BusinessWeek: iPod could be ‘Trojan horse’ into Wintel

In his latest Byte of the Apple column for BusinessWeek Online, Charles Haddad opines that a Windows version of the iPod could boost market share.

While he doubts that more than a handful of PC users would switch to the Mac just to use an iPod, he thinks Windows compatibility for the device could perhaps be a “Trojan horse that steals inside fortress Windows and wins over diehard PC fans.” But Haddad also admits that the iPod faces an uphill battle for acceptance in the Wintel world and that success requires two conditions.

First is that the iPod needs to work with any PC out of the box. This means that PC drivers would have to be built into the device. The second obstacle is price. Classy design aside, it’s just too expensive for the mass market until the price falls below US$300, Haddad says.

“In short, the iPod could help Apple break out of its market-share cul-de-sac, but only if the company slashes the price and ensures that it works with any PC,” he writes.