“The iPod put Apple back on track. Now some are wondering if anything can stop this train. With the all-important holiday season fast approaching, the company has built up a lot of momentum. Its iPod line has simply run over the competition in the digital music player market; not only are sales growing, but its share of the market has expanded this year,” Troy Wolverton writes for TheStreet.com.
“Last week, the company took steps to maintain its lead, rolling out a new, ultra-slim digital music player and, with Motorola and Cingular, the first phone that will include its iTunes software. To some investors and analysts, the company’s digital music efforts are starting to look unstoppable. Reflecting this, Apple’s stock closed at an all-time high Monday at $51.40,” Wolverton writes. “‘There’s no doubt in our mind that Apple is still the most powerful vendor’ of digital music players, says Shaw Wu, who covers the company for American Technology Research.”
Full article here.
Advertisement: Apple iPod nano. 1,000 songs. Impossibly small. From $199. Free shipping.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Report: Apple iPod nano sales fall short? Black outsells white by large margin? – September 13, 2005
Thurrott: Microsoft’s ‘iPod killer’ just ‘ain’t going to happen’ – August 12, 2005
Thurrott: ‘I don’t see how Microsoft will ever stem the flow of iPods coming out of Cupertino’ – July 15, 2005
To infinity and beyond!
To answer the headline, yes, the Sony Bean. LOL.
For those who like to flame, that was a joke.
“‘There’s no doubt in our mind that Apple is still the most powerful vendor’ of digital music players, says Shaw Wu, who covers the company for American Technology Research.”
Isn’t this the same guy who moments ago said the nano wasn’t selling?
What gives Shaw? Make up your mind.
(maybe he’s covering his options, say good, say bad. hope people only remember the correct one)
Investor –
What makes you think that Wu’s positive comments are mutually exclusive with nano sales being below expectation?
MDN word: gives
Only Apple can stop Apple. Like not doing a focus group to see how black nanos would sell compared to white ones. Maybe not realizing that people have been buying white ones because THAT’S ALL THEY MADE (U2 iPod not withstanding it’s not a standard iPod and is priced more than a comparible iPod.) not because they necessarily wanted only white. iPod mini – 5 colors. Duh!
Dont’ get me wrong, I love apple products, but they can be so arrogant sometimes. Hopefully, and I don’t doubt it, they have a backup plan.
MDN Magic Word: george
Can anything stop the iPod?
Yes….Apple can stop it.
Seriously–they can.
They haven’t done it–haven’t even come close. But if they stop being stupid about things and start playing really dirty, they CAN stop the iPod. In maybe 2 years, if they really wanted to.
Apple’s survival is truly depending on Microsoft LETTING them survive.
They make buggy awful products, and at the rate they are going they will lose all the power they have in a decade or two. But they have PLENTY of monopoly power still, and the US government no longer cares to control them.
So just because they are dying in one sense, doesn’t mean they can’t take Apple down (Macs and iPod both) quite easily if they make the right moves.
I’m betting they don’t make the right moves (it would have to be dirty pool–they can’t win on quality, just look at the Vista mess) but I’m not getting cocky about it.
“…Now some are wondering if anything can stop this train…” – Troy Wolverton writes for TheStreet.com.
Why would a person wish to stop this train? These products (the iPod family and iTunes) became a “train” simply because they are fine quality products that deliver what the customer wants. The customers are the folks that made it a train.
“Stopping a train” would be a question one should ask when considering MIcrosoft Windows.
All fads come to an end. I’m going to sell my Apple stock and invest in hearing aid stock – because iPods are going to make million of people loose their hearing.
The original title on this article by The Street’s Troy Wolverton reads: “iPod’s Dominance Is Risky Business”….
As I wrote here before, it’s worth watching this guy as to me his writings (now and in the past) seem carefully timed to manipulate Apple’s stock behaviour. A clear pattern is forming. When stock is at it’s peak and profit taking is imminent, Wolverton publishes article’s aimed at wtring the stoch down. The exact opposite happens when AAPL is imminent to gain.
Everyone holding APPL stock, watch this dude carefully…
let’s not forget about the Mac.
I hope this platfrom grows as well. I love OSX…
RE: iDon’t,
iPods aren’t the first portable audio players on the market. How is their popularity any different than the 300+ million Diskmans and Walkmans sold in the last 20 years?
Clearly, the market is much more aware of such devices and that shows in the iPod’s popularity. You can’t blame Apple for taking advantage of such an opportunity.
At the end of the day, it comes down to education. As long as people use the devices responsibly, there won’t be any serious problems.
RE: coolfactor
I was being a smart a$$ and will continue to be one. Thank you very much.
“Seriously–they can.
They haven’t done it–haven’t even come close. But if they stop being stupid about things and start playing really dirty, they CAN stop the iPod. In maybe 2 years, if they really wanted to.”
Though I agree with your central thesis that Apple’s dominance could be challenged, I disagree with the idea that they’d do it “if they really wanted to.” I believe they do really want to already.
MS seems unable to “stop being stupid”, as you point out. That is the reason more than lack of desire on their part.
Although Apple does dominate and continues to innovate in a way to maintain that position, the market for such devices is still quite immature, something between 5-8% of what it can be (remember reading some analysis that had similar number). There’s plenty of growth left so that, if anyone does put out a better product, Apple could not only slip, but be dethroned. I believe, though, that Apple’s innovation will make it such that another company would need a master stroke to do that.
It’s been a long time since anybody has seen or heard it. Maybe it’s on a milk carton.
“The iPod put Apple back on track. Now some are wondering if anything can stop this train.” Troy Wolverton writes for TheStreet.com.
Short answer to Troy: No.
The iPod Juggernaut® is going to continue to roll and destroy everything in its path. Apple will continue to innovate while all other tech companies will stand on the sidelines with their jaws dropping.
MaWo: ‘nothing’. As in, “Nothing can stand before the iPod Juggernaut’s® power.”