“Fears that a Microsoft digital music player and service could imperil the iPod’s market dominance are overblown, according to Shaw Wu, an analyst for American Technology Research in a report on Monday,” R.M. Schneiderman reports for Forbes.
“’Apple’s vertical model is tough to execute with not many companies (if any) succeeding. Apple has a large installed base of about 50 million iPods and 300 million iTunes users,’ Wu wrote. ‘[Their] competitive advantages are largely defendable including its familiar and easy-to-use user interface, industrial design, brand name and world-class supply chain.’ He added that he believes Apple is pursuing a longer term broader strategy beyond iPods, which means that Microsoft may need to enter other hardware segments, such as PCs, cell phones and home entertainment,” Schneiderman reports.
“As a result, Microsoft is more likely to compete with companies it has partnered with for the past three to four years including Creative Technology, Sony, Samsung, Archos, Toshiba, iRiver, Philips, MTV Networks and others,” Schneiderman reports.
Full article here.
In other news: liquid water is wet, the earth orbits the sun, and Macs are superior to Windows PCs.
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