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Creative Gunning For the iPod
yashchopra writes "CTZ is running an article where Creative's main goal in 2005 is to take away market shares from Apple's iPod music player, which they believe is very possible. The publication also have some information on the upcoming flash MP3 player standards that we will see this year. "While many companies are looking forward to their flash MP3 players, Creative has other plans. Creative was one of the most popular exhibitors on the show floor with their Zen Micro and Zen Touch players on display. Creative's sole goal this year is to take away some market shares from Apple's iPod. The company believes it to be a possible task, as iPod is limited to iTunes when it comes to purchasing music online and with Creative's products, you will be able to purchase music from major online vendors. The ability to download and listen music from any major online retailer and the price are what Creative is using as their marketing strategies to compete against Apple's iPod. But other than that, Creative's products look very much like the iPod with a few changes."
The ability to download and listen music from any major online retailer
Well, all of them except for *the* major online retailer that is.
I wish them luck. Competition is good.
Whenever anybody says their product is really similar to iPod or Tivo except for a few tiny differences, I can guarantee you what the differences are.
Usability, physical beauty, and simplicity.
News flash: those little things are the reason people are buying a an iPod, buying a Tivo, etc, and not your product, Creative. My girlfriend didn't want to carry around something that looked like an angry PDA, so I got her an iPod and she's happy, and her friends are buying them now. My parents didn't want a home media center computer in their living room because they can barely handle their current computer, so I got them a Tivo and they're happy, and their friends are buying them now.
Are there cheaper products out that do the same dang thing? Sure. But they're not as usable, not as attractive, and not as simple. And sorry, Creative, but putting a "Mesmerizing Blue LED Back Light" isn't going to cut it. Those were "Mesmerizing" back in 2002. You're not going to get money out of my pocket by looking like a rice-boy's Civic dashboard.
And as long as the Zen Micro has a blatant pair of nipples on the touchpad, my girlfriend's not going to use it either.
What's your damage, Heather?
Given that Apple has about 70% of the market for online music sales, aren't the others all "minor" if numerous?
I can start my week without concern now. I have had my death of the ipod (or apple) article so all is right with the world.
Ford is trying to take market share from GM!!
Of course Creative wants to take market share from Apple. Why is this news??? Are nerds oblivious to simple economics?
Man, this must really be a slow news day.
Either Creative is wrong, or the dumbass that wrote the article is wrong...
iPod is limited to iTunes when it comes to purchasing music online
That's total BS, and I hope people don't think that this is true. You can purchase music anywhere online that has the Mp3 or AAC formats. Audible.com is a good example of where to get audio books. And allofmp3.com (although maybe not so much on the up-and-up) is another place to get music online. I'll leave the copy and paste of these sites as an exercise to the reader, since I'm not trying to pimp them or anything.
But come on folks, you can put almost ANY mp3 on your iPod, and it certainly doesn't mean you have to use only iTunes for your online music. It's also possible to buy music from iTunes and load it on ANY music player. There are programs out there (Hymn) to remove the security from the iTunes music, and them convert to Mp3. Google has your answers.
This is just a way for Creative to scare people away from the iPod, and it is crap.
It's about simplicity.
With regards to the iPod shuffle - yes there are other Flash mp3 players. But for consumers like my mother, who has issues navigating the file system, she doesn't have to (a) rip a cd and then (b) find where her ripped mp3's are to (c) copy them across to her flash player.
With an iPod, she simply sticks in her device to charge, and music syncs between the iPod and iTunes automatically. If she wants to burn a CD she sticks one into the computer and presses a single button: import. She doesn't need to know anything about which codec to burn a cd with (mp3/aac/wmv), or where on the filesystem they end up, or dragging an dropping. It happens for her automatically.
Simplicity and doing what it does do well - is where the iPod shines. If companies want to eat at the iPod market share, it's not about bombarding the customer with a shitload of features. Instead, make a music player, make it easy to import music (this includes minimising any DRM), and make the device SIMPLE to use. I want to be able to explain how it works to my mum in 60 seconds, and to have her "get it". If you can do that, then you've got a product which has a chance.
Software developers and marketers, learn from Apple. Simplicity is king. Don't cause the customer headaches, and they will come back for more.
