If you hear a belly-full of ho-ho-ho's this Season of Shopping, it just may be Steve Jobs laughing all the way to the bank. That is, if Blackfriars Communications' Carl Howe did a Nostradamus. According to Howe, Apple will sell some 20 million units of iPods worth US$ 3.3 billion this last quarter. Howe's forecast is even higher than that of ATI which predicted iPod sales of a "measly" 14 million.

But unlike most predictions, Howe's is based on Apple's marketing strategy:

• iPod pricing is more varied: Last year, the iPod's price range went from a low of $99 to a high of $129. This year iPod shuffles price dips to an all-time low of $79  and within the reach of more consumers. Howe thinks Apple will make a killing from higher sales volumes.
• iPod target market is more varied: Last year, the iPod was basically a digital music player. This year, iPod's services has expanded to include downloadable movies and sports. iPod accessories (and there must be one iAccessory for every iOccasion) and car integration kits are also helping the iPod fit a wider variety of needs.
• iPod is easier to purchase: Over 150 Apple retail stores makes it easy for people to buy iPods. High-end shops such as New York's Fifth Avenue, Tokyo's Ginza , and London's Regent Street stores are also luring the snooty set by selling iPods in fashionable shopping set-ups that makes them feel superior to the rest of us. When products are placed as near as possible to consumers with money to spend, the result is sales. Apple is doing that by positioning its stores and its iPods close to the people for whom an iPod costs less than their average lunch.
  

Finally, Howe says Apple about to reap the fruits of its five years of investments in music and retail because few competitors have done as much for as long. "It will also take years for anyone to dislodge it from its now dominant position,"  said Howe.