iPod Popularity Opens Door for Distribution Services, Devices

摘要

Portable digital audio players, especially the iPod from Apple Computer Inc., have entered the marketplace on a large scale, taking the place of CD and MiniDisc players. In 2005, the popularity of portable digital audio players expanded rapidly. Music distribution sites that support these portable digital audio players continue to crop up rapidly: There now are several hundred services around the world. Dominating them all is Apple's iTunes Music Store. In the United States in May, Microsoft Corp. and MTV Networks together started Urge, an Internet music distribution service that will compete with the iTunes Music Store. Microsoft and MTV say the Urge service will start in some parts of the United States and will extend gradually to other areas.