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Amazon Plans Music Service To Rival iPod
theodp writes "The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon is in advanced talks with the four global music companies about a digital-music service that could be launched as soon as this summer. It would feature Amazon-branded portable music players, designed and built for the retailer, and a subscription service that would deeply discount and preload those devices with songs."
They might want to check with the RIAA first to make sure that *that* is ok.
With Apple having such dominance of the market, will they be able to compete? Afterall, even now every commonplace mp3 player is oten referred to as an iPod, so won't people just think of this as an "Amazon iPod"? Unless they have a few tricks up their sleeve, some people will take this as a cheap copy and want "the real thing (tm)"
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
That means that iTunes will have serious competition. It will be interesting to watch the battle. Competition is good.
I like buying books and DVDs from Amazon. But there's no coolness factor associated with having a music player from a warehouse operation. The iPod, on the other hand, is a cultural icon that everyone must have..
Samsung makes excellent products. I own a Samsung laser printer and microwave, and used to have one of their cell phones till my wife got me a Motorola upgrade for Christams two years ago. Their products are pretty reliable and robust, and if thay can create a decent MP3 player for Amazon, it should give the iPod a run for its money, though I suspect Apple's lead will shrink but never disappear unless they make some crucial marketing mistake.
GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
...smaller than a Nomad. ...no support for OGG Vorbis. ...I forget the other "fault" that was noted when the iPod debuted. ;)
Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
I assume you mean to rival iTunes? As far as I know Apple isn't selling their own brand of hardware player. Should be interesting. The digital music download space is getting pretty crowded.
An iPod is a one of several small portable units used to listen to digitial music on. It is not a service. The iTunes Music Store is an online venue where you can purchase music. It might be considered by some to be a service, and is what Amazon is actually competing with. And even then, it's not really competition. Amazon is going to offer a subscription service. iTMS allows you to buy individual songs and albums and own them for perpetuity, as long as you agree to their crappy DRM.
ipod killer huh? how many times have we heard that recently. It is interesting though that amazon is now in the hardware business. Oh wait, the article title "Plans Music Service To Rival iPod" is wrong.
:-p
Oh crap. they are getting into the hardware business.. and the article title is from the WSJ not slashdot. The summary says nothing about that though. i wonder how many people who didnt RTFA are going to post something like the paragraph above.
The war with islam is a war on the beast
The war on terror is a war for peace
Is it going to be so crippled with DRM that I can't so much as plug a second set of speakers into my PC to listen to it on? This is all from the same company that stocked those Sony rootkit CDs. Do you really want to trust your system to them?
May the Maths Be with you!
call it iMazon... no wait...
firestream.net
Our local record store just closed down, what a great shop it was too. Now this Amazon shop is coming, somehow I don't think it will exude the same charm that I got from our local shop. Hmm, I guess I should bought more records there and spent less time flirting with the cute girls behind the counter, darn.
But on another note, I wonder much kicking and screaming the record company execs did as they were being dragged by collars into this by the many smarter people around them?
If we bow to RIAA's pressure, then Amazon's CD sales may be in trouble. "Even if CDs do become damaged, replacements are readily available at affordable prices." [RIAA]. While Amazon does sell at decent prices, the mere fact that you cannot backup your purchases may signal the end of an era.
The CD medium has been a double edged sword for RIAA - the popularity of music on CD's over the past decade has increased sales and the influx of technology has made copying CD's easier. While I will argue that there aren't as many sales lost as they say, I will agree that because technology exists there are problems. That being said; most consumers like to own their purchases and CD's are still the best way to do so.
Proof by very large bribes. QED.
It's just struck me that an interesting trend is occuring. During the 90's, the company that owned the software was the winner, in other words, Microsoft became so dominant in the PC industry because they dominated the OS space, the hardware just became a commodity. They (and pretty much everyone else) though the same thing would happen in the mobile and 'living room' spaces. But it's not - the hardware is becoming more important - Microsoft realise that they only way they are getting into people's living rooms is coming out with their own hardware (the X-Box). Similarly in the mobile space, it's the ones that control the hardware that are going to win - so to compete in the digital content market Amazon is having to make its own version of the iPod, and Microsoft is also considering it. So we have software companies and online shops turning into electronics manufacturers.
