I’ve written a lot about the iPod, iTunes, and iTunes Music Store this year. At times I’ve wondered if I’ve devoted too much attention to it. Based on the last few weeks of news, however, perhaps the opposite is true — that the iPod is such a genuine phenomenon that I haven’t written about it enough.
First up regarding recent news is Apple’s report on its fiscal fourth quarter of 2004, which contained the staggering news that Apple shipped 2 million iPods. Recall that two quarters prior, it was big news that Apple shipped slightly more iPods than Macs. Now it’s not even close — 2 million iPods vs. 836,000 Macs.
Those Mac numbers are good — up 6 percent over the same quarter a year ago — but they simply can’t compare to the continuing phenomenal growth in iPod sales. More competitors continue to enter the market, but Apple’s market share is going up, not down.
And things are only looking up. The current quarter (which by Apple’s fiscal calendar is the first quarter of 2005) consists of the holiday shopping season, and will be the first full quarter in which HP is selling iPods. Oh, and iPod Minis are finally available in sufficient quantity to meet demand.
posted by 09professional
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