News Microsoft leads Japan in iPod crusade

Actually, there should be a couple of products out this year which take a dish form and can charge phones/cameras/DAPs etc simply by placing them on the dish (some devices will require an adapter dependant on their internals), which is actually an incredibly good idea if you think about it- placing all your digital devices on one dish and having them recharge automatically .

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I got an Creative MuVo N200 (nowadays ZEN Micro) and I don't wanna have an iPod.
Why?!? Just for the fact, that my MuVo is alot smaller and I can use simple AAA-batteries. And come on, 1GB is totally enough capacity, because when I go on a bigger trip, then I take my notebook with me too

Soundquality?!? The soundquality of an iPod is not that better than of my MuVo. Also I can convert music from a outer source into MP3 with it, and at least you don't need a driver for it either. I've tested it myself.

In my oppinion the iPod is just a "fashion-thing" like having a Swatch instead of a Casio-watch.

 

1GB is enough? I'm starting to worry that I'll fill my 60GB. Video podcasts aren't exactly small. Yes, watching a full-length movie on that screen would drive me nuts, but it's fine for up to a TV show's worth of video, give or take. Even a single audiobook could take up a good chunk of that space, which is only enough for a few albums (maybe a dozen max) in MP3 form. I suppose if you love to pick-and-choose your exact playlist knowing that you'll never listen to anything else from a CD it's enough, but gah.

 

I sell MP3 players in Currys and to be honest I've seen many manufactures release "Ipod killers" namely Sony but none of them not one is as intuitive to use as an Ipod from the actual Ipod itself down to Itunes. Every other player has a major fault with it. I know the Creative range of MP3 players are popular alternatives to Ipods but in my opinion they are difficult to navigate next to an Ipod and creative cant write drivers for toffee.

Lets be honest here an MP3 player is defiantly a fashion accessory like a mobile phone or wallet you want it to look good. Some people will say they don’t care but I can assure you the majority of people who come to buy MP3 players do care what it looks likes and they don’t really care about sound quality or battery life and if its easy to use that a bonus they want it to look stylish which an Ipod does.

Microsoft will have to put a big tick in the style box to win people round and unfortunately I have yet to see a stylish piece of MS hardware.

 

If your ears are sensitive enough to tell the difference between an ipod and some other player, go get yourself a DAT player and a good headset. DAT players aren't cheap, but they'll knock your ears off. Ipods are too fragile for my taste. The shuffle might hold up, but no GUI. Phillips actually makes a nice HD based player (HDD6320) and it feels REALLY solid (the back is thick brushed stainless steel), with a nice UI to boot. I always waver occasionally on whether I should get an Ipod or not, and I always immediately turn up a nose after seeing one in a store. I personally think they look pretty ugly (reminds me of a bar of soap), and the store workers put the nail in the coffin. I can't even glance toward an ipod in a store without a store rep running up to me and asking if I'm interested in buying one.

 

Which is absolutely retarded, because they don't even work on individual commission. The people who are employed there really are just that pushy and annoying (for the most part, no offense to any Apple retail employee here who isn't like that)

 

Microsoft denies everything, of course

Link to the full article Here

 

I'm not into saving my whole MP3-library on my player and every once a month changing to the new favourite songs isn't that much work.
And like I said: When I'm on a bigger trip, there is always my notebook with me. And it's much more fun, to watch a video on a 15"-screen, than on an iPod.

 

I think it's talking about the kind of integration where you click 'buy' and that's it.
The next time you take your ipod with you the song is on there.

They have their problems but ipods are successful in part because non-tech people (and tech people) can use them really easily.

 

So... Why do people like Ipods? I still have not figured it out... Is it the way you navigate through the files? (clickwheel) Is there an better, original way to navigate that anyone has thought of?

 

well said on the headphones part, However, somthing like an "uber standard" rip onto MP3 (while much larger then other MP3's) is very very very good
I have seen audiophiles go up against CD vs Uber MP3, and they thought the Uber MP3 sounded better

The sound from your player is only as good as the music though, many audiophiles out there agree that the ipod's dont sound very good

 

Easy to use, doesn't mean you don't have to install drivers. If you can't install software, you shouldn't own an MP3 player. Yes it does sound better, look at the specs. You probably can't tell because you are using a pair of earphones that cost less than 20 dollars.

The new Zen Vision M series look great, which is really the only area that needed improvement. Although I honestly could careless about what the device really looks like, considering it sits in my pocket 99% of the time, from which I can change the tracks, pause, change the volume, and lock, or turn the player off without looking, so maybe just having the click wheel is a design flaw?

 

^^^^ You got it!

 

They aren't calling us the iPod Generation for nothing. MS don't stand a cat in hell.

 

"If you can't install software, you shouldn't own an MP3 player. "
And that's why iPods are more popular.

"Is it the way you navigate through the files? (clickwheel) Is there an better, original way to navigate that anyone has thought of?"

The click wheel was the first input device for an MP3 player (as far as i'm aware) that allowed you to directly control the speed of navigating. You can whizz it to go really fast or scroll an artist at a time to find just the one you want.

I know there are now similar concepts sucha as the strips which allow you to manipulate the speed but the clickwheel is still better because you get continuous movement, which is more natural for navigating large collections.

In the current interatations (since the 'mini') it enables easy one handed operation too and is not biased to right or left handed people.

Also, there is no longer a huge difference in cost for the upper models. A 30gb iPod costs around the same as a 30gb Zen (around 190)

Furthermore, although some people don't like being the same as everyone else (i.e. buying an iPod) many iPod owners enjoy being 'individual' by choosing a unique case from the huge variety of types and styles of cases and other accessories available.

 

Lets face facts here, if M$ was going up against Apple for then MP3 Player trophy, the Apple would win every time!

Unless M$ can match the click wheel and the easy-to-use nature the Ipod has, then theydon't stand a chance. lol

 

Actually the click wheel was based off of the creative zen series, which has basically a scroll wheel on the side of the player. After all apple did steal their interface, so the way to navigate it needed to be borrowed as well.

 

I own an iPod and I love it. (For those of you who saw my thread on repairing mine I now have a new 60GB video iPod...my 10gig was just not big enough) I don't know if is the best or not, but I know it IS the most popular. IMO, there isn't one thing that makes an iPod better (or maybe just more popular). I think the biggest advantage is that Apple controls everything from the purchase of music, to the player, to the iPod itself. It is why I think that Macs are better computers in many respects (although I don't own one for my reasons). If microsoft was to make an MP3 player the first thing they should do is OVERHAUL windows media player. Too many people hate media player. And if a third party media player is involved, then they lose the war already.

Personally, I think that MS should let Apple stick with the trendy things and they should stick with trying to release Vista without too many bugs and on time. Why the hell would they take on something like this when they are already SOOOOO behind on their number one priority?

Peace,
Nick

 

M$ is going to get spanked. It'll be fun to watch them waste millions on another item nobody's going to buy. If it's actually going to happen... dundundun...

 

Obviously not a good idea for charging HDD based MP3 players, however - the 'proximity' charging devices all work by induction, which involves an alternating magnetic field, which you really do not want a few millimetres from your precious magnetic storage media!