"Amazon looking to dump tons of cash on HUGE tax write-off!"
What, exactly, is Amazon going to be banking on by branding a line of music players? Their history for making functional, attractive gadgets? Hmm...no, that's Apple. Is the consumer expected to look at an Amazon-branded MP3 player they've never seen before and think, "Ah, Amazon! They do such a good job shipping gifts on or around Christmas, I'll bet their digital music service rocks?"
This has all the trappings of another expensive mistake.
Tags != Comments, and -1 (Troll) != -1 (I Would Respond Angrily To This Poster So They Must Be Trolling)
DRM. And I mean ugly, tight, restictive, ball-in-a-vice DRM.
There was no mention of compatibility with iPod, or any other player, that I read. This sounds more like an Audible-like service, but for music. Near total lock in to the Amazon format, without any portability.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
I'd be more concerned with how Amazon might push CD sales with this scheme... imagine: Buy our flashy .com branded player, and we'll preload them with music for you! ... provided you first buy the album from us in retail form, at "deeply slashed" prices. as for individual song sales, how can they find a sales model to rival iTunes? And is Amazon going to go proprietary in regards to file format, or will they stick with .mp3? I'd imagine they'd have to license that out too, if you wanted your A-maz-pod to get preloaded...
Until something actually rivals (or is beginning to rival) the iPod / iTMS combination, can we please stop having these stories? If I see one more iPod / iTMS rival and/or killer story then I'm going to throw up. They are just about as annoying as latest story on the next new thing that Google is supposedly working on.
it puts the lie to claims, now greenlighted to go to trial, that Apple Ipod/Itunes is a monopoly. Well, of course Amazon will seek to make the music files it sells iPod compatible. Right?
SLASHDOT: news for people who can't concentrate on work or have no life at all and got tired of yelling back at the TV.
Does it play mp3's?
I rm -rf
What Amazon has that others don't that may allow them to compete effectively against the iPod/iTMS:
- An established, well trafficed website. People already go to Amazon to shop for music and videos, allowing them to immediately download instead of purchasing a cd/dvd is an obvious evolutionary step. They don't need to try to drive people to use their service, people already do.
- Purchase hardware directly from them. If they do indeed sell a hardware player as well, then this makes it even easier for the consumer. "Hey, I'm thinking of buying a mp3 player, I'll go over to Amazon and check them out". And lo and behold, you can purchase the Amazon player and get whatever music you order pre-loaded onto the sucker in one fell swoop. Even Apple doesn't offer this level of service.
- Amazon already has relationships with the music industry and they are "established" enough to be a credible (in the eyes of the industry) alternative. Remember, Jobs and the music industry don't exactly see eye-2-eye on issues like pricing. I bet the music industry execs are chomping at the bit to play with someone who will bow more to their desires in order to establish a foothold.
Not to say that this Amazon player is a shoo-in, but I think it's probably the most credible challenge to the Apple "monopoly" that has come around in a while. It will indeed be interesting to see if they can gain some measure of success vs the iPod/iTMS steamroller, or if they just end up sucking up all the after rans, in effect winnowing the market to two players.
Dear Mr. Bezos (can I call you Jeff?),
I think the idea of selling music players preloaded with music is really, really great. Totally. But I don't think you need to cannibalize your existing business to do it.
Take a look at your company's "Top Sellers" page for electronics.
Note that six of the top ten are iPods. (The others are lower-price, and probably lower-profit, items.)
(You might also note that seven of the top ten items on your company's "Top Sellers" page for computers happen to be Apple products. See a trend?)
You, of all people, know that people want iPods. And you're more than happy to sell them to them. Lots and lots and lots of them.
