Santa Delivered A Bunch of iPods
If anyone had any doubts about the iPod’s staying power, Apple’s fiscal first-quarter results suggests there no lack of demand for the world’s coolest MP3 player. In the quarter ended Dec. 30, Apple sold a 21 million iPods - an impressive 50% increase over the same period a year earlier.
The iPod’s ability to maintain its momentum indicates the MP3 player market still has plenty of room for growth, and that Apple’s drive to pump out new versions of the iPod have resonated with consumers. It’s an interesting contrast to a post I wrote yesterday on upgrade fatigue when it comes to products such as Internet Explorer and Office.
Apple’s ability to drive higher iPod sales also reflects how competitors are failed to make any serious inroads even though there are products as good or better than the iPod. The iPod has achieved what I like to call “default status” so when people think about buying an MP3 player, they think about an iPod - much like they think about a Blackberry when it comes to a mobile e-mail device.
For something, well, completely different on Apple, check out the Secret Diary of Steve Jobs.
January 19th, 2007 at 2:53 am
I like the usage of “default status”. What are your thoughts that Apple’s iPhone could be the “default status” of this semi-new MP3 player/cell phone market.
January 19th, 2007 at 7:58 am
Apple’s chance are pretty good given the competition (SonyEricsson, Samsung, Motorola) has yet to knock the socks off consumers. I guess, one of the key questions is how big the market for a MP3/cell phone can be.