Competition for iTunes
by Michael
The big Palm announcement yesterday prompted a thought on music stores. Both the new Palm Pre and the recently release T-Mobile G1 allow users to purchase and download music from Amazon's music store. That's two high profile touchscreen mobile devices that can make direct purchases of music from a source other than iTunes.
The iPhone still enjoys a huge base but if these new phones start to make gains, will Apple move to open their iTunes platform and allow other phones to purchase music? Don't count on it. Apple has always been reluctant to play with others. When the iPod was first released, only Mac owners were able to use the device. Even when a Windows compatible model came out, buyers had to commit to one platform or the other. Sales of the iPod didn't really take off until Apple removed the platform specific barriers from the product. Since the iPhone sales have been so phenomenal, Apple has no motive to go after non-iPhone mobile users just yet. But they should be anyway.
Amazon's music store has been moving along under the radar for the most part. The flashier iTunes, Zune and Rhapsody have captured the spot-light up to now. But Amazon knows how to be patient. Now that two major mobile devices offer compatibility with the Amazon music store, their patience may be paying off. Because if two manufacturers are going with Amazon, chances are more will follow. That means more competition for Apple. Which may not be good news for the boys in Cupertino.
Posted under Read the Lede on Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 15:57
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