Ipod shuffle picks up steam

(From Digital Music News, posted 27/11)



Black Friday Passes, iPod shuffle Gains Steam

Americans love shopping, and the holiday spending spree officially kicked off after Thanksgiving in the States. According to freshly-released data from the National Retail Federation, sales volumes during the Thanksgiving Day weekend increased 18.9 percent over last year, a surge that was powered in part by consumer electronics devices. A number of newly-released portable music players were prepared for Black Friday, including the Microsoft Zune and a selection of updated iPods. Now, the race is on, but will the tiny shuffle ultimately outshine the heavily-hyped Zune, and even larger siblings like the video-enabled, 80GB iPod? Early numbers suggest a strong coming-out for the updated shuffle, which masquerades as a piece of jewelry and
delivers 2GB of storage capacity. A number of big-box retailers were reportedly sold out of the player ahead of the extended weekend, though Apple stores themselves seemed prepared for the rush.

Gene Munster, an analyst at PiperJaffray, originally estimated current-quarter iPod sales to reach 14 or 15 million, though strong shuffle demand could render that estimate too low. A runaway shuffle would be an unexpected surprise, and could shift the long-term market towards lower-priced, diminutive devices. Meanwhile, Apple has been fanning the flames with a shuffle advertising campaign, a push that includes an
attention-getting television spot. During the holiday quarter last year, Apple sold more than 14 million iPods overall, a stellar result that has - for better or for worse - set the bar for this year's race. Elsewhere, early retail reports have been soft on the Zune, though it remains too early to make any definitive calls.

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