iLounge

“It’s the epitome of cool, a must-have item rated No 1 with teenagers, oldies and muggers alike.

Yet the iPod digital music player has confused so many thousands of new owners that the gadget has spawned its own service industry - to help technophobes download their own songs. [...]

Now companies are springing up to meet the need, including the London-based wePod, which does the hard work of converting disc tracks into electronic files for the iPod, using its own specially developed software. Even though it does not advertise, the new venture claims it has been inundated with inquiries.”

“West Midlands police have issued a stark warning to iPod users: ditch the white headphones or pay the price.

Fashion-conscious music lovers are apparently being targeted by muggers. The Times tells the sorry tale of 22-year-old language student Roland Baskerville, who lost his 20GB model on the mean streets of Birmingham: “I was walking down the road near to my home when a man who was walking the other way pointed at my headphones.”

The thief then asked Baskerville if he was listening to an iPod and, receiving an affirmative answer, he “pulled a knife out and started waving it at me, saying: ‘Well hand it over, then.’ I gave it to him and he ran off. He must have known I was wearing an iPod because of the white headphones.”

“It’s been sometime since we gave you a sneak peek on the grey market scene; hence we decided to pay a little visit to the grey market and catch up on what’s hot and what’s not. With the official prices of gizmos and drool “maal” hitting the roof, the grey market is still the preferred choice for all fellow geeks to feast on the goodies and catch a steal or two. [...]

All the prices are negotiable and you can test your negotiation skills as long as you are serious about buying them.”

“Apple Australia has signed deals that will see the retail presence of the iPod expand.

iPods are currently only available from Apple centres and resellers, David Jones and the online Apple Store. From April 1 the popular music player will also be available in Myer, Megamart, Target, and Domayne – all high-street superstores.”

“The Apple iPod is just about the size of a pack of cigarettes, and just about as addictive.

‘Oh, it’s so addictive — it’s my new crack,’ jokes Kawan Prather of College Park, a senior vice president of Sony Records.
 
For people who have one, the iPod is a status badge, a fashion statement and an obsession. The sleekly designed little pocket jukebox holds up to 10,000 songs individually selected by the user and is insanely portable and easy to use — a mix of minimalism and maximum enjoyment. Perched right on the cutting edge of cool, it’s also crossed over into the realm of cute with the new line of pastel-colored Mini iPods.”

“RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser has a message for Apple Computer chief Steve Jobs: Open iPod or shrivel. Glaser, the feisty founder of the Internet entertainment network, said during a panel discussion Tuesday at PC Forum here that Apple is creating problems for itself by using a file format that forces consumers to buy music from Apple’s own iTunes site. (CNET Networks, publisher of News.com, last week acquired EDventures, which sponsors PC Forum.)

Because Apple’s iPod music player does not support other proprietary music formats and does not license its own format to rivals, Real’s Rhapsody and other song sites are blocked from easily reaching iPod users.

‘Apple’s (market) share will go down if they continue to do this,’ Glaser said. ‘The only way to presently put songs on an iPod is to (buy) them from iTunes.’

‘There is a good opportunity to say to Steve, ‘You’ve done a good job of promoting this thing, but now one of two bad things will happen,’ Glaser said. ‘One, Apple’s market share will go down to its historical single-digit levels, or two, it will slow down the development of this market.’”

“Search for the word ‘iPod’ on New York’s craigslist classified ads and you open a fascinating window into the psyche of the city.

Naturally, a revealing search isn’t conducted in the “for sale” section, which simply brings up a pedestrian list of iPods for sale. A truly illuminating search must include the personal ads, which offer some insight into the culture of iPods, but reveal more about the city.

Last week, for example, a boy from Brooklyn wanted advice about his girlfriend, who had dismissed his gift of an expensive handbag: She wanted an iPod mini instead.”

“Digital music player has been touted as a saviour. But are the numbers sustainable? [...]

Mr. Milunovich [analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co.] calculates that iPod and iTunes will contribute about US15 cents a share to Apple’s earnings this fiscal year, rising to US25 cents a share and revenue of $US2-billion by 2006.

But, as in the past, don’t expect it to be all clear sailing for Apple. Critics say the technology firm is going out on a limb by concentrating so much of its future on the iPod and the online music business, which is still in its infancy.

During the fiscal first quarter of 2004, 53% of Apple’s retail segment sales came from iPod, or other branded and third-party peripherals, software and services.”

“Aimed at retail establishments, bars, salons & cafés, JukePod offers a loaded 15GB iPod (under Apple warranty) with users being able to select from over 3,000 album titles. iPods are updated each month with the subscribers’ picks.

At just $100 per month, the JukePod system provides you with the means to offer a diverse and intelligent music library—$45,000 worth of crystal clear digital music delivered on Apple’s amazingly sleek and intuitive iPod. And the library keeps growing. The JukePod service model is just as impressive. We help you choose your music based on your customer demographics, update your music once a month, provide technical support, even digitize your own CDs and transfer them to the iPod.”

“In the coming months, Apple will begin to unfurl its strategy of making a little less profit on the average iPod, but selling a lot more of them. A Hewlett-Packard branded version of the iPod is due in a few weeks, and HP will pocket some of the profit from that version. The new iPod mini will bring Apple less profit per sale than previous iPod models, because its parts make up a larger portion of its $249 price tag.

Success for Apple will mean selling so many of the music players that the slimmer profits don’t matter, and paying lower prices for the iPod’s building blocks. Apple will begin to show success or failure in the spring”