Soooo... I hope you're also talking to Apple about this idea. Yes, their DRM doesn't really work well with the idea of a new portable device showing up with music on it that's not on the user's computer... but then, does anyone's?
But if you asked, I bet they'd be willing to help you set up some sweet bundles of iPods and high-ticket iTunes Music Store cards, with a nice margin built in for you. After all, you move a lot of kit for them.
And maybe Steve and Bono would even let you be on stage with them sometime. Wouldn't that be neat?
Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
And the hardware will be called the aPod!
The CB App. What's your 20?
This won't be competition for the ipod/itunes.
the itunes issue isn't about cost. music is anonymously free all over the net. people WANT to pay for itunes. an amazon branded electronics device won't be competition for the ipod for two reasons: (1) its going to have to be spectacular to compete with the ipod on looks/UI alone (harder than it sounds), and (2) people like to know who is making their products (i.e. a brand). Amazon isn't known as an electronics maker - it's like Walmart selling a DAP.
I haven't read the article, but if Amazon expects its brand to move DAPS, they are mistaken. If they think they can honestly compete with Apple on heart-share (Apple succeeds in establishing an emotive connection with its users, thus inspiring loyalty - it's like a wierd kind of nationalism or something) or on design - it seems like a fools errand.
un burrito me trampeó.
No reason why they shouldn't succeed... provided they get a UI at least as good as iTunes, and mp3 players that at least match iPods for ease of use. Those are two very big ifs but Apple won't be number one forever. There have been endless debates about why no one else is able to compete. Think we've pretty much established why iTunes and iPods are successful. To replicate it would be difficult but not impossible.
No moving parts? I waited for the nano specifically for the lack of an HD, as I dropped my discman about twice a year.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Actually Walmart is doing extremely well in competing with iTunes. They do it by selling the physical CDs in stores. Although some ./'ers may be suprised to learn it, Walmart actually is a much bigger (measured in revenue, employees and profit) company than all of Apple (and Microsoft, and just about every other high tech firm).
Walmart moves a much greater revenue of music than Apple. So tell me again why they need a download service.
Also, much like Apple uses iTunes to pull through iPod sales (or vice versa), WalMart (and BestBuy) use discounted CDs to pull through sales of other items. Once they get you in the store to pick up a cheap CD or DVD, it pretty likely that you'll buy a few more items.
So, let me try and get this straight. I can't sell my current player on eBay with pre-loaded tracks, but I can buy a new one from Amazon with pre-loaded tracks? OK, fine, what happens when I want to sell the Amazon one? Can I sell it with those pre-loaded tracks (and only those, and how do I know several years down the line which ones were pre-loaded) or do I have to strip them off as well? Can I copy them off and back them up? If the device dies and needs a hardware replacement, can (and will) Amazon pre-load the new hardware with the same tracks, or do I have to pay for them again? Will my insurance cover the cost of replacing these tracks (and any others that I've downloaded) as well as the device if it's broken or stolen, and even if does in theory, how can I prove that they were actually still on the device when it was lost?
It's a bit rich for music megacorps to demand that we respect copyright law when an informed and educated person can't in all honesty figure out what the law is, or specifically how it applies in cases like these.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
The thing that scares me about this scheme is the statement that you can continue to play the preloaded music as long as you continue to pay your monthly fee.
I was absolutely shocked when I discovered this same method with my DVR (through Rogers). When my credit card expirey date came, they promptly shut off my cable and told me to contact the support line (pretty rude if you ask me... should have just asked me to contact them on my previous bill). But even ruder was the fact that *I couldn't view the material I had previously recorded*. In fact, I was watching a recorded show when the damn thing shut down. I was pissed to say the least.
My guess is that this thing will need to phone home at least once a month to ensure that you are paying your fees. Otherwise it will shut down and be a fancy piece of junk.
