iPod vs. Ogg

NOTE: This article is out of date and likely obsolete.

(Originally part of a reply to a comment on the Airport Extreme article that there’s “no good reason” the iPod shouldn’t be able to play Ogg files.)

There has to be more than just a lack of reasons against it, there has to be a reason for it that matters to Apple. Supporting MP3 was necessary because it was a defacto standard. Supporting a format that could include DRM was necessary for the iTunes store. And if WMA-based downloads ever outstrip iTMS sales, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple negotiate a deal to license WMA. But Ogg Vorbis? It’s an alternative to MP3, not to AAC or WMA, and its main selling point is that it’s not patent encumbered.

Contrast to PNG, which can actually deliver features GIF can’t—like full color and multilevel transparency.

Apple’s already paid the licenses for MP3, so they have no reason to implement Ogg unless they see a consumer demand for it. And their target audience—Windows users and Mac users—is likely to use CD ripping software that has paid the MP3 tax, and won’t have a huge library of Ogg files.