Is the market ready for a video iPod?
Is the market ready for a video iPod? RealMoney columnist Cody Willard doesn't think so. I disagree. In Willard's opinion, a video iPod will be successful only after large numbers of regular folk have been downloading videos, burning them to DVDs, and watching them on their TV sets. Willard analogizes to the iPod, which he thinks was successful in part because it was introduced after mainstream consumers were used to trading music, burning it to CDs, and listening to those CDs in their cars and homes.
The flaw in this analysis is the unspoken assumption that downloading video content is a new kind of consumer behavior. I'd argue that it is just another twist on downloading music. There's not much difference between downloading tunes, podcasts, or videos in terms of consumer behavior. The mainstream consumer, now familiar with the concept of downloading content to a portable player, already gets the drill. Demand for video is growing quickly, as evidenced by the popularity of sites like ourmedia. Conclusion: The market is indeed ready and waiting for a vPod. Bring it on Apple.
