Apple’s IPod Faces Challenge From Mobile Phones (Sub required)

The Wall Street Journal has put two and two together and run an article on how the next generation of mobile phones are going to threaten the iPod, wielded by a mobile industry desperate for more revenue. It’s an interesting piece…

“Cellphones have played music for some time. But those models include MP3 music players as just one of many functions, and have limited memory and battery life. What’s different now is that the wireless carriers and phone makers are rolling out cellphones designed and marketed specifically for music — in addition, of course, to making calls. The companies are promising devices with stereo-quality sound, as well as large memories for storing songs.”

The new music phones won’t have the hard drive capacity of the iPod (at least at first) but their memory will be extended with removable memory cards and other storage functions. “High-end iPods can hold up to 15,000 songs, while the new Motorola phones can store up to 500 songs and the new offering from SonyEricsson around 150 songs, depending on the memory used.” Even “only” 150 songs equates to 7.5 hours of listening time – almost a full days work, and enough for most people.

“Still, not everyone is convinced the cellphone will threaten the iPod. Consumers will still want devices designed for a specific purpose, some analysts say. While it’s nice to have a camera on a cellphone to take a spontaneous photograph, someone on a safari, for example, will still want to carry a separate, high-quality camera, says Michael Gartenberg, director of research at JupiterResearch, based in New York. “It’s hard to view the music phone as a direct threat to music players, any more than camera phones have put cameras out of business,” he says.”

Related articles:
Law To Make iTunes Compatible With Microsoft?
Mobile Killed The Radio Star
MP3 players: “Size does not matter”

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