Gates: Apple iPod success unlikely to last
By Michael Paige, MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:21 PM ET May 12, 2005
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LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) - Apple Computer Inc. has ridden high on a wave of success with its wildly popular iPod digital music player, but that ride might not last for the long haul, according to Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corp.
"I don't think the success of the iPod can continue in the long term, as good as Apple may be," Gates was quoted as telling German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview.
Gates, who co-founded Redmond, Wash., Microsoft (MSFT: news, chart, profile) , drew a parallel with Apple's fortunes in the market for personal computers, telling the paper that "Apple was once extremely strong with its Macintosh computer and graphic user interface - like the iPod today - then lost its position."
Apple (AAPL: news, chart, profile) , based in Cupertino, Calif., has recently seen its success closely linked to the success of its iPod music players.
To be sure, the company last month said strong demand for its iPods helped drive up its quarterly revenue by 70%. The music players accounted for just over $1 billion in sales, or more than 30% of the company's total fiscal second-quarter revenue.
Meanwhile, Apple earlier this week said it had sold more than 400 million songs through its iTunes digital music service that works along with its iPods.
However, several subscription-based services are taking square aim at Apple's iTunes.
By Michael Paige, MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:21 PM ET May 12, 2005
E-mail it | Print | Alert | Reprint |
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) - Apple Computer Inc. has ridden high on a wave of success with its wildly popular iPod digital music player, but that ride might not last for the long haul, according to Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corp.
"I don't think the success of the iPod can continue in the long term, as good as Apple may be," Gates was quoted as telling German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview.
Gates, who co-founded Redmond, Wash., Microsoft (MSFT: news, chart, profile) , drew a parallel with Apple's fortunes in the market for personal computers, telling the paper that "Apple was once extremely strong with its Macintosh computer and graphic user interface - like the iPod today - then lost its position."
Apple (AAPL: news, chart, profile) , based in Cupertino, Calif., has recently seen its success closely linked to the success of its iPod music players.
To be sure, the company last month said strong demand for its iPods helped drive up its quarterly revenue by 70%. The music players accounted for just over $1 billion in sales, or more than 30% of the company's total fiscal second-quarter revenue.
Meanwhile, Apple earlier this week said it had sold more than 400 million songs through its iTunes digital music service that works along with its iPods.
However, several subscription-based services are taking square aim at Apple's iTunes.
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