MarketingVOX: Apple on Thursday said it is working with three automakers to integrate the iPod, which controls three-quarters of the U.S. portable player market, into their cars’ audios systems.
Apple’s alliance with General Motors, Ford and Mazda will ensure that the iPod is now integrated with the systems of more than 70 percent of 2007 model cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the U.S., reports the Associated Press. All new GM and Mazda models will offer iPod integration; later this year, Ford will offer it on many of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models.
While Apple is likely to gain as a result of the deal, radio stations stand to lose listeners – and therefore advertisers, points out the BBC. “The biggest loser could be terrestrial radio, because their revenue stream is directly proportional to the number of hours you listen,” Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford Bernstein, is quoted as saying.
Two years ago, BMW incorporated iPods via an adapter in the glove compartment, where the iPod would sit and be accessed via the cars’ stereo controls. By last fall, Apple had similar deals with Acura, Audi, Ferrari, Honda, Nissan and Volkswagen, among others.
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