Opinion versus fact in Apple SanDisk debate

Stan Beer
Thursday, 24 August 2006 06:56

Opinion and Analysis

Hi and welcome to my first BeerFiles blog installment. Since is my very first offical attempt at rambing on, I'm going to address a very important issue for me.

It appears that some readers resent the fact that many of my stories are laced with my opinions - especially when they don't agree with them.

The latest example is an article I recently posted (which was clearly an op-ed) on why I think the media hype around the new SanDisk Sansa portable music player will not be able to put a dent in the dominance of the Apple iPod.

I wrote this story knowing full well that the SanDisk device has many advantages in terms of features, double the storage capacity of iPod Nano (SanDisk is a Flash maker after all) and, being newer, is probably more advanced technologically.

However, in my OPINION, the iPod will continue to dominate the portable music player market for the time being because technology is not just what it's all about. The market is about brand, business model and user momentum.

Apple has built the brand - iPod is virtually a household name among young people. Apple has created a remarkable business model that couples the most successful music download site by far with its music player - also the most successful device on the market by far. Finally, There are tens of millions - perhaps 50 million - iPods in the hands of users, each of which is loaded with a swag of songs downloaded from iTunes. The iTunes songs are not transportable to other music devices.

OK. The 25% or so of the market that aren't using iPod are good candidates for the Sansa. If the Sansa is as good as the media hype suggests, there may be some defections from disaffected iPod users. On the other hand, Apple sold more than 8 million iPods in the last quarter and it is yet to announce an upgrade. The September quarter should tell us a lot about how much affect the Sansa will have on iPod sales.

Anyway, SanDisk's ears must be burning because they rang me through their PR company and offered me a Sansa loaner for revue. I'm giving it to my teenage son for a tryout - he has had an iPod Nano for a couple of months and he's a keen music downloader from both iTunes and other sites. I'll report what he has to say in a couple of weeks.