CUPERTINO- Apple Computer lowered the iMusic Threat Index to baby
blue (mild concern) based on a new ad campaign from Dell which suggests
that anyone who wants to purchase an iPod will have to spend orders of
magnitude more money than purchasers of the new
Dell DJ. Apple justified lowering the threat level by saying
anyone who would be willing to purchase Dell's need only compare it
with the freshly released, tiny iPod mini or the latest entry-level
full-sized iPod.
As more companies have entered the digital music business both with
online music stores and new hardware like the Dell DJ, Apple Computer
developed the iMusic Threat Index to determine the level of threat each
one posed to the iTunes Music Store and the iPod itself. At his daily
briefing, Mr. Jobs gets an overall threat assessment for the industry
as a whole, plus individual rankings for individual companies.
At present, the iMusic Threat Index scale has five levels that
correspond to colors of the iPod mini:
- Gray: Little to no threat - Any MP3 player in a blister
package or sold at
Walmart
- Baby blue: Mild concern, signs of possible market flooding
followed by periods of stagnation
- Green: Product has at least one feature superior to
iPod/iTMS, but fortunately has one fatal flaw (usually Windows Media
Player DRM)
- Gold: Possible iPod- or iTMS-killer. If form factor is too
similar, triggers Apple Corporate Lawyer Ninjas; if online sales are
cheaper, triggers the Simpler DRM Defense Strategy (SDRMDS)
- Hot pink: Time to pick a new area to innovate; initiate Plan
Newton; bail! bail! bail!
iPod supporters are advised to stay on the alert for possible
breakthrough products and to recite the iPod Owner's Mantra when
threatened: I only want as many features as can be made to work
reliably.
Apple iCEO Steve Jobs issued a statement following the drop in
threat level in which he said "just because another clunky MP3 player
is on the market, there is no reason to relax our vigilance. We have
the greatest system in the world, and those misguided souls who oppose
us will soon taste the flavor of justice--err, reduced market
share."
