About this Author
Sandy McMurray is a long-time technology journalist whose work has appeared in Time, the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Sun, Report on Business, Profit, and other sources. Between 1995 - 2002, Sandy wrote a weekly column about technology for the Toronto Sun, and served as Technology Editor for five Sun Media newspapers. He has been publishing on the Web since 1996.
Contact: readme@mac.com
1. Jim on January 14, 2005 04:09 PM writes...
Forget convergence, this is coherence.
Permalink to CommentThe timing for the introduction of the mass marketing products is no accident. Paul forgot the coherent factor - the iTunes Music Store. As critical mass/marketshare builds on these two product lines (iPod/iTMS), they become mutually re-enforcing to a point (say 60-75% marketshare) where they lock together. They are currently at around 60% and the iPod shuffle will likely increase share to >70%. The iTMS is currently at 65-70% but the overall download market is too small as of today to predict outcomes. This effect is similar to the Wintel duopoly (except Apple owns both elements) and acts to attract new buyers by making the alternative ecosystem unattractive.
Could Apple have the last laugh?