Why do iPod competitors try to take the lead in portable media players? A seemingly simple question Richard Siklos at Fortune asks in his article at CNN Money. Apart from the headline, it’s pretty interesting reading. Let’s look at his analysis for a minute and see what he’s come up with.

A research firm in Seattle has somehow figured out that about 60 million Americans own at least one iPod. That’s about one fifth of the entire US population. Think about it for a while; those are quite extraordinary numbers. One in five people in the US listen to their music using an iPod.

Motorola, Richard writes, has about 30% of the much larger cell phone market and Microsoft has an even larger share of the operating systems market. From this he draws the conclusion that MP3-players have not yet reached a must-have status among people. But then again…

“given the numerous ways people can enjoy music - with live performances, physical album sales, digital downloads, streaming services, music videos, satellite radio and good old terrestrial radio all jockeying for your eardrums - perhaps it was never meant to.”

Exactly my point. Cell phones are very close to becoming a necessity in todays mobile and fast-paced world. Portable media players, on the other hand, are not necessary. Not everyone needs music in their pocket. Some people listen to the radio while driving their cars, and perhaps have original CDs to listen to at home. Some people don’t want to wear earphones at the gym. I mean, some people just don’t need an iPod.

But we have to understand that the market for these portable players is not static; it’s highly dynamic and getting bigger by the minute. Much like the cell phone market a few years ago, it may seem. You know — back in the days when 10 year olds didn’t use them. Boy have times changed; my 9 year old sister currently owns her 4th phone. So what’s the difference between cell phones and portable media players?

The difference is in their purpose. While cell phones exist to communicate and sometimes organize, media players are all about entertainment. Since communication is generally considered more important than entertainment, we have a larger market for phones. Entertainment is different because even though it’s fun, it’s not a necessity. For the market to grow, we need to contribute and change things.

That’s exactly what Apple is doing. Since entertainment isn’t necessary for people, they try to make it as simple as possible. The simpler the portable players get, the more people will buy them because they require less effort and time. That way, we can have some fun and focus on more important matters at the same time. Brilliant, isn’t it?

People’s behavior — the consumer trend, or whatever you want to call it — changes the climate of the market. But when we combine technology and entertainment, design and technological advancement set the circumstances in which a trend or behavior is born. People want what’s popular, sure. But a revolutionary product that makes life simpler will change the circumstances by which we live, and that’s when markets really start to grow.

What I’m trying to say is that Apple isn’t big and successful because they satisfy a need. They do, but they also act beyond the traditional laws of demand and supply. Instead of focusing on market share, statistics and demand, they try to make life easier and better. They really do think different from their competitors who are generally after market share.

It’s satisfaction by innovation, and it’s a revolution.