Apple faces the music as iPod competitors emerge

[KiwiCoromandel]

Apple faces the music as iPod competitors emerge

11 March 2005

LOS ANGELES: Apple Computer Inc. has a winner despite increasing attacks by iPod wannabes.

As Sony Corp, which introduced a new music player this week, and software maker Napster, with a new portable subscription service, crowd into the market, many analysts are nervous an 'iPod killer' will ravage Apple's ability to grow.

But others see an exploding market where Apple can win without maintaining the breadth of its lead - it now has about 70 per cent of the digital music player and music download markets.

"Less than one per cent of the world's population has a digital music player. Apple will have more competition but the overall category will grow fast enough and there should not be any slowdown for Apple," said Rick Doherty, analyst with market research firm Envisioneering Inc.

After a bull run that's pushed Apple's stock up nearly sixfold since early 2003, shares of the wildly popular iPod maker have been falling in the past month as competition from other music services like Napster has heated up.

Apple's shares are down more than 7 per cent this week after Sony Corp. unveiled a new Walkman MP3 player, while in January, Lehman Brothers analyst Harry Blount wrote in a research note that he was "increasingly wary of valuation. " ............

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http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3214298a28,00.html

[DudeAsInCool]

DIGITAL DOMAIN

How the iPod Ran Circles Around the Walkman

By RANDALL STROSS

Published: March 13, 2005

http://nytimes.com/2005/03/13/business/wor...ess/13digi.html