When Charles Golvin gets on an airplane , he often find himself sitting next to somebody with two Apple gadget in hired man — commonly an iPhone , often along with something smaller , like an iPod shuffle or an iPod nano . It twist out that lots of people love their iPhones too much to use in every situation .
“ The iPhone is such a valuable instrument , they do n’t of necessity need to be out jogging with it — practise at the gym and getting it all sweaty , ” said Golvin , a senior psychoanalyst at Forrester Research in Boston .
And that ’s a fundamental reason why the iPod remains firmly in the pic , as Apple prepares for its annual tumble music effect on Wednesday . While the days of explosive gross sales growth are behind the troupe ’s iconic medicine player and the classic , nano , and shuffle versions of the iPod have ceded their place in the spot to touchscreen - driven devices like the iPhone and iPad , the music line of work stay a lucrative one for Apple .
Apple’s current iPod lineup is expected to get an overhaul at a press event on Wednesday.
dead on target , in Apple ’s most recent financial poop , iPod sales fall 8 percent from the previous year . But the company still sold 9.41 million iPods — not defective for a future product line that had n’t seen an update since the previous September .
Even with overall growth slowing , the iPod remain the top - sell brand of MP3 player , overlook a 70 percent market share , according to Apple ’s figures . And Apple enjoys strong growth from the more advanced — and higher - price — iPod touch . Sales of that model grew 48 percentage during Apple ’s fiscal third quarter , leading to a 12 - per centum jump in median merchandising Mary Leontyne Price for the iPod .
“ clear , Apple likes selling tinge , ” said Ezra Gottheil of Technology Business Research . “ It ’s more like their other devices than other iPods are . ”
But analysts paint a picture the habits of Colvin ’s airway seatmates may offer a clue about the future of Apple ’s iPod plan , with the touch establish as the flagship of the production channel while lowly , cheaper shambling and nanos rest for submission - point consumers and “ lowly ” use .
Apple ’s current iPod lineup is expected to get an overhaul at a printing press event on Wednesday .
And what of the revered iPod classic , the one remaining hard driving - based euphony player in Apple ’s lineup ? Observers charge out that transmission line is still profitable , but its day of increment are over . Everybody who wanted an iPod , it seems , has one by now .
“ It ’s a courteous business organisation , and it ’s not going away , ” append Roger Kay , president of Endpoint Technologies Associates . “ But if I was a manager at Apple and was told ‘ You ’ve flummox the iPod business , ’ I do n’t sleep with how felicitous I would be . ”
Apple has kept the traditional iPod refreshful and in demand over the years by add lineament and tweaking the design . Analysts say there is still piece of work that can be done on that front : FM radios — add to the nano as part of last year ’s refresh — could be expanded to the integral tune . Wi - fi capabilities could be added , both to extend iTunes sale straight to twist and to take advantage of Apple ’s leverage of cloud - euphony purveyor Lala . Television Robert William Service is also a possibleness .
“ That ’s probably the next affair they ’ll do across the line , with the exception of the shuffling , is to integrate the TV experience into these gadget , ” said Rob Enderle , chief analyst for the Enderle Group .
Just do n’t await such changes to jump off - start growth in the sale of traditional iPods .
“ I do n’t consider that ’s go to grow the grocery that much , ” order Ben Bajarin , conductor of consumer technology for originative Strategies in Campbell , California .
It should , however , pad Apple ’s holiday sales . After last year ’s iPod issue , Apple trade intimately 21 million euphony instrumentalist during the three - calendar month period covering the 2009 vacation time of year — more than double the iPods sold in the previous three months . Still , that was an 8 percentage drop from the twelvemonth - agone holiday quartern .
Consolidation of the iPod line might happen in the near future , beholder aver : There may not be a want for both the nano and the shuffling , for example . But few analyst expect Apple to entirely abandon traditional - way iPods in favor of the touch .
“ There is still quite a orotund audience that is price - sensitive that Apple still want to direct , ” Bajarin said . “ It might not be the kind of stentorian , farm sale that the iPod Touch has … but there is still a inadequate - full term role for an audience that is terms - sensitive . ”
And there ’s still profit to be made .
“ prostrate does n’t mean down , ” tell TBR ’s Gottheil . “ Down does n’t mean down a whole lot . Selling 50 million of a thing every year , which they ’ve done the last span of year , is not a bad matter . ”
“ It ’s still a large market , ” tally Ross Rubin , executive director of industry psychoanalysis for NPD Group . “ There ’s still significant requirement for a production that is simple in its functionality , and less expensive than the iPod Touch . ”
Golvin agree . “ I do n’t think it ’s clock time , ” he pronounce , “ to stick a fork in the iPod . ”
