Strategy Analytics has conducted a head-to-head comparison of Apple’s iPod with four leading first-generation mobile music-enabled devices, the Samsung E720, the O2 XM, the Sony Ericsson V800, and the Orange SPV500 using the research and consulting firm’s "advanced buyer panel." The result? Apple’s iPod came in more than 20 points ahead of its closest competitor in terms of perceived music quality, and 10 to 18 points ahead of all tested mobile phones for usability.
The report, available in full only to subscribers, concludes that dedicated music hardware will be necessary to bridge the "quality chasm" between mobile music devices and dedicated music players such as the iPod—merely shoving a bunch of memory and a "play" button on to a camera phone isn’t going to do the trick. Handset vendors and wireless service operators will need to offer music and playback capabilities perceived as essentially equivalent to the iPod to significantly develop mobile music revenue streams and service expansion.