Man watching 6 MSCE's around a sun box, looks alot like the opening scene's of 2001:space odyssey...
Mr. Sim Wong Hoo, it is a pleasure to write to you.
To familiarize the readers, Creative has a long running bout with the reigning king, the Apple iPod. In fact, just last November, you, Mr. Sim, "declared war" on the iPod. . And Today, you had even more fighting words for the newest addition to the iPod platform, the iPod Shuffle:
I am not here to discuss your comment about the Chinese, nor am I here to bash you personally or your company. I am not even here to talk technical specs, because frankly the lack of a male USB port on your Micro Slim is currently the least of your worries right now.
You are undoubtedly a smart guy, being where you are now. You have sold over 2 million MP3 players last Christmas season, no mean feat at all (vs 4M iPod). There is no doubt that your company Creative is a successful one.
But let me ask you this: You have declared War, but Do you want to WIN this war? Absolutely demolish all that is iPod and steal all the glory? Well then read on because as it stands, this is a War you will live or die for. If you want to live, please consider my Two Cents:
1) Tip #1: Think like the underdog. If you want to be a market maker, you need to grow up and act like one. We all learned about "Perfect Competition" in school, how it meant that there was no excess profit and that the only way to get out of that bind was to differentiate yourself. Right now, iPod is winning because it is differentiable from you (brand name, iTunes integration). How are you winning? What is your battle cry?
For the last two years, Creative has acted just like the "Chinese" me-toos (as you so put down in your latest comment) while Apple has been the market maker through and through. Here are some examples:
When the first generation Apple iPod was released, you still were selling the MP3 jukebox ($480) that could not fast-forward or rewind (true), that looked like a spaceship (definitely), and still took 20 seconds to transfer a song (USB1.0). Quickly, your team raced to build a better looking version, after the success of the big iPod.
The success of the iPod touch interface was also "borrowed" on your Zen-Touch line. And finally, after the Apple iPod Mini was announced, you surprisingly announced the new line of Zen Micro's in 10 colors.
See, I like supporting the "underdog." I like supporting the brightest and most inventive minds. I support Tivoli Audio, Sirius satellite radio, I support many of OS X's small developers' applications, I support the Treo 600, Brian Transeau's music and a million gazillion other small companies out there with insanely great ideas. These are premium but differentiable products that people are willing to spend extra money on.
Make something special, Be somebody special. We want that for your kids right? So incorporate that into your technological children, the Muvo's and the Zen's. Because Nobody honestly lusts to buy a me-too product.
2) Tip #2: Make us shit in o
But back on point, Apple needs to stop these lock-in practices, they tried to do it in the early days of the desktop computer, and now they are again trying to do it now. And like the late 80's and early 90's Apple started out real strong, because they had an amazing product, but soon people realized that there is nothing out there for them when choosing Apple. I beleive you will see that in the next couple years with iPod.
If I have to decide between listening to you, and listening to the company that owns three quarters of the online music market and three quarters of the portable music player market, I think I'll listen to the company.
Your history is kind of wacky. Apple's heydey in the computer market was the early 80s with the Apple II line. The Apple II was always a very open platform. The Mac, on the other hand, never owned a huge part of the market. The late 80s and early 90s were decent for Apple, but they never had anything like the kind of position that the iPod has. They never started out strong with a closed platform and got stomped, so I don't see how the iPod would mirror anything else they've done.
Maybe you're right and people want "open" hardware. Two things come to mind, though. The first is, how are any of the competitors any more "open" than the iPod? They all let you play raw MP3s that you can get from anywhere. The iPod lets you buy from iTMS and nowhere else that has DRM, the others let you buy from other places but not iTMS. Is being locked in to a handful of minor players less grievous than being locked in to a single major player? They all have DRM, they all restrict what you can do, and none of them will work with an arbitrary music player.
The second thing that comes to mind is this: 400,000 people a week would seem to disagree with your assertion. Maybe you're right and they'll change their minds, but so far I don't see any evidence.
Mod down posts with a "Free Mac Mini/iPod" sig, they're spam!
