Should iPod go its own way?
Published: 16 Apr 2004 11:50 BST
Lessons learned
To be sure, Apple appears to have learned some lessons from the 80s and is not going it totally alone.
The biggest step Apple took was offering its iPod for both Windows and PCs, forgoing an opportunity to use the device mainly as a way to sell Macs. The company followed up by porting its iTunes jukebox software and music store to Windows, again giving it a much larger market to address.
It also has lined up both America Online and Hewlett-Packard as partners, albeit in somewhat limited roles. AOL has links to Apple's music store, while HP will sell a custom blue-hued version of the iPod and include iTunes on its PCs. Already, 300,000 HP PCs have shipped with Apple's software, the Mac maker said Wednesday on a conference call with analysts.
Undoubtedly, Apple could find more partners, if it were willing to loosen its reins. But Jobs seems comfortable with whatever risks the company's proprietary approach might carry, at least for now.
"It's an opportunity, but Apple won't take it, because they're happier with deals like with (HP), where Apple is largely in control of the partnership," said Jon Erensen, an analyst at research firm Gartner.
There are some good reasons for Apple to stick to its guns. The company sold 800,000 iPods last quarter, setting a new record and actually selling more of the digital music players in the quarter than it did Macs. Its music store, designed to be a breakeven proposition, posted a narrow profit as well.
Adding software partners might not do anything to make its current products better, analysts say.
"Integration is a huge reason why iPod has done so well, so I don't see the incentive to open it up for anyone, including RealNetworks," said Tim Deal, an analyst at Technology Business Research. "Ease of use is clearly an important factor to the people buying iPods, so why would Apple want to put more hands in the pot and potentially create glitches that aren't there today?"
RealNetworks, in particular, would appear to bring little to the party.
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