There was demand for a pocket-sized music device over 20 years ago. The Sony Walkman was a success which was followed by the proprietary Sony MiniDisc format wh

There was demand for a pocket-sized music device over 20 years ago. The Sony Walkman was a success which was followed by the proprietary Sony MiniDisc format which flopped. Then iRiver and Phillips had crappy mp3 players. The iPod was the first portable music player since the Walkman that was a success. I am not prescient, the iPad may be a huge success, but there currently not a large market for tablets. There were large markets for portable music players and smart phones when Apple entered those fields.