But since the lights went out I’ve never been the same

[venta]

Yesterday I had one of those moments where I realise I have a very specific opinion on something - but no real justification for it, and no clear idea where I got it from.

So, you, my dear self-selecting sample of guinea pigs, have the opportunity to prove me right. Or wrong. But I'm not going to tell you which is which. I'd hate to bias my otherwise-scientific survey.

I'm asking here about portable mp3 players (or mp3-a-likes). If you use your computer to play mp3s at you at home, or have some form of mp3 monster in the car, that's not what I meant.

[Poll #442057]

Comments

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

Just like other HD mp3 players are copycatting the ipod?

Well, not really. It copycatted them first.

so-called "iPod killers"

iPod killing is a duff concept, though. I don't believe for an instant that the reason iPod sells so well is because of iTunes playlist composition. I think it's because it's pretty, it's superbly well-marketed, and it has pretty decent controls on the gadget itself. If a single competitor wants to beat Apple's sales any time soon then this is what it has to compete with - producing a better integrated music sales/player/kitchen sink experience will do it no good whatsoever.

Apple's stated aim for iLife is to make it as indespensible to home life as MS Office is to work (!)

(!) indeed. I believe I have MS Office installed on this machine. Can't remember the last time I used it.

they've done what they do best

Agreed. But despite this being what they do best, Apple only have two products with significant share of their markets, and that's iTunes Store and iPod players. The most-used music player software is not iTunes, it's WMP. iMac and iBook have tiny market share, despite being designed by people just as good as the people designing iTunes and iPods. The reason for that is that other people steal Apple's good ideas, reject their prejudices, do the same things cheaper with less good integration, and end up selling more copies. Expect the same again, because Apple are good at high-profile innovation but bad at product development.

[wimble.livejournal.com]

You forgot to list market recognition in your list of the iPod's advantages (unless you meant to include it under the cover of marketing).

From my POV, it's this that is the clincher, since my preferred choice, for a very long time was the Creative Zen (greater capacity, or lower price). But nobody would ever know the name of it: it'd always be compared to an iPod (even the concept of an "iPod killer" admits this!)