Apple Taking Portable Music to the Next Level

Apple's media event was impressive with all the new announcements, but there is more to it than meets the eye. Although Apple may have shamed competitors with its latest offerings, the big story is that Apple is taking the digital download market to the next level.

For many users, the new WiFi iTunes Store is nothing spectacular, simply another way of purchasing music. But if using iTunes has already become a habit, the service offers little beyond the ability to make impulse purchases. The deal with Starbuck similarly has little face value, being just another way to market tracks, however, these two developments open the door to an entirely new world of possibilities. Up to now, iPods and any other portable music player required a computer in order to load tracks to be enjoyed on the road. Now, with the ability to purchase music over the wireless networks and with a stable source of wireless coverage, Apple has taken the first steps towards a totally independent device. Using this service, users could enjoy the full functionality of an iPod without needing a computer. This opens up an entirely new market of people who do not own a computer, or prefer not having to deal with one.

Cutting down on the need for the computer to act as a middleman between portable device and the actual media it runs is an important first step but it still has not been completely eliminated and many of the features of both the iPod Touch and iPhone still require a computer.
Since the service is still new and there are relatively few users of the new devices it will take a while for people to become accustomed to it and prefer using it over the computer version of iTunes that has been around for many years, but the ground work is there.