Tulips? or coffee?

The WSJ can't decide if the iPod is a tulip mania, or the beginning of a longer term bonanza (such as the rapid, steady and long-lasting market for coffee and other caffeinated products) for Apple

From WSJ.com - Out of Tune: IPod Shortage Rocks Apple


The iPod line is now a crucial piece of Apple's business, accounting for 23% of Apple's $2.35 billion in revenue in its most recent quarter. Since it began offering them in October 2001, Apple has sold over 5.7 million iPods, more than a third of them in the company's latest reported quarter. In the holiday quarter alone, some analysts expect Apple to sell more than four million units.


Consumers have adopted the iPod faster than they did Sony Corp.'s Walkman in its early days, about six million of which sold in the Sony device's sixth year on the market, estimates Piper & Jaffray Co. analyst Gene Munster.


Apple, in contrast, has sold approximately the same number of iPods in about half the time. More than five million iPods, in contrast, were sold by its third year on the market, though the Apple product is still dwarfed by the 300 million Walkmans sold during that product's 20-year history.


Surprising to many analysts is the fact that the iPod is increasing its market share every month, even as it faces an onslaught of lower-priced and improved devices from rivals including D&M Holdings Inc.'s Rio, Dell Inc. and others. Apple's share of the market for digital-music players that store songs on hard disks rose to 92.7% in October, from 81% during the same month last year, according to NPD Group.


The iPod is a key attraction for Apple's chain of 100 retail stores, which are an increasingly important part of its business.

Me, I just am happy to play mine.