Will Apple pull down $5 billion in digital music revenue by 2006?

Steve Lidberg thinks so. The Pacific Crest Securities analyst thinks that the rumoured flash-based iPod,
combined with the cellphone they are developing with Motorola, will help expand their digital music business to upwards of $5 billion by 2006.

He sees 2005 as a year in which Apple will deliver iTunes to more devices. We expect iTunes to be embedded in the new phone which, along with Bluetooth connectivity, will help sync music with Macs and PCs. Pairing the phone with a set of Bluetooth headphones would get rid of the wires altogether, and we can all walk around looking very Secret Service with our bugs in our ears. Make the earbuds small and unobtrusive enough and we may never get kids to pay attention in class again.

Any way you slice it, business is set to boom for Apple in the digital music realm this year.