Could they have copied the iphone/ipod touch's looks any more? I mean seriously.
As usual, I'll say the same thing, more competing products means Apple won't get lazy blah blah blah
I think I won't ever buy another creative product after my experience with my latest x-fi card. For months and months and MONTHS the drivers gave me clicking and hissing and what not. Now it works fine and all, but good God almighty this is something you'd think would be worked out PRIOR to releasing the product.
Add the fact that they artificially limited their Vista drivers, and then threatened to sue a very smart man after he unlocked features people paid for and released the hacked drivers on his own... Imagine that, you paid for dolby digital, but you can't have it, EVEN THOUGH someone has shown it works fine in their hacked drivers. Yuck
Yeah, I think I'm done with creative. They gave the world soundblaster and then got lazy.
In many ways Creative finally has something that is completely better than Apple's offering. As a portable computing device (and possibly phone) the zii egg is better than the current and probably next ipod touch. Just the thought of being able to develop non-gimped applications without apple's gatekeeper style, while at the same time getting a form factor very similar to the ipod with twice as many hardware features is rather exciting.
This is what the 3GS should have been.
Its a shame that it may not get anywhere, because it is impossible to beat Apple in that sector. For once I am rooting for Creative and not Apple.
Until you get you hands on one it'll be tough to back up that statement. The business model for 3rd party apps might be better because there won't be a gatekeeper like Apple. Or it could be far, far worse if nobody develops for it or if it's confusing for customers to figure out which version of which applications work with which version of the OS (the OS could be a moving target as Android evolves). No Apple gatekeeper could make it easier for developers, or it could make it more difficult to get your app in front of the customer to consider.
The hardware specs may look better, but we should know better by now that specs and actual performance and user experience aren't necessarily related. How big and heavy is the battery to power all that hardware? How long will a single charge last? How responsive is the UI? How well will it sync with my email, contacts, calendars, music, video?
I am kinda getting tired of each and every company (literally) gunning to unseat the 'i' and take over their thrones.
In my opinion, few years from now, this Zii will be remembered as one of the valiant brave fighters to take on the 'i' kingdom (in vain)
This one is special because it provides the Android platform on a non-phone, and you can not dismiss Android so easily as an also-ran.
Moreover, it provides GPS, something that the iPod touch doesn't have, and the rumors don't mention for the next-generation one. If so, I may get a Zii to replace my disappointing Garmin handheld GPS. Of course the GPS must be accurate enough, which seems to be problematic on such general platforms, but we'll see.
I guess developers have to buy the physical device first in order to develop for it? What about using an emulator?
There is a flaw in Creative's logic in looking at this at a competitor to the iPod Touch and not the iPhone.
As long as none of the phone API's are used, a developer can create once and it will run on two platforms (iPod Touch / iPhone). If creative prices their models too close together to the iPod Touch, it won't give developers much of a reason to switch platforms.
In addition, what is the intended revenue stream going to be? Will they have an App-store equivalent like Apple? What is the overhead-cost for a paid app. Not much info to go off from. If these things aren't answered ahead of time, there's not much reason for a developer to even consider it.
This is very likely a solid piece of hardware without any supported software whatsoever.
I used to swear by Creative Sound Cards in my PC days. fantastic hardware, but the installs were buggy. Meh, the features that didn't work I don't care about anyway... With frequent Windows OS installs/updates, the installation process got worse, until it no longer functioned acceptably. Creative didn't update their drivers much, so even the "latest" driver failed.
At that time, I would go out and buy a new Creative sound card, and be happy with the amazing 90% functionality. The cycle would go for another round.
One day I was in Best Buy, about to purchase a $100 card to replace the $100 card I already had. Every feature on the box that I cared about was one that used to work in the one I had. I walked out of the store empty handed, and with a pit of disgust in my stomach.
Later, I read about Creative going after an enthusiast who was modding drivers to keep older Creative cards going. (copyright infringement/reverse-engineering) I made an effort to get his drivers, but the links were already shut down...
Why would I expect Creative's support of this device to be any different?
I came to realize that good, expensive hardware with crappy software might as well be crappy hardware. My next computing hardware purchase was a Mac!
(Looks like chronster had similar experiences and thoughts!)
Dual cameras! Man, that's what I've been waiting for Apple to come out with. Mobile video chatting just makes sense. I can't believe it didn't come out with the 3GS. I would be VERY surprised if the iPhone didn't have it in next years model. Now I just have to wait till it happens. Sucks.
You realize that this Zii is not a phone. Maybe over WIFI it will be fine. Over 3G....Right!
Wow, a triple-win partnership. That is a lot of win you've got there.
Quite a mouth full. Zii Egg? Is that pronounced zee, like Wii is pronounced wee? Great words guys. Plaszma paltform, StemCell technology, ZMS-05 processor, ...
Spelling alert: I think the correct spelling is ZtemZell....
