Apple needs to update iPod to stay on top?
Hey everyone,
I don't know if anyone is talking about this already but what is Apple's plan for its next generation iPod?
Check out this article touting Sony's new "iPod killer":
http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/01/tech...reut/index.htm
It supposedly has a 30 hour battery life and some sort of compression software that lets a 20 gig hardrive hold 13,000 songs. Also, it is $100 less than Apple's top of the line iPod.
Any thoughts?
-Dr. Bimane
I don't know if anyone is talking about this already but what is Apple's plan for its next generation iPod?
Check out this article touting Sony's new "iPod killer":
http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/01/tech...reut/index.htm
It supposedly has a 30 hour battery life and some sort of compression software that lets a 20 gig hardrive hold 13,000 songs. Also, it is $100 less than Apple's top of the line iPod.
Any thoughts?
-Dr. Bimane
Comments
Sony often has nice style, though, so that's one thing they've got over other competitors.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07...ny_hd_walkman/
It looks pretty cool.
However, I did not realize that it could not play mp3s.
It is a proprietary format. That will hurt Sony...I agree.
-Dr. Bimane
I notice that although it only plays ATRAC format, "other formats are converted" to that format when uploaded to the player. I still don't think it will get them anywhere, because you're still forced to use their software and it's just one extra step from the iTMS to the player.
But maybe that's something Apple might do in the future -- convert other formats on the fly into AAC when you feed them to your iPod. Possibly a future method for using WMA? Steve said they're not worrying about it until WMA is at 50% market share, but maybe that just means the iPod won't play it, not that you couldn't convert it.
Although, now that I think about it, playing nice with WMA in any way at all doesn't sound like a very Steve thing to do.
We all know the 4G iPods are coming and that iTunes MS has excellent traction.
I'm not even impressed with Sony anymore. Samsung is eating their lunch in TVs and Apples eating their lunch in portables. Their last great success is the Playstation.
As for converting other formats on the fly, that's nice, but it's also very likely that they don't convert any copy-protected files, because that means changing the licensing terms and that won't fly anywhere - certainly not in license-happy Europe.
The Sony store got panned, even by David Pogue (not that he's a pushover, but he usually just gets diplomatic if he doesn't like something). That's going to be a big problem. At this point, if you want to kill iPod, you need slick hardware and a slick interface and a slick jukebox and a slick music store with relatively liberal licensing terms. (That's the advantage of the "whole widget" strategy.) It doesn't look like Sony's close, frankly.
It's a pity, too, because the hardware guys responsible for that slim little number obviously did their homework.
n.b.: iTunes already converts unprotected WMA files to AAC, or whatever your preferred format is.
But it's true... since the iTMS UK/DE/France seems to be doing well (despite indie label absences), I'm not too worried about the success of the platform in general. Here's hoping the iPod 4G proves irresistable in yet another new and unforeseen way.
That is what it did in the '80's with Microsoft and all of us know how that ended up.
The iPod is great. Yes.
But, it must continue to improve and evolve.
Maybe this thing from Sony will get Apple to drop prices on the iPod and continue to improve it.
-Dr. Bimane
The battery life is the most intriguing part. I'd like to hear some independent test confirm that.
I agree that Apple needs to continue to improve. Fortunately, it seems these days that they also think that.
Bancho:
Totally agree about battery life. Would love to see some improvement there, although I also am skeptical about the claim in Sony's announcement.
On the subject of the 20GB capacity, you may be right that realistically they're still competing with Apple's 20GB capacity, but not all end users are as suspicious as people like us.
So in MOST peoples minds, 20gb is 20gb. You could probably fit a LOT of 32k aac files on a 40gb, but most people are not going to do that.
Originally posted by tak1108
Remember that people compare mhz to mhz even though between intel, AMD, and IBM, Mot are different things.
So in MOST peoples minds, 20gb is 20gb. You could probably fit a LOT of 32k aac files on a 40gb, but most people are not going to do that.
That's true... many people might not grasp the difference. And am I right in thinking that the ATRAC format is 64k? Who wants to hear that?! Yet another reason Sony Connect probably won't go very far.
Atrac at 64kpps will be even worse. And even then it's superfluous because Apple could support HE-AAC(High Efficiency) which goes down to 48kbps and would likely be competitive.
If Sony is basing their marketing on songs per device they are simply manipulating the public.
Originally posted by hmurchison
If Sony is basing their marketing on songs per device they are simply manipulating the public.
Manipulating the public is what advertising is for.
Originally posted by glassblowerscat
Manipulating the public is what advertising is for.
Persuading, maybe. Manipulating... well, I'll just say that I'm happy whenever the company behind a cynical ad campaign suffers a blowback.
If that's true, the iPod could already fit as much songs and play music as long as the Sony player. Just lower the quality of all your songs. The only difference is that Apples proprietary format owns more than half of the market and the iPod has a superior interface.
Originally posted by BeigeUser
I've heard somewhere that the battery life of the iPod can be extended by decreasing the bit rate of the music. A lower bitrate means less drive access & less power drain.
If that's true, the iPod could already fit as much songs and play music as long as the Sony player. Just lower the quality of all your songs. The only difference is that Apples proprietary format owns more than half of the market and the iPod has a superior interface.
And you'll still be listening to low-quality audio.
Originally posted by glassblowerscat
And you'll still be listening to low-quality audio.
Exactly my point: I think that Sony has sacrificed the audio quality so that it can seem superior to the iPod in battery life and number of songs per GB. I may be proven wrong when I actually get to listen to those Sony players but for now, people shouldn't be tricked by Sony's specs.
Originally posted by BeigeUser
Exactly my point: I think that Sony has sacrificed the audio quality so that it can seem superior to the iPod in battery life and number of songs per GB. I may be proven wrong when I actually get to listen to those Sony players but for now, people shouldn't be tricked by Sony's specs.
I doubt you're wrong. I just read somewhere that the default bitrate for current ATRAC players like the walkman is 64k. Sony is probably going off that number.