The Guardian, London
It's a hard question for many Apple fans to ask, but the music industry is asking it nonetheless: what is going to supersede the iPod? Confident and cool as the white icon is in its domination of the digital download market, other gadgets are starting to muscle in on its territory.
From one of the many music mobile phones being launched, to Sony's Playstation Portable (PSP) and other digital audio players -- the iPod's reign is looking rocky. Or is it? MusicTank, a UK music industry thinktank, recently held a debate to tackle this theory. I Came, I Saw, iPod -- What's Next? put the negatives of portable audio players -- poor interoperability, limited battery life and the restraints of digital rights management -- against those of mobile phones: burdens of storage, functionality and cost, to see which format could soon be singing its swansong.
PHOTO: EPA
Technology columnist Charles Arthur opened the debate with a damning speech on mobile phones and the download space. "Can I store my entire album collection on my mobile phone? No. Can I download tracks quickly and easily? No, 3G isn't offering that yet. Can I access my music in a couple of clicks? No," he said.
"The mobile companies do win on payment -- people are used to buying ringtones on their mobile and having that charged to their phone bill, [and] the same system can work for downloads. But anything else -- including navigation of the content, the price of the actual songs because of the licensing madness that is going on with the various formats, transferability backwards and forwards between a PC and mobile phone, especially the question of backing up -- I think they will lose," he said.
The reach of the mobile industry, however, and its potential audience is far greater than any of the music download platforms, said Steve Mayall, MusicAlly mobile and wireless analyst.
"It took the iPod four years to sell about 20 million but you look at the growth of mobile phones and it just completely obliterates that," he said. "The text message market is bigger than the whole music community globally."
Numbers are one thing, but customer satisfaction is another, and more operations on a mobile can mean less reliability. Michael Bull, senior lecturer in media and film studies at the University of Sussex, said: "My research shows 25 percent of iPod users don't like their phones, [often because] they don't always work well."
"Phones can play music, but it doesn't mean people will want to listen to music on them," he said.
The idea of control and privacy is important to a music lover, and both these things are offered by the iPod.
"To some extent, listening to music is about listeners immersing themselves and hopefully not being disturbed. You get a form of control by using an iPod, which mobile phones destroy as soon as someone else wants to phone you. It becomes interruptive,"Bull said.
Mobiles will also have to offer comparable storage to an iPod -- as yet, only the upcoming Nokia N91 gets close.
"While the technology might catch up eventually, [mobile companies] are running out of time because Apple are also moving forward. A wireless iPod is increasingly likely. A video iPod, too," Arthur said.
He thinks the well-designed, media-rich PSP, with its large harddisk storage, will prove more of a contender to the iPod. But it, too, has drawbacks, such as its bulkier size and incompatibility with the popular iTunes Music Store.
Barney Wragg, Universal's eLabs senior vice president, argued that Apple's focus on presentation and making their product work well holds the key.
"If there's one thing that Apple showed us, it's that technology isn't the important thing," Wragg said. "Apple have succeeded because of style and consumer experience."
Wragg thinks television may be the next digital music format.
"Sky and others will introduce broadband-capable set-top boxes capable of supporting music sales," he said. "But these services will only work if I can transfer my purchases to my iPod."
Convergence would be essential if the suggestion of a "celestial jukebox" was to work, too. Mayall argued that music could be sold as a commodity, like water or power, through a subscription model and streamed to multiple devices with always-on access. But, as Bull said: "If you can access everything, you can't choose anything," pointing to the success of the iPod Shuffle, which takes the hard work out of song selection.
The final choice will be with the consumer and which format they feel is the best to store and transport their music. For now, the iPod is definitely the Apple of their eye.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks