IPod boom is music to retailers' ears

BUYING an Apple iPod has become the gateway taking devotees to as many as 250 licensed accessories augmenting the lifestyle experience the tiny music maker generates. And analysts are predicting the 'iPod economy' will generate sales worth hundreds of millions of pounds this year.

Not many people will want to have their iPod encrusted with diamonds, as hip-hop mogul Sean 'P Diddy' Coombs does, but accessorising does not always come cheap. Market research firm Envisioneering says about 33% of consumers invest in a decent pair of earphones within 90 days of buying an iPod.

Upmarket audio company Bose sells its QuietComfort earphones, packaged with a top-end iPod, for £574. Buying new earphones is regarded as a must by any serious iPod-ophile as the quality of Apple's offering is generally ridiculed.

Audio electronics specialist Shure launched its E4c sound isolating earphones at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company says the E4c is the perfect accessory for music lovers who are serious about sound quality and detail. It also mirrors the iconic design of the iPod.

Nyko Technologies, best-known for its video game peripherals, unveiled nine add-ons at the show. Several help boost the iPod's inadequate battery life. Competitors such as Maxell are also trying to iron out that wrinkle. Nyko and others have developed solutions to link the device to home stereo systems.

Nyko's MoviePlayer transforms the iPod into a multimedia centre, allowing users to view movies, videos and photographs. The clamshell cradle has a foldable 3.5-inch screen and built-in control pad. Audiovox, meanwhile, has an adaptor that enables an iPod's music to be heard through car stereo systems. The accessory also provides steering-wheel controls.

Michael Townsen of Pioneer Electronics, which has also developed an adaptor to link the iPod to in-car stereos, says: "Consumers love their iPod music and they want to take it with them everywhere, including the car.'

Apple itself has teamed up with BMW, Mini Cooper, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari to deliver integration with their car stereo systems.

Motorola has joined with Burton Snowboards to produce a Bluetooth-enabled jacket for snowboarders that links a rider's mobile phone and iPod to a system operated through a control module on the jacket sleeve. Stereo speakers are built into the jacket's hood and there is a microphone near the collar.

Creative Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin, who coined the phrase 'the iPod economy' says Apple sold 4.5m iPods in the run-up to Christmas and should sell more than 15m this year, thanks to a licensing agreement with Hewlett-Packard.

'While Apple has done a great job of increasing its own distribution, HP gives the company an additional 15,000-plus selling points worldwide,' he says. 'Apple could have one of the best years of its life just ahead.'

But Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle says: 'The long-term problem for Apple is that the iPod is a fad, and fads have a tendency to run out of steam. This one has been going on for what is already an unusually long time.'

Enderle believes the cheaper iPod Shuffle doesn't have the potential to extend Apple's good fortune. 'The Shuffle is inferior to other products at the same price,' he says. 'Apple now lives or dies on a product that may be reaching the end of its success cycle.'