Consumers favor phones over iPods
updated 09:35 am EDT, Thu July 13, 2006
Phones favored over iPods
More consumers are avoiding iPods in favor of all-in-one phone devices. One user interviewed by BusinessWeek Online who previously carried both a phone and an iPod now favors a phone that holds 100 songs, treating her iPod as an extra accessory. "It made sense to just use my phone for both," said Rachel Slack. The trend should be worrying Apple, according to the report, because new $500 phones are now reaching the capacity of a top-end iPod nano at four gigabytes. Some analysts believe that this new type of phone with more memory is creating a new threat to Apple's iPod, as well as its iTunes Music Store.
Apple recognizes the rise in phone popularity as a threat, according to analysts, and the Cupertino-based company's partnership with Motorola serves as proof of its concern. Several reports show that music download providers on cellphones are picking up pace, and while there is currently no clear brand leader, the T-Mobile brand has begun massive campaigns in Europe to push the technology.
Apple has set a price that will likely prove impossible to match without a loss for cellphone providers, however.
"Apple still beats music phones on memory and battery life," wrote BusinessWeek. "The phones are getting better fast, though. Nokia's N91, which costs about $600 before operator subsidies, can hold 3,000 songs and play for 10 hours. By comparison, the top-of-the-line 60 GB iPod, which costs $399, holds 15,000 songs and plays for 20 hours on a charge."
The report comes only one week after Apple
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iCell
This isn't quantum physics. It was quite obvious that there would be an expansion of the mp3 player concept to include cell phones. All that Apple has done, which they have always done, is force the phone manufacturers and service providers to actually innovate. Or at least update faster than they would if there was no non-cell industry competition. Apple is just pushing - or maybe dragging Mokia and Doterola et al into the future faster than they would probably do it on their own.
Apple has no problem leading. I am certain this hasn't caught them with their proverbial corporate pants down. The iCell or whatever is in the works and will be released when the time is right - give or take. I think (hope) that Apple has learned its lesson from the Newton. Sometimes first is too early.