Consumers have to send a message to these guys that we don't want to be treated like crap. If you're going to sell me music, sell me music. If you're going to sell me a piece of hardware that plays music, it better damn well do it even if I don't pay your monthly fees.
preloaded music players?
that's the quickest way for the riaa to blow you out of the sky. haven't they railed enough outlets for this already?
Bury me in mashed potatoes.
What people on /. seem to forget is that on average they are on the upper-end of the income curve.
Not everyone can afford to drop $200-$300 on a fancy iPod, that's why there is still a market for $30 CD players at Walmart. But if Amazon's supply chain can bring the cost of an iPod-alike down to $70 or below, they will capture that whole other market segment Apple has ignored - the ones that don't care about trendy and hip, the ones that care about value. AKA the majority of the populace.
Copying between devices directly? So, Apple's software doesn't do things that way, but don't make this out to be a deal breaker. iTunes handles multiple iPods very easily, and you can put your files on as many iPods as you want simultaneously. You make it sound like Apple is preventing you from using your music files on multiple devices, which is completely not true.
What you seem to want is transfer directly from one device to another. I can only see rare circumstances, such as when you are on the road away from your computer, that this might come in handy. Usually, there's no need to go from one device to another, you simply plug in the device and load whatever you want onto it from iTunes. Easy. So what's the big deal?
"Preloading" here doesn't mean there gonna load their Mp3 Players with "goodies" like those promised used iPods from eBay. Instead, it means that you will be able to by a bunch of songs along with your Amazon Mp3 Player that will be loaded on to the player prior to delivery. And I am sure this would be a introductory special offer, like by an Amazon Mp3 Player and get 50 free songs (or 25; or 100!)
Oh, and before you go on and bash this service to be "loaded with DRM bullshit", please tell how exactly is Apple's service WITHOUT any DRM? And isn't it true that with every iTunes update Apple keeps adding more and more restrictions to how you can use YOUR OWN MUSIC!
I for one, welcome our new South American Jungle Mp3 Cartel Overloads...
Mozilla stole tabs from NetCaptor. So what? Right?
iTunes and the iTunes Music Store? wouldnt it be an mp3 player product in order to rival the iPod line of products? (software rivals software, hardware rivals hardware...)
Exactly! There have been around portable mp3 palyers, etc. for ages, there are plenty of sites where music can be purchased online. iPod still keeps going strong because of this "coolness" perception that money can't buy.
Getting an iPod is like buying a Mercedes Benz, a designer cloth or shoes.
iPod is the "Mercedes Benz feeling", affordable for the crowds.
Any real competition with Apple should compete on that level. And that's something way beyond best engineering, lowest price, "biggest bang for the buck". It's the same category why some music, some movies some brands become bigger than life in certain times. So far noone has a recipe for this.
iPods biggest competition is if and when this "coolness factor" eventually will start to fade away.
But this has more to do with social psychology than engineering and price.
Regardless, iPod has created in it's place in future history books, as a landmark item of a certain decade, without any doubt.
Just a Random.Idea
Amazon is evolving into something like the Sears, Roebuck catalog, which was in every middle class home for 100 years. I think this can work.
This is going to be a subscription based service like Netscape and others trying in vain to compete with iTunes and CD's ripped to MP3s. The preloaded music is based on your subscription and will only be available if you pay the monthly subscription. So you won't own the music, you will only be licensing it on a monthly basis. Once you stop paying, you stop listening. I can't believe anyone would continue to pay each month for the priviledge to listen to music they would prefer to own and play when they choose. Go buy a CD or even purchase iTunes DRM music for a one time cost and play whenever you want. Even with iTunes at least you own it, you're just limited to where you can play it. CD's at least allow you to rip them to MP3 to put on an iPod or other MP3 player or shared throughout your homes musical network. In the article, Warner Music Chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr. said subscription services' "growth and popularity has been impacted by the lack of an outstanding device." No, it's not the device it's the fact that I don't own the music and can't fairly use it where I want at my own convenience. We are customers and usually customers want the convenience to use what they buy when, where and how it best fits into my world not according to how it fits into your little world. I mean if I buy a waffle maker, and I choose to use it in my car with the aid of a power inverter then so be it. If I want to try to make toast in it then it is mine and I can do that. If I want to let a friend borrow it, so they can try it out and see if they want to buy one I can do that. And get this, if I choose to take it apart (rip it) and use the parts to make something else I can it's mine. I can enjoy it at my convenience and in the way I choose to use it. And if I get tired of it, I can even choose to sell it or give it away to someone else. It's mine not yours!