"All Creative need to do is add Bluetooth"
And hundreds can watch the thermometer bar crawl across while transferring data at really low speed.
This got modded insightful by people who've heard of Bluetooth but never used it.
Oddly Draconis
Too cynical to live, too stubborn to die.
A haze from crack smoking has unexplainably engulfed Creative's HQ during the statement.
Less talk and more action. When companies TALK about doing something, but actually don't seem to actually be DOING a lot of anything, people lose interest.
Creative have been at this for long enough, and I don't see why they don't just channel all this hype up into a bloody good product rather than releasing products which try and keep up with what Apple are doing. Nothing of theirs that I have seen so far has been particularly innovative - just one big game of catchup.
Make the killer product ffs and then wow us with it..
"Hey! Unless this is a nude love-in, get the hell off my property!!"
Apple is superior to Creative in more than just usability and design - Creative has no qualms about rushing poorly tested products to market.
I bought a spiffy new flash 128 Mb Creative Muvo that had clearly been rushed to market. When it locked up about three months later, I learned it had not one but TWO crippling bugs.
1. Unplugging the Muvo's USB connection without doing the "Safely Remove Hardware" thing in Windows can make the Muvo permanently lock up (can't be turned on). I didn't do that (but lots of people do).
2. Attempting to fill the Muvo's flash to capacity can make it permanently lock up. I did that, as does everybody.
Creative's warranty is 90 days and I couldn't get my $220 + tax. I keep my worthless Muvo as a reminder - they won't fool me again.
If you must buy a Creative product, do some research and beware of buying something that's only been on the market for a few months.
I can't think of any case offhand where "Me-too only with more" has been a successful marketing strategy. This is lazy marketing...
Of course, if you ask existing customers who like and use a product X what they ''want,'' those customers, just having faced a difficult struggle choosing from different price points in a product line will say something like "I'd like to get the features of the top model at the price of the entry model." Or if they're more ambitious, "I'd like twice the storage, half the size, and half the price." (About the only thing you won't hear from iPod owners is "And I'd like it to play the music twice as fast!).
What the strategy never takes into account is that in the time it takes to bring the me-too-but-more product to market, the manufacturer of the product they're gunning for will probably improve their product.
As for "choice," most computer users I know never change the home page of their browser from the one that's set by the manufacturer. Consumers will happily buy into the all-Apple iPod ecosystem and won't care unless it becomes obvious that the PC download music stores have dropped prices to, say, $0.25 per song, or have a grotesquely larger selection.
It may be a shame, but all the issues about lock-in, DRM, etc. don't matter to consumers until they personally get bitten, and so far Apple has taken great care not to bite consumers much.
It also helps that Apple's stuff works. The number of articles I've read about "iPod killers" by PC-centric sources that acknowledge up front that whatever they're testing wouldn't install, or froze, or had DRM authorization problems is astonishing.
A friend of mine who is just an average PC-centric engineer bought an iPod for his wife. Because it was reputedly a good product and easy to use. His wife, who is mildly computer-phobic, had no problems with it. It just worked. A few weeks later he bought one for himself. He likes it.
Another friend who bought some fairly pricey high-end gadget from Creative, I think, reminds me of all the personal computer enthusiasts of the late 1970s. It constantly presents him with challenges, which he enjoys surmounting. He is a chorus director who brings his player and powered speakers to rehearsals to play us things. It never works, and there is always some good reason why he can't play that particular thing that particular day.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
There are a hell of a lot of iPod users/fans here at /., and I doubt most of them have been influenced by the teeny bop stars and U2. (granted, some of it IS rabid Apple-fanboy behaviour, but I digress)
The iPod is more popular because it was the first out of the gate, had far more storage than the Flash memory offerings, looked/looks better than any other product available today and is far more simple to use than Creative's or anyone else's device. (iTunes is easy, scroll wheel is a godsend) The last one is particularly important, considering that many/most people are barely computer-literate and are rather frightened of technology.
Marketing and envious, keeping-up-with-the-Jones buying has certainly put the iPod where it is today. But the initial and ongoing popularity is because it is simply the best product available. The Creative product IS good, but the iPod is better.
