Adding music players to cellphones won't kill iPod

While Bill Gates doubts the future of the iPod, the Wall Street Journal reports that several obstacles lie ahead for any company that hopes to "push Steve Jobs & Co. off the top of the digital-music heap." The Microsoft chairman told a German newspaper, "I don't think the success of the iPod can continue in the long term, however good Apple may be,[...] Apple was once extremely strong with its Macintosh and graphic user interface, like with the iPod today, and then lost its position." While cellphones may ultimately provide the strongest competition to Apple's iPod, "it's a big leap of faith to think handset makers can approach the iPod's ease of use with a jack-of-all-trades device," reporters Tim Hanrahan and Jason Fry write. "Apple's competitors haven't managed [to best Apple] with their standalone devices, and they've had years to try."

Filed under: iPod, industry