Sony a threat to ipod?
There is a rumor at mac rumors that sony is is coming out with a mp3 player that will rival the ipod. The cost they said will be less then $60. I think its alot of BS. I don't think any mp3 player that 60 bucks can ever rival the ipod. The only compiter to the ipod id rio and dell. My brother got a rio 20gb mp3 player for 300 bucks yes it is cheaper by 100 bucks. But on the way home from dinner some how the wheel broke and he just got it 2 weeks earlier. Dell has 2 batterys but similar to the ipod it has no way to replace the battery. Luckly apple has the battery program. Dell doesn't have any program to replace its 2 batterys. Back to the topic Sony is a fool trying to get us scared. For me I take every mp3 conept seriously. I am a little nervous about the sony mp3 player but I doubt it will be even close to rival the ipod. Maybe the ipod mini but never the ipod. Oh almost forgot the link.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...threadid=45952
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...threadid=45952
Comments
Originally posted by quagmire
There is a rumor at mac rumors that sony is is coming out with a mp3 player that will rival the ipod. The cost they said will be less then $60. I think its alot of BS. I don't think any mp3 player that 60 bucks can ever rival the ipod. The only compiter to the ipod id rio and dell. My brother got a rio 20gb mp3 player for 300 bucks yes it is cheaper by 100 bucks. But on the way home from dinner some how the wheel broke and he just got it 2 weeks earlier. Dell has 2 batterys but similar to the ipod it has no way to replace the battery. Luckly apple has the battery program. Dell doesn't have any program to replace its 2 batterys. Back to the topic Sony is a fool trying to get us scared. For me I take every mp3 conept seriously. I am a little nervous about the sony mp3 player but I doubt it will be even close to rival the ipod. Maybe the ipod mini but never the ipod. Oh almost forgot the link.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...threadid=45952
I dont think it will be a huge problem. I mean Sony puts out great stuff, but I dont think a $60 player is enough to dethrone Apple. If this was the case, Apple would never have been able to get where they are today with the iPod. I think people are starting to recognize quality products and are willing to pay for them.
I think every smallish product that plays music is going to be called an "iPod killer" in the press release just to get some free publicity from gullible tech writers.
Originally posted by Amorph
Didn't Sony just cancel some big iPod killer they'd previewed with a whole bunch of fanfare?
They didn't cancel it, but they put it on ice. And yes, that's what this is all about.
The $60 figure was for something at the bottom end of the product line, not something to compete with iPods.
The higher level device is based on minidisk technology. Sony feels that they can leverage a large installed base of MD users.
Personally, I think Sony doesn't get it. They are too focused on the widget. The whole product is in fact a network of the player, a computer, iTunes to interface to your CD collection, iTunes/Garageband to put your own music on your player, iTMS to interface your player to a huge collection of online music.
Originally posted by neutrino23
It was not an MP3 player, it used Sony's proprietary compression method.
The $60 figure was for something at the bottom end of the product line, not something to compete with iPods.
The higher level device is based on minidisk technology. Sony feels that they can leverage a large installed base of MD users.
Er, you've got some facts in a tangle here...
"Sony executives said that next year Sony will introduce versions of a rival music player to the iPod priced at as little as $60. Apple charges $200 to $400 for various versions of its sleek product."
The $60 figure was definitely in reference to an iPod competitor. And Sony's products do decode MP3 in addition to ATRAC3. The recent MD announcement was for the new Hi-MD format and ATRAC3plus. The two announcements have never been linked
however, one thing that is overlooked is that the PSP will use proprietary mini-dvds that store ~2GB of data. That could be game data or music data. Preliminary rumors have said that the PSP will be ~$60 but I find that a little hard to believe, but then again, the original GBA is ~$60 now isn't it?
I think that the mini-dvd thing is a *great* idea for a portable game player, but it will never be an iPod killer because of this proprietary disc that will not only most likely cost more than $20, but it will also negate the "1000 songs in your pocket" thing or "your whole music library in your pocket"
That much of the PSP has been more or less confirmed, other rumors suggest that it may have telephony capabilities, but I don't really see how that could happen, but maybe.
either way, iPod killer or not, at ~$60, I'd probably get one anyway, I'm sure it will have some good games.
Originally posted by Dead Man
I heard PSP came out already. But I don't see it anywhere. Is this true?
could it have come out in japan? perhaps?
I haven't heard anything about its release.
To go against that you not only have to go out and find new customers who haven't bought something yet and try to convince them that your widget/online store is better. You also have to convince the existing base that they should give up the comfort of their existing life and jump into a new player/software/online service. Tough row to hoe.
This is why companies always scramble to be first. Once you become established it is very hard for competitors to replace you. Not impossible, but difficult.
Sony is probably in it for the long haul. They feel they have enough sales channels and a strong brand name and the market is still rather young that they have a chance to carve out a major niche. If they keep advertising and keep coming out with new products they could build up a substantial base of their own. Sony also owns a lot of content. They may have some egos who want to control their own distribution.
You have to wonder what all the others are in it for. Coke? Roxio? Walmart could write this off as part of their advertising budget.
Originally posted by Wrong Robot
could it have come out in japan? perhaps?
I haven't heard anything about its release.
Nope. End of the year in Japan, early 2005 in North America.
Originally posted by neutrino23
Another thing to contend with is that Apple now has an installed base of over a million iPods (and growing) and iTMS is the recognized leader in on line music stores. By the end of the year there should be well over 2 million iPods in use.
ummm, you might want to recheck that number, according to apple's pr page, they sold over 2 million as of january.