Creative pitches Zen against third-gen iPod Nano
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Apple announcement next week? Creative has pre-empted Apple's anticipated announcement of a widescreen iPod Nano with a similarly spec'd tiny media player of its own. The new Zen is also Creative's first device to support AAC-encoded songs.â¦
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Taking us through the highlights of each of the new iPods, David Pogue (New York Times) anoints them âthe best players you can buy.â iPod touch, for example, offers âthe iPhoneâs spectacular widescreen video playback, wireless Wi-Fi Internet features and its now-famous two-finger touchscreen operating system.â And wireless access to iTunes:  âYou can browse or search the catalog, listen to 30-second samples, buy songs for $1 eachâand download them directly to the iPod.â These iPods, Pogue says, âare nearly impossible to beat; there are other 160-gigabyte multimedia players, for example, but theyâre much bigger and more expensive than the iPod classic. And if you do value things like beauty, software elegance and trouble-free computer integrationâwell, good luck resisting that new Nano.â
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Now that the iPod and its little brother, the iPod mini, have gobbled up the overwhelming majority of the MP3-player market, what&#39;s a competitor to do?
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Since Apple Computer Inc. introduced the iPod in 2001, competitors have been scrambling to match the simplicity and style of the popular digital music player. But try as they might, the original just keeps getting better.
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Creative Technology has launched a new mini MP3 player it hopes will compete with the iPod shuffle. The #49.99 (US$97) 2GB Creative ZEN Stone Plus includes a tiny screen for the first time. Available in six high-gloss colors -- black, white, red, blue, pink and green -- the MP3 player also includes a FM radio, clock, stopwatch, voice recording function, and customizable equalizer settings.
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As Apple's iPod moves fast into the mainstream, many users shun the telltale white earbuds. Behold the closet iPod lover, some of whom are not too keen on the growing hordes of plebes with new iPods. By Leander Kahney.
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Glaskowsky reviews his new iPod classic... and the bugs he encountered getting it running.
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The intrepid hacker community quickly finds a workaround for the way the latest iPods accept loaded files. Frustrated users who don't like iTunes find many of the third-party music-management apps that have worked for years don't work. With no Linux version of iTunes, users have had to choose -- ditch the iPod or switch operating systems -- until now.
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The buzz over Apple Computer&#39;s next iPod music player has reached a fevered pitch after one web site posted details and a mock up drawing of the new device, which stores
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(InfoWorld) - In what can be seen as either a joke or a real attempt to get employees to give up Apple iPods in favor of the Zune MP3 player, the team at Microsoft that builds Zune has set up a bin at its headquarters so employees can drop in iPods they don't want to use anymore. A photo of the "iPod Amnesty Bin" , which has on it an image of a bitten green apple and the words "Bite me," has been posted on Flickr. From the looks of the photo, not many people have been willing to give up their iPods, though a few of the earlier versions of Apple Inc.'s popular media players were lying at the bottom of the bin. A user who calls himself "fimoculous" and identified himself in an e-mail as MSNBC.com employee Rex Sorgatz , posted the photo, and said he thought the bin was someone's idea of a joke, nothing more. MSNBC.com is a joint media venture between Microsoft and MSNBC. "My guess is someone at Zune thought it would be funny, that's all," he said. Sorgatz said he is an iPod user, but could be convinced to switch if he found a superior product. Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, also suspects the bin's placement is meant to be funny, as it would likely be in the Zune team's best interest to use the latest iPod devices for competitive purposes. Indeed, none of the iPods in the bin in the photo were current versions. "Most of the people [working on] Zune would want to have an iPod to keep track of the competition," he said. "On that team, they're all into digital music, so all of them probably have a bunch of players." The photo got numerous comments from Flickr users, who in general thought it was amusing, though some were less impressed than others by the joke. "Only someone stupid enough to buy a Zune would be equally stupid enough to not sell their discarded iPod on eBay," commented Ariel Waldman , (ariel_waldman on Flickr), a digital insights analyst at interactive marketing agency VML Inc. "That's funny," wrote another who goes by "Dr_Watso" on Flickr. " I was always amazed that people ... jumped on the iPod bandwagon, even though there are so many much better devices that cost a whole lot less." The Zune team is based at Microsoft's Bear Creek offices in Redmond, Washington, near the main campus. An Apple spokesman declined to comment. A spokesman for the Microsoft public relations agency that represents Zune said she could not reach anyone on the team for comment, but she suspects the bin is meant to be a joke or a "morale booster" for employees at Zune headquarters. Microsoft launched the Zune last November, but the device has done little to sap enthusiasm for the iPod, which remains a top seller in the hard-drive media-player market, according to marketing-research firm NPD. Still, Microsoft is ramping up its marketing efforts around Zune in the hopes it can drum up interest in the device. The company released a pink Zune earlier this month that is outselling Zunes in white and brown, according to the company, and also launched a new print advertising campaign to promote the pink Zune called "Sync Pink." Microsoft also introduced a new TV commercial that highlights the features of Zune that differentiate it from the iPod, such as wireless sharing and the FM radio tuner. Microsoft is leveraging the popularity of its Xbox game console to promote Zune as well. In light of the highly anticipated release of the "Halo 3" Xbox game later this year, Microsoft unveiled a limited edition, "Halo"-themed Zune that comes preloaded with "Halo" videos, soundtracks and trailers. The device will be offered exclusively at GameStop retail stores and on its online store beginning June 15. There already have been preorders for the device, Microsoft said.
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Creative has announced a new version of its feature-free Zen Stone music player -- the Zen Stone Plus. The MP3 player has a 2GB flash memory and will have a small circular blue display. This contrasts with the Stone, launched last month, which had no screen, aping Apple's tiny iPod Shuffle player.
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Hammered by iPod, Sony will retool, adding native MP3 support to some digital music players by next summer. Cnet -- SAN FRANCISCO--Sony Electronics missed an opportunity when it nodded off with the emergence
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At a special event in San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Performing Arts, Apple on Tuesday introduced two iPods, which sport a 60% brighter screen, as well as a refreshed iPod nano and iPod shuffle.
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SAN FRANCISCO - Is Apple Computer Inc. fine-tuning an enhanced iPod with roughly 50 percent more storage and a color screen to display photos?
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MacCentral - Creative Technology Ltd. took aim squarely at Apple Computer Inc.'s market-leading iPod during presentations at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, NV. Presenters at Creative's booth mocked the iPod mini, while boosting the features of its competing Zen product line.
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After thoroughly testing the new iPod nano, Dan Frakes (Macworld) concludes that âitâs been improved in almost every way.â It offers âvery good sound quality, excellent battery life,â and an âimproved user interface.â And one great screen for watching video. âEven though this is the smallest video-playing screen weâve used, after watching a 90-minute movie on the nano we were pleasantly surprised by the experience. Picture quality is comparable to that of the iPhone, just smaller.â
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Juliana Sasaki didn&#39;t bother checking out Sony Corp.&#39;s digital music player in Tokyo before buying her green iPod mini. ``I knew Sony and other companies had MP3 players, but they can