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iPod owners are not necessarily as loyal to the brand as traditional Mac fans are, says ABI research, which conducted a survey in the US recently. The survey found almost 60 percent of iPod owners looking to buy another MP3 player soon, would choose Microsoft's Zune player over any other brand, including an iPod.
ABI surveyed 1725 teenage and adult US residents, asking whether they planned to buy an MP3 player in the next 12 months. Of those responding that they were likely to do so, 58% of those identifying themselves as existing iPod owners and 59% of those who owned other brands said they would be "somewhat likely" or "extremely likely" to choose a Microsoft Zune player over an iPod or another brand of MP3 player.
Apple has released an 8GB red iPod Nano. Due for rlease in Australia this week Apple will donate $10.00 from each sale to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa.
The Product RED campaign was launched earlier this year by U2 lead singer Bono who is currently touring and Bobby Shriver of the extended Kennedy clan to engage business in the global fight against AIDS in Africa. Some the planet's most recognizable corporations - The Gap, Apple and Motorola among them - have begun offering up uniquely-branded products as part of the scheme.
Apple's new iPod shuffle, which the company claims is the world's smallest digital music player, will be available worldwide as of this Friday, 3 November.
The new shuffle looks the most updated out of Apple's recently updated iPod range, as it is nearly half the size of the original and weighing in at a tiny 14 grams. It also features a built-in clip, allowing you to pin it on to your jacket or belt, if you wish.
The code that keeps iPod users faithful to Apple's iTunes music download site, and which protects a monumental share of the world's music download market, has reportedly been cracked by Norwegian teenager Jon Lech Johansen ("DVD Jon.")
As a teenager, Johansen famously cracked the encryption on DVDs.
DoubleTwist, a US company that wants to licence the code, told Reuters yesterday that Johansen, who now lives in San Francisco, had cracked Apple's FairPlay copy protection technology, which controls how many times iPod users can record copy-protected tracks - and also prevents users downloading songs from rival music sites to iPods.
The credibility of Choice Australia has been questioned after the organisation in a cheap publicity stunt took on the Apple iPod.
I don't know what the people at Choice Australia are smoking but their latest claims that the Apple iPod is one of the "shonkiest" products sold in Australia this year is pure publicity seeking.
The decision by Choice to award Apple a gong in their latest awards puts the credibility of Choice Australia well and truly on the line as organisations like JB Hi Fi, Harvey Norman and the Apple dealer channel are reporting little if any problems with the iPod.
Viacom's MTV Networks and digital media company, RealNetworks, have joined forces to launch a digital music service in the US that will take on Apple's as-yet-unrivalled iTunes service, replacing MTV and Microsoft's Urge and RealNetworks' Rhapsody subscription service, which have so far failed to cause a significant dent in Apple's revenue. According to figures from US-based market research firm, NPD, both Urge and Rhapsody have struggled to claim their stake in the limited market share left from iTunes' 68 per cent-ownership of the legal music download market from November 2006 to January this year.
New iPod owners have swamped the Apple iTunes store resulting in the site crawling to a halt. Also hindering first time users is Apples new registration system that forces consumers to register online.
Frazzled users began posting urgent help messages on Christmas Day and Boxing Day on Apple's technical forum for iTunes. They complained they were not allowed into the "store" or were being told the system could not download songs and videos.
anger over the way the computer outfit Apple treats its punters has forced an alliance of Nordic Countries something that has not been effectively managed in modern times.
Denmark, Norway and Sweden teamed up to force Apple to break the exclusive link between its iPod music players and online iTunes store.
This is unusual as the three nations have fought each other in quite nasty wars for a few thousand years. However, it seems that a dislike of Jobs' mob has managed to gather a combined fleet of dragon ships.
Apple is set to roll out a massive marketing campaign to start pushing video iPods. Key to the roll out is the sale of addictive TV soaps and series which hook consumers into returning to weekly downloads from the Apple content site.
One insider at Apple has even admitted that the company is looking at its own weekly content however there are concerns over production costs. During the past few months Apple has held discussions with three production companies with a view to sharing costs on the production of exclusive iPod content, however senior executives of Apple are at loggerheads as several believe that Apple should stick to only manufacturing technology hardware and software and not content.
Apple is set to be on centre stage this week following its fallout with US TV Network NBC and the pending launch of a new iPod range on Tuesday night in San Francisco.
Following last week's fall out with NBC, Apple has issued a press release claiming NBC Universal wanted to more than double the wholesale price charged for its television shows.The iTunes owner made the claim after NBC announced that it would be pulling its programming from the download service when its contract with Apple expires in December.
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