To God be the glory for all creation, and to Apple be the kudos for personal computer creation!
Your music doesn't "expire" if they cancel account. (That's just a crappy thing to do, might as well go the iPod route then.)
And the kicker to hook people in.. You go to Amazon to shop for a CD, for an extra $1 when you buy it you can download all the songs from it into your device right then so you can listen while the CD is being shipped. This could be with or without subscription. (Make it free if you have a subscription so that someone buying 5-10 CD's at amazon might be better off getting a months subscription which hooks them on your service!)
I'm a fiscal conservative, it's a pity we don't have a political party anymore
Think of the coolness factor as the worm on a hook. It gets people interested and biting at their products, which includes music from itunes. The music bought is the actual hook. After I bought a couple of hundred of songs since the start of the music service, there is no way im going to another player since I would lose all of the music I have bought in the last 3 years. So basically they caught me and im not going to let go because I am a satisfied customer.
And this is different to iPod/iTunes, how?
I can burn a CD from protected AAC files today, as many times as I like. Think you'll be able to do that with the Amazon songs?
How many computers will the Amazon songs work with (this is more likley to match ITMS, but it's a good question).
Can I go to Bolivia for a month and keep playing my music? Not if Amazon is a subscription model, it will have to phone home with regularity to make sure I own what I am playing. Apple doesn't collect stattistics on what you are playing, but Amazon could (admittedly with a low sampling interval).
Basically, do you like owning or renting? That's the difference.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
- An established, well trafficed website. People already go to Amazon to shop for music and videos, allowing them to immediately download instead of purchasing a cd/dvd is an obvious evolutionary step. They don't need to try to drive people to use their service, people already do.
Apple has the same thing. Only you can purchase music in the same player you are listening to the music in - a step closer to the consumer.
- Purchase hardware directly from them. If they do indeed sell a hardware player as well, then this makes it even easier for the consumer. "Hey, I'm thinking of buying a mp3 player, I'll go over to Amazon and check them out". And lo and behold, you can purchase the Amazon player and get whatever music you order pre-loaded onto the sucker in one fell swoop. Even Apple doesn't offer this level of service.
So you go to Amazon to "Check Out" the MP3 players and see the iPod is in the top four slots - at Amazon. Which one are you buying again? Are they going to stop selling the iPod? Hardly likley.
- Amazon already has relationships with the music industry and they are "established" enough to be a credible (in the eyes of the industry) alternative. Remember, Jobs and the music industry don't exactly see eye-2-eye on issues like pricing. I bet the music industry execs are chomping at the bit to play with someone who will bow more to their desires in order to establish a foothold.
What does that do for the CONSUMER. You know, the ones who would actually be buying something. Yeah it's great Amazon is in tight with the music industry enough they can put this together. But relationsips only build a catalog, they do not move players or songs. Plenty of other online music companies have simialr relationships with the music companies and look what it's done for them.
Not to say that this Amazon player is a shoo-in, but I think it's probably the most credible challenge to the Apple "monopoly" that has come around in a while. It will indeed be interesting to see if they can gain some measure of success vs the iPod/iTMS steamroller, or if they just end up sucking up all the after rans, in effect winnowing the market to two players.
I don't think it's really any different from other attempts to scale Mount iPod. The route sure looks the same to me, ware the Yeti of brand loyalty and integrated software.
