And let’s face it, consumers have largely been fine with that.
But the thing is that they’re never satisfied once something else is dangled in front of their faces.
Companies To Keep Your Eye On In The Near-Future
As the NoPod article brought to light, there are several companies out there ready and willing to do just that:
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT): The tech giant has its own variation of iTunes called Zune. While they both operate as all-inclusive music databases, Zune members pay a monthly fee to access the entire content whenever they want, instead of footing a separate fee for each song downloaded.
Nokia (NYSE: NOK): Always looking to bring in higher profits, Nokia has scheduled an upcoming test in England involving a phone-music player with free access to the company’s new wireless music service. Depending on how well it does, they’ll go global with the newest feature.
Sprint (NYSE: S): With a project lines up for ’09, Sprint is hoping to get its own piece of the action with some forward thinking of its own. Next year, it will be launching a new program where customers in select cities will have high-speed wireless internet access that not only covers large areas but also makes it easy to transfer music from net to phone.
Of course Apple definitely still has some play left in it, so if you’re looking for shorter-term investing, you could still snap up some of their shares at discounted prices. But if your tastes run to the steady accumulation of profits over a longer period of time, than you might find it useful to look into the above-mentioned companies and let Apple fall by the way-side.
