It's a truth that many open-minded observers have known for awhile now: Apple
rules the roost in the portable media player market, and everyone else is just trying to keep up. Sorry, but it's true. So true, in fact, that
SanDisk's own CEO has finally come forward to admit it, recently stating in a
Fortune interview that "you can't out-iPod the iPod." And believe us, such a statement probably wasn't easy for Mr. Eli Harari to make. Remember, this is the same fellow that spent boatloads of dough on an
"iDon't" anti-iPod campaign back in 2006. 'Course, SanDisk is still a (very distant)
second place in the sector, and its flash memory is used in all manners of PMP devices. Still, it's a huge relief to finally hear the mastermind behind
slotMusic confess that he doesn't actually believe such gimmicks will put it on a fast track to first place. Then again,
crazier things have happened.
[Image courtesy of
dnorton]
posted June 4th 2009 8:43AM
When Apple starts becoming boring and bland.... or getting fairly standardized in design, people will start moving on.
He doesn't mean that the iPod can never be bested, he means that you cant make a product that tries to be an ipod just to move units, you have to create a unique product that people will be interested in instead of copying the ipod.
ah, he's saying the great thing about the iPod is that Apple controls the iTunes store and the seamless integration with iPod. No one else has even tried that. The closest is Zune, and MS threw all its hardware partners under the bus when they did that. Obviously, another hurdle for Zune (remember 'squirting'??) besides the stupid name is, ... if it wasn't for the iPod touch, the Zune HD would not exist... this is one thing that Apple Haters never admit. MS needs a couple years lag to copy Apple, so not only are they trying to get all the integration down, and the features, and the software, AND cool marketing, and competitive pricing, they also have to market a product which is 2 years late in the market EVERY TIME. Why? Cuz they're MS. They can't create anything. So they always end up looking like they're late to the party.
People complain about this and say, "I wish they had come out with this 2 years ago, then it would sell a ton"
Dude. Apple came out with the iPod touch two years, and then MS spent 2 years copying it. You can't have the latter with the former!
Another reason that iPods are dominant, which I'm sure has been repeated above, are the peripherals.
It's simply a fact that if you're looking for a player with the largest number of 3rd party docks, various accessories and cases, it'll be an iPod. No other company can claim the same.
This, coming from an owner of a Zune 80 (,an iPod nano and Sansa Clip for gym use).
I hate iPods for the lack of supporting drag and drop. I'll stick with my Creative Muvo.
These CEOs have no vision or respect for their customers. Of course you can make a better device than the iPod. Just make it free, as in freedom.
Common mistake to confuse the word 'you' and 'i' or 'we'
With some common sense and effort you could easily beat or equal ipods.
My Sansa Rhapsody player has made me never even consider getting and iPod
Apple haters are hilarious
Hilarity is better than stupidity
I also think its the naming. iPod sounds better than a Sony ASG-943343 or whatever.
Man, it's clear I'm a sliver of a minority when it comes to my music playing needs, but I really don't care for the iPod, or the Zune, or anything Creative's put out.
Kudos to the iPod and the Zune, however, for being, it seems, the only guys out there today with any models that approach the sort of capacity I need, with their 160 GB models.
Anyway, I've had one MP3 player in my life, and it was perfect until it broke. It was big, clunky and looked like something out of the 80s. It had a gameboy style crappy LCD display and a simple, scroll-wheelless interface. I don't think anybody wanted one, and this is why the Digital Mind Corporation seems to have failed.
But here is why it ruled. For one, it came with a 60 GB hard drive, which is not too great, but enough for a while...AND YOU COULD SWAP IT OUT WITH ANY STANDARD 2.5" LAPTOP HARD DRIVE. But the best reason is that it didn't presume to know how I wanted to organize my music. I have over 80 GB of tunes, audiobooks and other audibles on my computer, and the amount of space needed is steadily growing, and I organize it in my own goddamn way tyvm. As far as I can tell, Zune and iPods refuse to let a fella treat it as a hard drive, and until they do so I'm hesitant to get one. When I plugged the DMC-500 into my computer, it showed up as a hard drive, and it was up to me to add file folders, tag my music and organize it. Where can I get something for a music lover who doesn't really care about aesthetic appeal, or bells and whistles, just capacity and user-control? Make me one, SanDisk; who says you have to out-iPod the iPod?
I used to always think of iPods of delecate machines, too precious to take to the gym or to go jogging with. That's changed now after going through 2 Sanas Clips in about the same number of years (they seem to no longer hold a charge after awhile!). My point is that my shuffle has turned out to be just as rugged as my old Rio 500 (which still works!). Sansa needs to shore up build quality to match Apple if it truly wants to be a player in the low end simple activity friendly player market. The clip would seem to offer better value until you realize that having to replacing it sooner erases that advantage.
I can't believe they didn't test market the slotMusic before they revealed it...that was a really dumb idea to begin with. Who wants to slip in a new microSD card to change albums???
iPods maybe #1 but at least SanDisk is doing something right to be #2 in the market. Zune can't compete.
It has become common practise within the media to always compare a digital media player with the iPod. Actually, the entire category is referred to 'iPod'. So it is hard for manufacturers to differentiate themselves in the DMP market. Additionally, there have been times when writers of previews or reviews have not done adequate research of the product. However, the problem is more do to low information buyers.
i bet a Fuze revision with a bigger, better screen, better video support with the same soundchip would make apple sweat a bead.