Catching Up. MP3 Players Hot on the Heels of the iPod Touch.

In August I wrote about possible new MP3 players from the major manufacturers. You can read that entry HERE. Some predictions have come true. Some have been close. Some are yet to be realized. Many companies have revealed their hands, and this post will take another look.

Apple showed us it's new iPod Touch. I guessed it would get a plastic back, and missed on that one. The iPhone, however, now has a Plastic back available in White or Black. The Touch got a lower price and a couple of hardware improvements. The new model (2nd gen) will get you a speaker, Volume controls, internal Nike Shoe support, and a new headphone jack that supports headsets with microphones. It's a better value than the first gen, with more features and that lower price. Same screen and form factor though.

Samsung has revealed the P3 it will introduce formally at CES in January 09. It has already won an award for new technology. The same size as the P2, but with a new interface, haptic screen feedback, improved audio processing (DNSE 3.0), better Bluetooth (2.1), a speaker and an aluminum body. There will also be a P4, but it is expected to be a leap ahead and available along side the P3 but with more features. The P2 and P3 are amazingly feature laden, so I strongly suspect the P4 will have WiFi. That's the only technology the P2 and P3 don't have. Samsung has shown us a folding OLED screen. The potential is great. I expected to be amazed by the P4.

Microsoft updated the Zune with new firmware and desktop software. They made the existing hardware more useful. The new Zunes are the same form factor but with a few new color options and greater capacities. Prices went down. They added the ability to buy songs from the Zune Marketplace using the Zune's WiFi. They also added a feature to let you tag a song you hear on the radio for purchase and direct download. Their desktop software is amazingly good, with quite a bit of original thinking over the competitors. Rumors include Microsoft porting the Zune UI into the Windows Mobile software. Time will tell.

Dell decided to get out of the game. Again. I'm guessing they took a hard look at the competition and realized they weren't ready. You can read a bit about it HERE.

I predicted Sony would be working hard on their own touchscreen player, but holding off on releasing it until they knew they had a great one. Latest leaks indicate their will be a touchscreen Walkman showing at CES. With Wifi and access to Amazon's Music store perhaps. A thin form factor, and original media interaction. Surely smaller and thinner than THIS player, and the best direct competitor for the iPod Touch out there. No one has seen the interface yet, and that's where many other players have failed. I'm counting on Sony to make a strong comeback though. They used to own the personal media player market. Let's just hope their new player is affordable.

There are other new players out there as well. Iriver brought out the SPINN. Cowon just released the S9 Curve. Even Coby has a 3" Touchscreen player. I've reviewed the SPINN and found it still needs work. I've got an S9 on the way. No WiFi in either, so their best competition is the Samsung P2 and P3. The Coby MP-835 is a poor attempt. The SPINN doesn't quite keep up. I'll let you know how the S9 does in a week or so. It has the most potential to unseat the Samsung players.

It's a great time for touchscreen media players. I have to give credit to Apple. They raised the bar for both cell phones and media players with the iPhone and iPod Touch. They brought all the competition up to a new level. I'm looking forward to 2009. CES 2009 is THE place to watch in the next few weeks. It's all happening there.

4D

5 Great Reasons to Pass on the New Nano.

The Apple iPod Nano 4th generation may have your attention. Let it go!

1. It is not the best value for the money.
2. iTunes.
3. No Radio.
4. Not available in White or Black.
5. Non expandable Memory

Value. Simple math. What features do you get for your money? What is each feature worth? One place to compare is between the new Nano and the Zune. Each sells for $149.99 in an 8gb version. The players are nearly the same size. For that money the Zune includes wifi and an FM radio with RDS. The Nano's only unique function is the accelerometer, which has some owners wishing it could be disabled. The Samsung T10 also has a Radio, and adds Bluetooth wireless headphone(s), Phone pairing, File sharing, and gameplay between players.

iTunes. Ok, iTunes itself isn't that bad. I have it. I like some of the features. What is bad is that it is my only choice with the Nano. My Samsung P2 or T10 can use their equivalent Emodio software, or Windows Media Player, or Media Monkey, etc. I can simply drag and drop media onto either within Windows Explorer. iTunes needs to pay attention to the competition. Have you seen the new ZUNE software? It is quickly becoming my favorite with MixView and the optional music subscription plan.

