For iPod, the Gear Helps the Gadget Turn Heads
It’s the accessories, dahling.
The country’s hottest gadget won’t be on display at the nation’s biggest gadget show, but there will be plenty at the International Consumer Electronics Show this week to keep Apple Computer Inc.’s digital music player charged, connected -- and stylishly clothed.
In addition to the usual mix of cables, chargers and batteries, the pavilions of Las Vegas will host a wardrobe of iPod sweaters, jackets and socks. And like the collars on Paris Hilton’s Chihuahua, most come in a rainbow of matching colors.
Want to teach an iPod new tricks? Consider Nyko Technologies Inc.’s MoviePlayer, which allows iPods to play video. Or Griffin Technology Inc.’s $19.99 iBeam, which turns the iPod into a flashlight or a laser pointer. Or Belkin Corp.’s $29.99 microphone, which permits voice recording.
With sales at 10 million and counting, the iPod has spawned a thriving market for accessories, reaching more than $100 million last year, said analyst Stephen Baker of NPD Group Inc. “That’s a pretty big business considering that most of the products sell for $10 to $20.”
Belkin, for one, saw sales of iPod accessories triple in 2004. “It’s one of our fastest growing product lines,” said Brian Van Harlingen, senior technology manager at the Compton-based company.
An iPod goody can cost more than the iPod itself.
Bose Corp. sells its SoundDock speaker, which integrates an iPod into a home stereo, for $299, about $50 more than the cheapest iPod. Clarion Co.’s in-dash, touch screen car entertainment system runs $1,599.
“Some people would say that the BMW is the ultimate iPod accessory,” said Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff, referring to a $149 adapter that lets BMW owners plug an iPod into the stereo system via a cable in the glove compartment.
Despite all the attention at CES to Apple’s most popular product, the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer maker won’t have so much as a kiosk at the annual event. Apple has long stayed away, in large part because CES often conflicted with the company’s own gathering, Macworld.
This year, however, Macworld occurs the following week. Apple declined to comment. But analysts have a theory.
“When Apple shows at Macworld, they’re the center of attention,” said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies. “At CES, they would just be one of many. Companies tend to pick shows that are going to be as self-serving as possible.”
So without the smooth lines of the iPod to distract the massing crowds, its haberdashers will have the show floor all to themselves.
“The iPod customer is willing to pay a little more for design,” said Bob Garthwaite, a senior vice president at Altec Lansing Technologies, which sells speakers for iPod. “They are the perfect customer.”
