I can't believe that company

I can't believe that company! They are a practical monopoly. They leverage their monopoly in one market to dominate another and crush competition. They use proprietary standards. They actively resist competitors from integrating with their solutions. Of course, I'm talking about

Apple. I'm often amazed, as a Microsoft fan, that so little is said about the way Apple uses the iPod/iTunes system to lock everyone else out.  Of course, I also own and use an iPod heavily and I really like iTunes (I don't like the iPod actually, but I'm in a minority here). And, of course, Apple is the spunky little guy, so we all cut them slack...but if Microsoft created iTunes, you know that every competitor (and the EU...how can we forget them) would be screaming about anti-competitive practices and conspiracy theories...ah well.

However, Microsoft has finally announced pricing and availability for the Zune. Is this going to be better than the iPod? I have no idea. I'm not even certain whether I'd want to sign up for yet another monthly fee, but get all the music in the library, or stick with my 99 cent for each song I want. Honestly, I do more audio books than anything else, so I guess I need to see what Audible does. I do like the FM tuner, and the wireless features, but it's a hard call.

However, the important point here is that this might finally be the break in the monopoly. Microsoft might not be the one to actually take the market away from Apple, but this amount of churn can only help the market as a whole.

Comments

[Adam Kemp]

I don't thinke that iTunes/iPod is a monopoly. They have a strong market share, but I don't think I would call it a monopoly. Windows has somewhere around 90+% of the desktop market. That's a real monopoly. :)

[Brian Tyler]

Most hardware companies have stopped producing their MP3 players and Napster is looking to sell it's library service. Reports I've seen show Apple at around 87% market share. I think it's fair to say that have an effective monopoly :)

And while they've done it by being the best and the first, you can't say that they aren't borrowing from MS early playbook on leveraging their market position to block out rivals.

Of course, I feel that companies that complain (today) about MS "standards" that aren't open are just playing politics - same as I do about the MP3 market - build a better mousetrap or don't complain.

So, I'm not saying Apple doesn't deserve it's success, nor do I feel that they "must" open iTunes to competitors. I'm just saying there isn't a lot of difference in the position or tactics from Microsoft.