Easy living

The iPod is not the best portable music player on the market. All you Apple acolytes can get back in your Volvos, sip some Chai tea and think good thoughts while I explain.

The iPod is undoubtedly responsible for bringing the concept of portable, digital music to the masses. Before it hit the market, there were dozens of MP3 players from the likes of Rio, Sony, Samsung and a bunch of others names that most wouldn't recognize. They did a fine job, and in many cases provided capabilities that Apple still has yet to offer. (Ever try creating a play list on the fly with an iPod, or changing a battery without having to perform surgery on the hermetically sealed case?)

The brilliance behind Apple's product, though, was its ability to take what was once a relatively complex process for the average person and make it simple. While the iPod doesn't necessarily offer every capability of competing products, it trumps every other player in ease of use and storage. Basically, the two categories that most users care about.

TiVo is much the same way. It's not the most sophisticated device (ReplayTV's interface is significantly easier), the predictive recording is annoying and users are right to be concerned about their privacy. However, TiVo made recording--the feature everyone wanted--easy. Unfortunately for TiVo, cable operators' vendors were able to replicate that function fairly easily.

As the vendor constellation lines up to provide various boxes and devices to the telco video market, the ease of use lesson is one that needs to be kept in mind. A recent study from Parks Associates showed that telcos can indeed capture some significant market share, but they have to do it by being different than cable and satellite operators. No secret there.

Just as important as being different, telco video providers also need to provide those advanced applications in easy-to-consume bites. The benefit provided by interactive advertising, for example, can't be realized if it requires users to perform 17 button pushes (or key strokes on a wireless keyboard) to get more information on a product.

Humans, like lightening and water, prefer the path of least resistance. In the telco video world, it's up to the vendor community to provide it.

E-mail me at vvittore@primediabusiness.com.