Digital Journal — Dear iPod: On your fifth birthday, I’d like to congratulate you for single-handedly changing how the world listens to music. But don’t let the compliment go to your head, because competition is definitely nipping at your heels.
You first launched with the kind of buzz normally associated with the birth of royalty. Media headlines screamed for your prolonged dominance, and tech analysts predicted Apple’s revenues to soar to unprecedented heights. You didn’t disappoint, iPod, and your arrival sparked an overhaul that made the Walkman look like a Band-Aid solution.
By initiating a digital music revolution, you created a new breed of music lovers who could hold their entire collection in their pocket. It made sense: Pulling out CDs from their sleeves became too clunky and oh-so-1990s. Now, with thousands of songs housed in one gadget, music became central to a mobile maven’s life, even if people lost some sonic quality with the compressed file format of MP3s.
The world is quite taken with you, iPod. In the recent quarter alone, Apple has shipped nearly nine million of the stylish players, up 35 per cent from a year ago. And let’s not presume you’re the same iPod you were five years ago. You moved from mechanical control wheel to a touch pad that has yet to be trumped. Plus, your slick marketing campaigns and high-profile studio partnerships kept iTunes on the minds of millions who preferred to shell out $1 for a song rather than opt for the music piracy route.
iPod, as much as you’ve become a breakthrough gadget that is often imitated, your superiority cannot last forever. New players from both Microsoft and Sony are enjoying impressive buzz, especially in light of Microsoft Zune’s Wi-Fi capability. It’s obvious you and Steve Jobs will have to brainstorm a way to elevate iPod to the next level so today’s early adopters can look forward to more innovation from Apple.
Happy Birthday, iPod, and make a wish. In my opinion, I think you should wish for another healthy five years. Thing is, it’s not going to be a cake walk this time.
