Apple co-founder predicts death of iPod

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 8 Oct 2008 at 10:32

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has predicted the death of the iPod, suggesting the time is coming when Apple will no longer be able to sell its iconic device on simple upgrades.

"The iPod has sort of lived a long life at number one," Wozniak tells the Telegraph. "Things like that, if you look back to transistor radios and Walkmans, they kind of die out after a while.

"It's kind of like everyone has got one or two or three. You get to a point when they are on display everywhere, they get real cheap and they are not selling as much."

Wozniak also lamented Apple's decision to lock its iPhone into iTunes, suggesting that could be a place where Google's open source Android platform could take advantage.

"Consumers aren't getting all they want when companies are very proprietary and lock their products down... I would like to write some more powerful apps than what you're allowed," he says.

The technology pioneer also decried the cult-like following that Apple products have, claiming he wanted "customers to challenge us".