“The portable music player market keeps expanding, even as Apple’s iPod increases its dominance,” Elizabeth Woyke reports for Forbes.
“The latest entrant: Dell, which is re-entering the game after the failure of its ‘DJ’ (digital jukebox) player in 2006. The Round Rock, Texas-based computer giant is testing a music player that would cost less than $100, offer music through subscriptions and connect to song collections via wi-fi,” Woyke reports.
MacDailyNews Note: We assume that Wolke’s report is based on Juston Scheck’s report for The Wall Street Journal which stated clearly that Dell will decide ‘in a few weeks’ how to proceed with the music player, and that the company may decide not to sell it at all.
Woyke continues, “Jupiter Research Research Director Michael Gartenberg calls the project a long shot. ‘Dell’s had some pretty credible offerings in the past, and the market basically said thanks but no thanks,’ he says. Dell did not return a phone call seeking comment.”
“Susan Kevorkian, a director of consumer market research at IDC expects media player makers to greater exploit Apple’s tense relationships with record labels. Publishers unhappy with Apple’s iTunes pricing policies have marginalized the company’s ability to offer music free of onerous copy protections known as digital rights management,” Woyke reports.
MacDailyNews Take: Woyke seems to have missed the news that Apple is the largest music retailer in the U.S. regardless of the music cartels’ collusion.
Wokke continues, “As the labels continue to pressure Apple, Apple’s competitors can play up the fact that their players may offer more flexible ways to access music, says Kevorkian. That appears to be part of Dell’s strategy in offering music subscriptions, though it has had only limited success with consumers.”
MacDailyNews Take: Again, Dell is offering nothing and may well decide to continue offering nothing unless they enjoy having their collective ass handed to them by Apple every few years.
Woyke continues, “Competitors may get another reprieve this fall, the season when Apple traditionally introduces new versions of iPods. ‘The competition is clearly hoping that [Apple Chief Executive] Steve Jobs falls asleep at the wheel and they can take some ground in the holiday season, the biggest months for music player sales,’ says Gartenberg.”
Full article here.
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