Business Reaserch Project Proposal - Essay Example

When todays young iPod Touch users age by five years, they will already have iTunes accounts, saved personal contacts to their iPod Touch devices, purchased hundreds of apps and songs, and mastered the iPhone OS user interface. This translates into loyalty and switching costs, allowing Apple to seamlessly graduate young users from the iPod Touch to the iPhone" (Jeff Bertolucc 2009). Consumers are eager to take advantage of the developments of Apple’s iPod in regions where the iPod has not been officially launched as yet.

The problem lies in the fact that the success of Apple’s iPod has paved the way for the exponential growth of the smart phone industry. Consumers are now more inclined to purchase smart phones than any other types of portable digital music players. In addition, the success of the iPod has also spurred the rapid development of a large line of smart phones designed by competitors to rival Apple’s iPod and take advantage of the growing market for smart phones. In this regard, Apple’s move into the portable digital music player industry takes on a conspicuous form on account of the non-uniform that Apple is faced with on a global scale.

The global competitive landscape for portable digital music player is every different now from what is used to be a decade ago. Technological innovation is driving down cost of production as it continues to drive up demand. As a result of these trends, Apple took a step beyond portable music players and moved into the music industry. This move of reverse integration allowed Apple to take on a strong position in the music industry. However, the move is one that does not promise the same success on an operational scenario such as that which it does in a tactical scenario.

As a result, Apple’s success in the music industry becomes questionable when considered in the strategic perspective. Yet another aspect of Apple’s recent development is that which