A really unproven factor here is how good a player can Amazon really develop? I mean they have to develop both a player and software that beats the iPod and iTunes by a substantial enough margin to make people want to switch.
They may totally dominate the subscription market though, if I were any other company is that market segment I would tremble.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I own a Samsung laser printer and microwave
I like their all-in-one laser printer / copier / scanner. The most surprising Samsung item I own is a refrigerator and I must say, as far as refrigerators go, that it "totally rocks".
...Amazon announces they are gonna FUCKING KILL GOOGLE!
-- Boycott Shell
Apple uses iTMS to promote iPods. Amazon wants to discount portable music players to promote a subscription service. I'd prefer a subscription service for online music. Who wants to "own" a DRMed file. Might as well just rent them.
Vote for Pedro
"What, exactly, is Amazon going to be banking on by branding a line of music players? Their history for making functional, attractive gadgets? Hmm...no, that's Apple. Is the consumer expected to look at an Amazon-branded MP3 player they've never seen before and think, "Ah, Amazon! They do such a good job shipping gifts on or around Christmas, I'll bet their digital music service rocks?""
Apple is run by a bunch of pricks that don't play fair, or is that Fairplay. So you can't sell music for an major record label downloaded music for iPod unless you're Apple. Therefore, to entice people to your service, you need to offer them an inexpensive alternative to an iPod. Since no such thing exists, you need to create it yourself. People give away cell phones to get subscribers. Amazon wants to see if this will wor for portable music.
Vote for Pedro
Microsoft may want to change their name to Microhard.
Think of the children! ... er, I mean, consumers.
C'mon now, if you want to dent the messed up market that is online music, you need to do but one thing. Support all (or most) music players. If people who own a Creative player, AND people who own an iPod can use your service, and other DRM capable players can ride too (I hate DRM, but you can't get a license to distribute most tunes without it), then you will have access to more end users than most services. If you can find a way to do it without DRM, then you just win. But that's another story all together.
This constant shootout between proprietary players, formats, standards, whatever is a waste of time, money, resources, etc. It worked well for Apple because they were one of the first to market with a really good product and easy to use service. This allowed them to go proprietary, as there was no competition. Now, if you want to compete, you need to be compatible, not go proprietary. Give me one good reason why I should switch from the MP3 player I have, which cost say, ~$200, to yours? So you can lock me into yet another proprietary DRM format? Nope, try again, I'll wait... nothing? thought so.
As an aside, creative _should_ have beat apple to the punch, as they had an equivalent player much earlier, but they dropped the ball on service, and have publicly stated as much. Which I think is too bad, as I prefer their players, and find them cheaper. Then again, I have to admit iTunes is pretty slick.
Anyway, point is, if/when a company with a clue gets a compatible with everything service and software, they'll kick some serious ass in the music industry instead of fighting over scraps.
--Not to be worried, Pitr fix.
There is one way I can see an Amazon-branded player/service work, and that is for Amazon to pair digital downloads with physical purchases, at least optionally.
We are all impatient when we buy a new CD. We want to hear the music right now. For a lot of people, this means stealing a copy of the music to hear in the interim. Unfortunately for the industry, for a lot more, it means stealing the music outright and never paying for it.
So what if Amazon let me buy a CD on their site and then immediately download all the tracks to my Amazon-branded player, and then a few days later, the physical disc arrived in the mail for me to add to my collection, at which point I could erase the digital copy from my player, or just leave it there and continue to listen to that copy, secure in the knowledge that I have a physical copy, with artwork, securely stored at home?
The ability to buy online and listen instantly *coupled* with the ability to own a physical CD copy of something is the one thing every digital download service thusfar has failed to deliver and is the one reason I don't use any of them. I have an iPod, but I've never bought a single track from iTMS. I still buy CDs and rip them to mp3 to fill my iPod, and yes, sometimes I P2P a copy of something I've just bought, because I want to hear it without waiting for it to arrive.
