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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Putting the iPod in perspective

Sometimes, mass media has a way of distorting reality. For example, Apple has done the unthinkable with the iPod, right? I mean, this is the most successful product of all time, right? Well, not quite. In an interesting opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal (paid subscription required), Lee Gomes puts the iPod and iTunes in perspective.

The iPod and the music downloads at Apple's iTunes Music Store represent just 20% of [Apple's] sales -- and about two weeks' worth of shipments from Apple's rival, Dell. Consumer electronics are a lot of fun, but they aren't usually very lucrative.

Put another way, Apple's entire yearly business represents just ten weeks of sales at Dell. Yep, good ol'd boring Dell, with its cheap PCs and printers. Huh.

Gomes also advises Apple to make an "iPod of TV," basically a TiVo from what I can tell, but logically notes he couldn't guarantee Apple's future with such a "breakout" device. How long has TiVo been around? Media Center? Geesh.

Anyway, this is important information, of course. With iPod advertisements assaulting us everywhere from subway tunnels to TV to print to the Web, one might think that we were in the middle of a sweeping business change. Apparently, we're not. Now maybe all the Mac sites can get back to covering the Mac again and stop pretending they know anything about consumer electronics just because their favorite computer company also happens to make an MP3 player.

[ Posted at 8:31 AM | Permalink ]