>If you’re going to be an iPod killer — and not just a great new music player — you have to first out-Apple Apple at all the things that makes the iPod special.

>If you’re going to be an iPod killer — and not just a great new music player — you have to first out-Apple Apple at all the things that makes the iPod special. That means superior industrial design, an iTMS-beating catalogue of content, and a better desktop experience than iTunes. My understanding is Apple makes $100 dollars' margin on every Ipod. You could gain some market share in the mp3-player space by undercutting Apple. Just make the design work (this might mean hiring a renowned UI designer from outside, or hell, poach Jon Ive for 30M), make it cost half as much as an iPod, but avoid making it out of plastic. Make a case out of exotic metals or hardwoods or marble, or acquire 1000 songs for Microsoft's catalogue to add to every ipod so it is useful from the get-go.[1] [1] I have no idea how feasible this stuff would be, but I think it is appealing.