If Amazon provided this kind of service, paired with a high quality, functional Amazon-branded player, I would seriously consider dumping my iPod for their player. I don't see any other program being successful for them.
I do not understand the rabid brand loyalty I often see given to Itunes in the face of superior products and services. I think that Ipods are clearly one of the nicer media players on the market, but Itunes is really second rate, both as a music manager (I love the way it will ERASE the contents of an Ipod with no warning when that Ipod is attached to a fresh install of Itunes), and as a music store (the DRM model is very restrictive, you can only download files once, the mp3s cost more than competitors, and there is no service in itunes to compare to the subscriptions services offered by napster and yahoo). Given Apple's ability to succeed with such a marginal service, I think Amazon has a herculean task. I don't see them being able to compete in cool- the Amazon brand is nowhere near as sexy as the Apple brand is. Competing on cost and value has been tried before, and hasn't worked for napster or yahoo. The market really hasn't demonstrated a sensitivity to anything other than brand image and marketing budget. We're just not particularly discriminating consumers yet.
The best lack all convictions, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. -Yeats, The Second Coming
It is a known fact in the industry that Amazon wants to enter the digital-music business. They are talking about this for couple of years. You don't have to be too smart to realize that they have to do it. The article has a lot of talk but just 2 pieces of information: they want to offer a subscription service and they may launch the service this summer. Another piece of information is that they are in advanced talks with the 4 major music labels. This might be true but it is irrelevant. When doing a digital music service, getting the music rights from the music labels is the easiest part. Of course the music labels are going to demand huge prepayments from Amazon but this is not the major hurdle. They have to obtain also publishing rights which are very difficult to get and time consuming. Then they have to create the music library, create a media player client so users can consume it (search, download/stream). There is a lot of infrastructure to build. From what I know Amazon has a crappy software development process and just because you have many employees it does not mean you can deliver something good and fast. I really doubt they will be launching their service this summer. Maybe a purchase only service with a limited catalog.
No kidding. This is the one and only feature I want that the iPod lacks -- and has lacked for 4 1/2 years since its introduction. I refuse to buy a new one until Apple fixes it, but I realize that they probably won't ever do so because 99.99% of their customers don't care or even realize what the issue is. Too bad.
Unfortunately, the few competitors with gapless simply don't get it when it comes to the rest of the package. No smart playlists, no on the fly metadata updates, no easy synchronization both ways, etc. I don't just want my music to be played, I want it managed so that I can have an even better, optimized listening experience. No competitor comes close to iPod/iTunes in that regard, and that's why I just bought a used iPod on eBay to replace my dying one. Apple doesn't get the benefit of my dollars in that sale without gapless, but other competitors with poor management features don't get them either.
FM tuner, stopwatch, video, games, WMA, etc? Heck, even stylish design? Fluff I don't need. Just give me a small, well-managed solution that plays music as accurately as my CD player does (no gaps between tracks with skip ability), inaudible encoding loss notwithstanding. ANYONE who does this will get my business. Apparently nobody wants it.
Say hello to zMac.
They will be using WMA with Windows DMA on a subscription basis, and you will lose you music when you stop paying. Wow, these services are doing very well elsewhere, why not at Amazon? Wait. They're not doing well, are they? What's different here? Oh, an Amazon player. Well, okay. Now, these non-iPod players, they're getting an ever-increasing piece of the-- oh, they're shrinking, aren't they? Could it be because their retail model sucks? In the file of hoary old rumors, put this one: Apple has a subscription service all ready to go at the flip of a switch, as soon as it makes any inroads. Put that, as long as feudalism doesn't return and we don't have to give a tithe of our crops, and our virgins, to the Baron, subscription services suck.
I will stick with my Neuros.
It even plays Ogg Vorbix files.
Thats a must-have for me, since I ripped all my CD's using Linux, which doesn't include a legal MP3 encoder (not that this matters much, since ripping my own music for my own use is illegal.