ZDNet blogger David Berlind made an interesting post, iPods vs. everything else: An audio quality arms race? More like a fashion arms race, about why the iPod has succeeded and why everyone else in the market is an also-ran. He thinks Sony’s attempt to gain market share from iPod by offering better audio quality is doomed from the start. Sony’s newest music players incorporate noise cancelling technology to deliver better sound. Berlind has no problem with that, but doesn’t think it will dent Apple’s share because most users either can’t tell the difference or the perceived difference isn’t big enough to matter. Unfortunately, he’s probably right.
We’ve been watching the MP3 player market for a few years, and have observed that many non-Apple products offer a superior combination of features and value. Apple is expanding its feature set, but for a while capabilities like voice recording, FM reception, FM recording, photo viewing, etc. were available only on competing players that often sold for less than the comparable Apple unit. In addition, third party players offer more versatile music downloading options and are usually able to play protected WMA files. (Some content, like NetLibrary audiobook downloads, are available only in this format.) None of this has sto–pped the Apple juggernaut, though. The battle isn’t being decided on features or value - it’s being won with style. iPod is the fashionable brand, and a brand conscious teen is no more likely to buy a music player from iRiver than she is to buy a pair of generic blue jeans to wear to school. Even “style” is a bit of a misnomer - some of the iPod competitors are sleek and well-designed; though there’s no absolute standard for design, some of the non-Apple units are as appealing as the iPod from a purely visual standpoint. Berlind’s use of “fashion” is appropriate - the iPod is in fashion, and that’s what counts.
The looming question is whether Microsoft “gets it” as they prepare to launch their own iPod competitor, Zune. Will they sell features, performance, and value? Or will they find a way to make their player cool? To win in this market, Microsoft must succeed with the latter. If they succeed in breaking the iPod monopoly, Microsoft may well open the market up for other makers, too. With Microsoft’s need to promote its digital rights management technology, this may be one time when helping a competitor or two gain market share might not be a bad thing.
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I agree with Al–it’s ease of use.
Consider this scenario: I have a CD. I have an MP3 player. How do I get the songs from the CD to the MP3 player.
With iTunes I insert the CD. The CD shows up with all the song names. I drag the songs I want to the iPod. It appropriately encodes the songs and sticks them on the iPod. There is no step 3.
In the Windows world, nobody has thought of this. Everybody has their own little world to worry about it. MP3 Players consider the software to be secondary. Microsoft considers the players to be secondary. So if something doesn’t work, nobody knows why and the finger-pointing begins. Even “Plays For Sure” is less than reliable.
Apple was not the first to market an MP3 player. But it was the first to create a complete end-to-end solution. Everyone else was just working on their little piece of the pie and left it to the consumer to stick all the pieces together and somehow get it to work.
The “cool” factor, as you put it, is that with an iPod, it was actually easy to use. This meant that word-of-mouth recommendations didn’t come from Nerdy-boy down the street who thinks editing a registry file is easy. No, the recommendations came from actors, singers, sports personalities, and–most importantly–your peers who were not technically adept.
That’s what made the iPod “cool”–real human beings could actually use it and see how handy it was to have your music collection at your fingertips.
Comment by Peter 10.25.06 @ 7:24 amI do agree that ease of use is important… but today’s teens can cope with complex video games, weird cell phone interfaces, and a lot more. I own an iAudio unit, and synching with a CD is no big deal. As easy as an iPod? Maybe not, I don’t know… but if I can manage it, most teens could do it in their sleep.
Comment by rogerd 10.25.06 @ 9:24 amLeave a comment
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You are missing the biggest reason iPod is popular. It is easier to use than all other players, past and present.
Ease of use trumps all other BS options.
Comment by Al 10.25.06 @ 12:04 am