Ipods More Popular than Beer…and Other iPod Matters

If a recent Student Monitor survey is any indication of the popularity of the iPod, then those Apple execs should be laughing all the way to Happy Hour: recent results reveal that the iPod ranked above beer as the “in” thing among today’s college students.

According to Associated Press reports, 73 percent of 1,200 students surveyed said iPods were “in” — more than any other item in a list that also included text messaging, bar hopping and downloading music.

In last years study, only 59 percent of students named the iPod as “in,” putting it significantly below alcohol-related activities.

This year, drinking beer and Facebook.com, a social networking Web site, were tied for second most popular, with 71 percent of the students identifying them as “in.”

“The only other time beer was temporarily dethroned in the 18 years of the survey was in 1997 — by the Internet,” said Eric Weil, a managing partner at Student Monitor.

Though beer might soon regain its No. 1 spot, as it quickly did a decade ago, the iPod’s popularity is still “a remarkable sign,” Weil said. “For those who believe there’s an excessive amount of drinking on campus, now there’s something else that’s common on campuses.”

Student Monitor conducted the survey the week of March 6, interviewing full-time undergraduate students at 100 U.S. colleges.

Unfortunately, the iPod and iTunes are not as popular across the Atlantic. Reports from IDG News Service speak of pressure mounting in Europe for Apple Computer to loosen the ties between its iTunes music store and its iPod music players, with activity in Norway and the U.K. this week demonstrating opposition to Apple’s policies.

Norway’s Consumer Ombudsman has asked Apple to specifically defend its digital rights management policy (DRM). Denmark and Sweden are expected to make similar announcements by the end of this week.

A Consumer Council member said the DRM was being used as a tool to bind the consumer to Apple’s product. Councilmembers believe people should be able to play songs on the gadget of their choice.

Because the ruling would be such a potentially hard hit on Apple’s business structure, this week the Ombudsman asked Apple to reply by June 21 and offer its view on its DRM policy before the Ombudsman makes a formal ruling on the issue.

Since Apple upholds the right to change the terms of the purchase after the purchase is made and that it claims no responsibility for damage iTunes software may cause to users’ computers, the company is being asked by Norwegian officials to change that aspect of the policy by June 21 or face fines.
Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are expected to develop a joint statement on Apple’s DRM rights at a later date.

The iPod scrutiny isn’t limited to the Nordic countries, either. IDG News Service also reports that in a hearing in front of the U.K. House of Commons Select Committee for Culture, the British Phonographic Institute this week said that Apple’s dominance of the digital music industry is unhealthy and called on Apple to allow customers to buy music from iTunes and play it on other players.

The iPod is also making waves in Asia. Apple has filed a second lawsuit countering patent complaints brought by rival MP3 manufacturer Creative Labs Inc. according to a Washington Post report.

Singapore-based Creative, the No. 2 seller of digital music players in the world, last month sued Apple in U.S. District Court in Northern California, claiming patent infringement. At the same time, the company asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to bar Apple from importing portable digital media players that Creative claims infringe on its intellectual property.

Apple filed a counterclaim in U.S. District Court for Western Wisconsin and followed that up June 1 with a claim in U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas. In its latest suit, Apple says Creative infringed a number of its patents relating to the software and systems on its mobile music player.
The Creative-Apple dispute is one among many recent tussles over technology patents.
Maybe the iPod should just stay home and drink beer.