Should Apple finally open up?

But some management experts say it may be time to rethink that view -- at least in the realm of emerging digital consumer markets. While price and the ability to run a gazillion programs may be king when it comes to PCs, it takes something different to sway folks hungry for entertainment. There, it's about style, the right mix of killer features, and, most of all, a headache-free experience in which stuff just works.

Exhibit A is Apple's soaring success in the digital music market. Ever since the iPod starting taking off in 2002, many experts felt it was only a matter of time before Microsoft, backed by dozens of hardware and software partners including Samsung, Napster (NAPS), and Wal-Mart (WMT), would take the lion's share of this emerging market. Well, there's no sign of that happening.