Microsoft's "iPod killer"

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
USAToday: "Microsoft: Europe iPod killer will debut in 2004"



OK. So this thing is supposed to be about $200 more expensive (and I thought the iPod was expensive!), almost twice as heavy, twice as wide, and three times as thick. And it's supposed to be an iPod killer? Am I missing something?



And how exactly is this thing going to pump out 175 hours of video playback?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    They only use the words "iPod Killer" to gain publicity. It won't be competing in the same market as the iPod.



    As far as the 175 hours of video playback, that's probably using their lowest-quality WMV encoding rate possible. 175 hours of video playback on a 40 GB hard drive assumes approximately 496 kbps video encoding. That's fairly low quality. A good quality QuickTime .mov I have (high-res version of a Red vs. Blue episode) is 1656 kbps. Even a low quality one is 818 kbps. This is kind of like Dell claiming the DJ can hold twice as many songs as the iPod because they compare 64 kbps WMV to Apple's 128 kbps AAC.



    Anyway, yeah, definitely just a publicity stunt. How are they going to get noticed and get articles published if they don't mention the iPod?
  • Reply 2 of 28
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    Nothing will kill the iPod. Nothing. Because Apple will continue to make it better and better. When was the last time that Microsoft made a good product anyway? Can they be taken seriously? No!



    And that DJ thing sucks too. My friend got one and it took her two days to even figure out how to get music on it! TWO DAYS!!! That's horrible! So she sold it and got an iPod. She plugged it into her dad's new 20" iMac and you should have seen her face. The iPod won't be killed, especially by MS.
  • Reply 3 of 28
    asenasen Posts: 93member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Stroszek

    twice as heavy, twice as wide, and three times as thick. And it's supposed to be an iPod killer? Am I missing something?





    yeah, it will squash the iPod with its bulk
  • Reply 4 of 28
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    Reminds me of Sega's Nomad, a portable version of the Genesis/Mega Drive. I wonder if it'll have any games or XBox (2?) connectivity ?
  • Reply 5 of 28
    cam'roncam'ron Posts: 503member
    that doesnt look twice as long or even that thick though. are u sure that is it?
  • Reply 6 of 28
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    Those are really Shaq's hands, the flash makes them look white.
  • Reply 7 of 28
    flounderflounder Posts: 2,674member
    This story is a yahoo headline now.



    There is definietly iPod backlash in the air lately.



    That's what we do in the US. We love to build them up, and then ruthlessly attempt to knock them down,
  • Reply 8 of 28
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Flounder

    There is definietly iPod backlash in the air lately.





    agreed, and from the saturation of mentions in all sorts of media, i can understand why people are getting sick of hearing about how great the ipod is, especially if they can't afford one.



    that's why i think apple needs to introduce something just as revolutionary as the ipod SOON to take some of the marketing attention away from the ipod. the ipod has momentum now. keep improving it, but you don't necessarily have to keep ramming the message... especially if some new revolutionary product leverages ownership of the ipod.



    then the headlines turn to "can jobs work ipod wonders again on new **fill-in-the-blank**?"
  • Reply 9 of 28
    iPod killer?



    Apple introduces the iPod mini in order to kill another MP3-player market, recognizing that there is a difference.



    This thing ain't even in the same market. It's more of a everything-but-the-kitchen-sink market, kind of like the Tablet PC - and those are selling great!
  • Reply 10 of 28
    kennethkenneth Posts: 832member
    Listening to music on the road is nice.. however, I don't want to focus on a tiny screen while walking.
  • Reply 11 of 28
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by rok

    agreed, and from the saturation of mentions in all sorts of media, i can understand why people are getting sick of hearing about how great the ipod is, especially if they can't afford one.



    And yet, this thing will cost $200-$300 more than an iPod, coming in at a whopping $700-$800 price tag!!!! Nobody will buy that bulky, overpriced, doesnt do enough for its price? crap.
  • Reply 12 of 28
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by rok

    agreed, and from the saturation of mentions in all sorts of media, i can understand why people are getting sick of hearing about how great the ipod is, especially if they can't afford one.



    that's why i think apple needs to introduce something just as revolutionary as the ipod SOON to take some of the marketing attention away from the ipod. the ipod has momentum now. keep improving it, but you don't necessarily have to keep ramming the message...





    then the headlines turn to "can jobs work ipod wonders again on new **fill-in-the-blank**?"




    Anyone can afford an iPod. A family, while probably can't afford one for EVERYONE, could at least have one. They aren't $3000, they are $300



    I think it's good that the iPod is still getting attention, it's pretty amazing! It's been getting attention since it was released, and although it dipped for a while, it seems like more and more media attention is being given to it as of late, even negatively. And really, even if people are saying how every new mp3 player is THE "iPod Killer" it is still press attention which is good. It shows the iPod is number one.
  • Reply 13 of 28
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Too bad Apple sells a Windows killer, but you don't hear too much about that.



  • Reply 14 of 28
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Remember the Toshiba Gigabeat?







    Yep, real iPod killer.



    Oh, and the HP iRiver. That really killed the iPod too.







    What about the Creative Nomad Zen?







    I'm amazed that Apple hasn't gone out of business given the sheer number of iPod killers that have come out in the past couple years.
  • Reply 15 of 28
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Luca Rescigno

    I'm amazed that Apple hasn't gone out of business given the sheer number of iPod killers that have come out in the past couple years.



    How true is that, the hype on some of these "iPod killers" is so unwarranted. 8)
  • Reply 16 of 28
    The iPod will kill this. Nothing will kill the iPod.



    Nothing.
  • Reply 17 of 28
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Agent Macintosh

    The iPod will kill this. Nothing will kill the iPod.



    Nothing.




    Except iPod mini
  • Reply 18 of 28
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by johnq

    Except iPod mini



    Damn straight
  • Reply 19 of 28
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Splinemodel

    Damn straight



    You are correct, sir.
  • Reply 20 of 28
    quagmirequagmire Posts: 558member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Luca Rescigno

    Remember the Toshiba Gigabeat?







    Yep, real iPod killer.



    Oh, and the HP iRiver. That really killed the iPod too.







    What about the Creative Nomad Zen?







    I'm amazed that Apple hasn't gone out of business given the sheer number of iPod killers that have come out in the past couple years.




    The thing is the ipod works on mac and windows. While apple's competiters only works on windows. When the competiters make their mp3 players mac compandable things will get interesting. But, I doubt that. Thats why the ipod will never be killed.
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