I did everything Creative recommended, the built in scan-disk, formatting the disk, upgrading the firmware
In my opinion, that's a sign of a major difference between the way Creative thinks of their products and the way Apple thinks of theirs.
When my old-school 5 GB iPod died last year, I decided, instead of spending $250 to repair it, that I'd spend $50 more and get a new 20 GB model. (Mine was long out of warranty, you see. Always buy AppleCare, y'all!)
Mine came in the mail --I bought it from the online Apple Store -- and it worked great for a few days, but then it started acting funny. I called Apple, and without even really listening to my problem, the guy says, "I see from your mailing address that you're about 20 minutes from the Apple Store So-n-So. Can you take it in there? I can make you an appointment in half an hour, if that's good for you."
I said sure, got in my car and drove to the Apple Store. When I got there I went to the "genius bar" and introduced myself, and one of the guys behind it said, "Oh, hi. Here." And he handed me a brand new 20 GB iPod, still in the box.
I should have just sprinted for the door, of course, but I stood there looking stupid instead. He told me that Apple policy for people with misbehaving iPods that are still covered under warranty is for the customer, if possible, to just take it in to the nearest Apple store and exchange it for a brand new one of comparable size and features, no questions asked. They didn't even have any paperwork. Just "Sorry for the inconvenience. Here's your new one."
How many computer or consumer-electronics companies do you know whose official, written company policy is "Sorry for the inconvenience, here's your new one?"
After listening to Apple's Q1'05 Earnings call I have to say that I am concerned that the music stores besides iTunes will soon go the way of so many dot-coms. Here's two reasons:
- Apple stated in the call they have 70% market share in on-line downloads.
- Apple stated in the call they posted a small profit on the sale of now >230,000,000 songs (admittedly, these were not all in Q1'05).
If the $0.99/9.99 model is so razor thin that one company with 70% of the market is eaking by, how can six other companies who share the remaining 30% of the market hope to survive?
Napster seems to be in the lead (don't they have about 10% market share?) but it is primarily due to the subscription model they have, not selling tracks/albums. Sounds like an opportunity for Apple to swoop in and service the sub-market for subscribers to me.
But back on subject, the Creative statement that they have some type of advantage because their player submits to the DRM of half a dozen music stores that are loosing money just says to me that Creative is tightening their seatbelt on a sinking ship.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
The ipod works with lots of download sites. I have an ipod, I don't buy from itunes. I download a lot of legal tunes. I have used emusic, disclogic, mindawn, magnatune, digitalsoundboard.net, studiodownloads.net, livephish.com, primuslive, live metallica.com, and some others I am probably forgetting. If none of these places have the music I want, I just order the cd for usually less than $12 new or $8 used. (which usually winds up being cheaper than most of the download sites especially when you include buring and labelling cds) The "doesn't work with any major retailer" complaint seems to mean "doesn't work with windows media drm".
On the other hand market research seems to indicate that people do not want to own music, they simply want to rent it, by paying a subscription service and using the new windows media drm to allow subsription services to be used on portable players. If this is so, it will give M$ another monopoly and Apple will be screwed. I want to own all my music, the rest is radio. Rental is probably the music industry's dream scheme, they can sell you the same music over and over in perpetuity without having to come up with anything new.
Another take on this issue is that MP3 players have had the slowest and least market penetration (15% of households - Forbes) of any major consumer electronics product. So maybe this is not the wave of the future... maybe we don't know what's coming at all.
The ideal situation would be hundreds of these little sites popping up so that no one site has a huge selection, but you can get what you want somewhere with no drm. Lots of competition, good for everybody. Certainly successful bands could all make there own sites (Metallica, Phish, Primus) and screw the record companies now. Even some smaller bands are making a living with their own sites. This would also be the best situation for the ipod. Buy lossless music and then pick your own format, don't let someone pick it for you.
My friend was bitching about the quality of his ipod on his $1000 sound system so I hooked up the Creative Nomad Zen Xtra. The sound was louder, with less loss of quality. The difference was frankly, amazing. And the Zen cost $100 less.
I knew a guy who was saying some stuff, so we did comparisons and junk, and found out that everything I own or bought or borrowed from another guy totally are better than other things that I don't have.
(this has been a Slashdot product review)