of a serious mistake didn't help matters either, iTunes Japan sold albums for just 50 yen each, instead of the intended 1,500-yen price.... Fans of podcasting rejoiced this week, as new software by Pod2Mod enables mobile phone owners to play podcasts on mobile handsets, and Apple launched its Podcast Directory service in Taiwan.

An explosion of iPod accessories flooded in this week, a total of eight new products surfaced. Belkin announced TuneSync, its new iPod dock with built-in USB 2.0 hub and stereo-out jack for iPods and iPod minis. Fastmac shipped the "longest lasting" iPod battery upgrade, offering 20%-70% more capacity than the original OEM battery and up to 7.5 times as many charge cycles. SpeakerCraft announced the upcoming release of MODE (Music On Demand Experience), its full-color, wall-mounted screen interface with a scroll wheel and push button controls to access and control all multimedia in the home. Logitech introduced the Logitech Wireless Music System for iPod, which allows users to wirelessly connect their iPod or MP3 player to a stereo or speaker system. SendStation announced the smartCharge, its new all-in-one car charger for the iPod shuffle. SwitchEasy announced PivotDock, the "smallest" docking station for the iPod shuffle with a positive-click 180 degree pivoting design. ezGear announced the availability of its ezShuffle Starter Kit, offering an easy way to sync, charge, and protect an iPod shuffle. iSkin announced the availability of its Shuffle Duo, the World's first dual-layer protective skin covering engineered specifically for Apple's iPod shuffle.

Filed under: iPod