LOS ANGELES--Digital music executives from around the world gathered in here yesterday to powwow about their business.

But there was one notable absence, particularly notable because it was the company that was on everyone's minds and has been the talk of the industry for three years.

Apple, whose iTunes/iPod juggernaut continues to dominate the digital music game, didn't send a rep to the Music 2.0 conference in Los Angeles this week.

But that didn't stop conference attendees from talking about them incessantly, mostly because the company has jumped to such a big lead in the space.

One panel was even dedicated to the subject, dubbed "Can Anyone Take on the iPod?"

Amazon is thinking about it, Sony has failed so far, Dell has largely thrown in the towel, and Creative, SanDisk, Samsung, and iRiver are still fighting for second.

The answer, according to a panel of industry execs, is a bit of a head-scratcher.

History says yes, and it's certainly possible, they said, but no one's been able to do so yet.

"If you focus on what [Apple's] not doing well, that's not a long list," said Kris Jacob, an executive with podcasting network site PodShow. "I'm sure many people bought predecessors to iPod before it came out, but no one consolidated in one place the ability to get great programming on good devices through your computer."

iRiver CEO Jonathan Sasse agreed, saying it's not really about coming up with a better device; rather, the integration of the device and service is the key.

"As good as the iPod is, it's really not that spectacular of a device," he said. "Designing a better product than the iPod is not the real trick. Getting the mindshare of the consumer and getting people aware that there are other places to get god content than iTunes is really our biggest challenge."

"iPod has had a great head start on their vertical integration," he continued. "They got a great jump on the market. But it doesn't take a great device for Apple to be successful and it won't take a great device to overthrow them."

What it will take, several execs said, is a collective effort that can challenge both iPod and iTunes.

Pedro Vargas, director of mobile entertainment for SanDisk, said he liked the reported plan of Amazon to create a branded media player that is attached to a subscription service that is also attached to its online music retail operation.

He declined to say whether or not SanDisk is the company designing such a device for Amazon, emphasizing that SanDisk's strategy is to offer portable players at multiple (read: lower than Apple) price points, particularly for younger demographics.

"But I think [the reported Amazon strategy] is a great idea," he said. Several execs said the mobile phone offered a chance to make a dent in Apple's lead, particularly because cell phones are much more ubiquitous than iPods, with 700 million sold in 2005.

Sasse said that the emergence of mobile providers in the music game will potentially give more resources to those hoping to address the interoperability problem between the range of devices and services on the market.

And history--that Apple once had a clear market share lead on Microsoft in the operating system market--is on their side, several execs said. "If you look at the numbers, Apple has always been happy with 2-3 percent of the market," Vargas said.