Looking at the feature set, this will be the first PMP to make battery times on the iPhone and Pre look good. No idea where they intend to get HD content from though...
I just hope Apple will enable at least 720p playback on the 3GS soon. The hardware is fully capable of it, and the dock connector to component cable should work as well. They should really not offer HD playback after Zune HD and Creative.
When I saw that image in the AI story, I thought it was a joke. I knew it reminded me of something, and you are right, it's this parody (which I highly recommend for a good laugh).
We're "gonna," we're "about ta'," we "promise to," etc., etc., etc.
Remember what a "killer" the Pre was going to be before IT was finally released unto the world? Same thing here. Potemkin villages look really, really solid from a fast-moving train. It's the slow, considered, deliberate observation that reveals its lack of a structural foundation.
More crap here from the desperate. No innovation, no creativity, no research, no expansion of ideas. Just ordure from the East.
Until it comes to market and is on the shelves . . . it's just another promise unfulfilled. Another "iPod Killer" that lost.
Let's see one for real. Let's see reviews. Let's see how it does in the real world. Right now it's just another also-ran showing up late to the party with a derivative, unreleased product.
That's nice, but are there any shipping SDXC products? I checked Amazon and Newegg, if neither of those have it, I assume it's probably not available.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tbehunin
Dual cameras! Man, that's what I've been waiting for Apple to come out with. Mobile video chatting just makes sense. I can't believe it didn't come out with the 3GS. I would be VERY surprised if the iPhone didn't have it in next years model. Now I just have to wait till it happens. Sucks.
There doesn't seem to be much real clamor for dual cameras. The second camera is really for video conferencing, but if you ask the people that have dual cameras, they almost always say they don't do video conferencing with it. So, what's the point? I can't say I've seen people use the cameras on their computers very often either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dreyfus2
Looking at the feature set, this will be the first PMP to make battery times on the iPhone and Pre look good. No idea where they intend to get HD content from though...
I think the assumption is that people will acquire it themselves somehow. Either by recording their own over the air, creating their own with cameras and such, or just simply downloading it online.
Quote:
I just hope Apple will enable at least 720p playback on the 3GS soon. The hardware is fully capable of it, and the dock connector to component cable should work as well. They should really not offer HD playback after Zune HD and Creative.
not? How does the copy protection work? Is there some form of standardized copy protection for analog 720p?
Comments
Bring it on.
As usual, I'll say the same thing, more competing products means Apple won't get lazy blah blah blah
I think I won't ever buy another creative product after my experience with my latest x-fi card. For months and months and MONTHS the drivers gave me clicking and hissing and what not. Now it works fine and all, but good God almighty this is something you'd think would be worked out PRIOR to releasing the product.
Add the fact that they artificially limited their Vista drivers, and then threatened to sue a very smart man after he unlocked features people paid for and released the hacked drivers on his own... Imagine that, you paid for dolby digital, but you can't have it, EVEN THOUGH someone has shown it works fine in their hacked drivers. Yuck
Yeah, I think I'm done with creative. They gave the world soundblaster and then got lazy.
In many ways Creative finally has something that is completely better than Apple's offering. As a portable computing device (and possibly phone) the zii egg is better than the current and probably next ipod touch. Just the thought of being able to develop non-gimped applications without apple's gatekeeper style, while at the same time getting a form factor very similar to the ipod with twice as many hardware features is rather exciting.
This is what the 3GS should have been.
Its a shame that it may not get anywhere, because it is impossible to beat Apple in that sector. For once I am rooting for Creative and not Apple.
Until you get you hands on one it'll be tough to back up that statement. The business model for 3rd party apps might be better because there won't be a gatekeeper like Apple. Or it could be far, far worse if nobody develops for it or if it's confusing for customers to figure out which version of which applications work with which version of the OS (the OS could be a moving target as Android evolves). No Apple gatekeeper could make it easier for developers, or it could make it more difficult to get your app in front of the customer to consider.
The hardware specs may look better, but we should know better by now that specs and actual performance and user experience aren't necessarily related. How big and heavy is the battery to power all that hardware? How long will a single charge last? How responsive is the UI? How well will it sync with my email, contacts, calendars, music, video?
A lot of unanswered questions...
Welcome to yet another 'i' competitor!
I am kinda getting tired of each and every company (literally) gunning to unseat the 'i' and take over their thrones.
In my opinion, few years from now, this Zii will be remembered as one of the valiant brave fighters to take on the 'i' kingdom (in vain)
This one is special because it provides the Android platform on a non-phone, and you can not dismiss Android so easily as an also-ran.
Moreover, it provides GPS, something that the iPod touch doesn't have, and the rumors don't mention for the next-generation one. If so, I may get a Zii to replace my disappointing Garmin handheld GPS. Of course the GPS must be accurate enough, which seems to be problematic on such general platforms, but we'll see.
