Type of Article: MacNews Web Site

Don’t write the iPod off just yet. While some have predicted its demise due to the rising popularity of the iPhone and iPad, the iPod is alive and thriving.

In the US in May, the iPod line-up accounted for 73% of the MP3 player market, according to new research by the NDP Group (http://www.npdgroup.com). That’s pretty much the percentage the line has had for, well, years.

If you want to predict a product’s demise, begin planning the funeral service of Microsoft’s Zune. According to NPD, it held just 1% of the US market share in May.

Bob Egan, a technology blogger and global head of research/chief analyst at the TowerGroup, says the “Consumer Reports” on the antenna/reception problems of the iPhone 4 — which left the publication unable to recommend the smartphone — is flawed and “can barely be counted as scientific.”

Egan says “Consumer Reports” replicated the same uncontrolled, unscientific experiments that other sites have done. He also wonders if the issue is even entirely Apple’s, supposing that AT&T could share some of the blame for the signal variance and call dropping problems.

The Goldman Sachs research group says the iPad is going to put the hurt — big time — on netbooks. Their new report — as noted by the “Financial Times” (http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/07/13/285006/goldman-really-likes-its-new-ipad/) — lists five reasons for this:

° Consumption — the iPad is focused squarely on information consumption versus information production;

° Content — the iPad relies on tight integration with content sources;

°  Connected — multiple options ensure the iPad is connected to the Internet;

The NPD Group (http://www.npdgroup.com), a market research company, recently surveyed iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and iPod Touch users to explore their reactions to various music subscription-model concepts. According to NPD’s “iTunes Usage Report,” more than a quarter of respondents expressed strong interest in a free cloud-based music option, and many were willing to pay a subscription fee to access their own music libraries from multiple devices and platforms.