There is a flaw in Creative's logic in looking at this at a competitor to the iPod Touch and not the iPhone.
As long as none of the phone API's are used, a developer can create once and it will run on two platforms (iPod Touch / iPhone). If creative prices their models too close together to the iPod Touch, it won't give developers much of a reason to switch platforms.
In addition, what is the intended revenue stream going to be? Will they have an App-store equivalent like Apple? What is the overhead-cost for a paid app. Not much info to go off from. If these things aren't answered ahead of time, there's not much reason for a developer to even consider it.
I used to swear by Creative Sound Cards in my PC days. fantastic hardware, but the installs were buggy. Meh, the features that didn't work I don't care about anyway... With frequent Windows OS installs/updates, the installation process got worse, until it no longer functioned acceptably. Creative didn't update their drivers much, so even the "latest" driver failed.
At that time, I would go out and buy a new Creative sound card, and be happy with the amazing 90% functionality. The cycle would go for another round.
One day I was in Best Buy, about to purchase a $100 card to replace the $100 card I already had. Every feature on the box that I cared about was one that used to work in the one I had. I walked out of the store empty handed, and with a pit of disgust in my stomach.
Later, I read about Creative going after an enthusiast who was modding drivers to keep older Creative cards going. (copyright infringement/reverse-engineering) I made an effort to get his drivers, but the links were already shut down...
Why would I expect Creative's support of this device to be any different?
I came to realize that good, expensive hardware with crappy software might as well be crappy hardware. My next computing hardware purchase was a Mac!
(Looks like chronster had similar experiences and thoughts!)
Dual cameras! Man, that's what I've been waiting for Apple to come out with. Mobile video chatting just makes sense. I can't believe it didn't come out with the 3GS. I would be VERY surprised if the iPhone didn't have it in next years model. Now I just have to wait till it happens. Sucks.
You realize that this Zii is not a phone. Maybe over WIFI it will be fine. Over 3G....Right!
"Stem-cell technology"? My God, Apple is finished, for this thing runs on babies!
There goes the Christian Right customers. They'll just have to stick with the Jesus Phone.
Wow, a triple-win partnership. That is a lot of win you've got there.
Quite a mouth full. Zii Egg? Is that pronounced zee, like Wii is pronounced wee?
Spelling alert: I think the correct spelling is ZtemZell....
I just hope Apple will enable at least 720p playback on the 3GS soon. The hardware is fully capable of it, and the dock connector to component cable should work as well. They should really not offer HD playback after Zune HD and Creative.
There goes the Christian Right customers. They'll just have to stick with the Jesus Phone.
lol the design of that flyer reminds me of the that msft package design parody.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeXAcwriid0
When I saw that image in the AI story, I thought it was a joke. I knew it reminded me of something, and you are right, it's this parody (which I highly recommend for a good laugh).
In many ways Creative finally has something that is completely better than Apple's offering.
Oh, really? Here's just a starter question: Why do you suppose there are no profile shots of "Zii Egg"?
We're "gonna," we're "about ta'," we "promise to," etc., etc., etc.
Remember what a "killer" the Pre was going to be before IT was finally released unto the world? Same thing here. Potemkin villages look really, really solid from a fast-moving train. It's the slow, considered, deliberate observation that reveals its lack of a structural foundation.
More crap here from the desperate. No innovation, no creativity, no research, no expansion of ideas. Just ordure from the East.
Let's see one for real. Let's see reviews. Let's see how it does in the real world. Right now it's just another also-ran showing up late to the party with a derivative, unreleased product.
SDHC and later SDXC will be the storage medium of choice for nearly all future hand held and computing devices.
http://www.sdcard.org/developers/tech/sdxc
That's nice, but are there any shipping SDXC products? I checked Amazon and Newegg, if neither of those have it, I assume it's probably not available.
Dual cameras! Man, that's what I've been waiting for Apple to come out with. Mobile video chatting just makes sense. I can't believe it didn't come out with the 3GS. I would be VERY surprised if the iPhone didn't have it in next years model. Now I just have to wait till it happens. Sucks.
There doesn't seem to be much real clamor for dual cameras. The second camera is really for video conferencing, but if you ask the people that have dual cameras, they almost always say they don't do video conferencing with it. So, what's the point? I can't say I've seen people use the cameras on their computers very often either.
Looking at the feature set, this will be the first PMP to make battery times on the iPhone and Pre look good. No idea where they intend to get HD content from though...
I think the assumption is that people will acquire it themselves somehow. Either by recording their own over the air, creating their own with cameras and such, or just simply downloading it online.
I just hope Apple will enable at least 720p playback on the 3GS soon. The hardware is fully capable of it, and the dock connector to component cable should work as well. They should really not offer HD playback after Zune HD and Creative.
not? How does the copy protection work? Is there some form of standardized copy protection for analog 720p?