Radio. Apple seems to be afraid of putting a radio receiver in their iPods. Yet EVERY OTHER player I own has one built-in. With the Zune you can "Buy from FM". With my Samsung players I can record songs from the radio. A Radio in your pocket media player will keep you connected to the outside world. Those white ipod earbuds lock you in, shut you out.

Colors. This year's Nano comes in 9 colors. No white. No true black. Not a bad choice, but there's the trouble. Those nine colors are so great looking it becomes hard to pick just one. That is Apple's evil plan. You're SUPPOSED to want more than one, turning them into fashion accessories. Buy one to match each outfit or mood. Coordinate with your shoes. Buy MORE. The Zune comes in a few colors, but they are such that you're lucky if you like one of them. There is always the safe black though, except in a Nano. "Wait!", You proclaim. "The Nano comes in Black!" I thought so too until I bought one. The Nano's black is a pretender, easily spotted in lighter contrast to the truly black click-wheel.

Memory expansion. This is only a minor infraction given the new lower price of the 8gb and 16gb Nanos. Yet with an SDHC slot my 8gb Insignia Pilot has been expanded to 24gb. That 16gb SDHC card cost me $40.99, and with the $99 price of the Pilot leaves me with an amazing 24gb player for less than $150. The Pilot also has FM radio with recording, a microphone with voice recording, Bluetooth for wireless headphones, and more.

Sure, all your friends will have an iPod. What is also true is that they spent more money than they needed to for the few features they got.


Style, you say? Yes. Apple goes out of the way to make their players sexy and desirable. The new candy colors even appeal to your taste buds. They have to, since on a feature-by-feature comparison they don't compete well. The Samsung T10 oozes with style, and you can customize the interface to be unique to you.
You get the same size screen as the Nano, with an optional and entertaining animated interface. The controls are touch sensitive and disappear into the sleek smooth face of the T10. Even the 8gb Zune has some sex appeal. The touchpad is more efficient than the Nano's click wheel. The brushed aluminum back is a nice contrast to the conservative front. The Zune's 1.8" screen is a little smaller than the Nano's, but the Zune interface is easier to read (IMO).


My Point? More than eighty percent of the people who buy MP3 players buy an Apple product. I'm sure most never considered an alternative. We can't all be swayed by style over substance. Be a smarter shopper. Get your money's worth. Do NOT buy an iPod Nano.


4D

MP3 Player Sales Observations.

I've reviewed many players in this blog. I have my favorites. America has it's own. Curious about what people are actually buying I've stumbled across some interesting sites, and here are my observations:

CNET Shopper lists the 100 best selling players as far as it knows. It is not surprising to see the new iPod Nano appear 4 times in the top 8, with positions 1 (Silver 8gb), 5 (Silver 16gb), 6 (pink 16gb), and 8 (orange 8gb). The iPod Touch takes 2nd, 4th, and 10th with it's 8gb, 16gb, and 32gb variations.

A pleasant surprise is that the hard-drive based Zune models take 3rd (120gb), 9th (80gb), and 21st (30gb) position from the top 25 while the new ipod Classic 120gb model is 20th.

The Samsung T10 is 7th, and the top selling 4gb flash based player. The Samsung P2 8gb is 13th, and the second best touchscreen player behind the iPod Touch. It is the only other touchscreen player in the top 25.
For clip-on players, it does not surprise me to see Sansa Clips at 15th (red 2gb) and 24th (black 1gb), with no iPod Shuffle in the top 50.

Amazon.com's best seller list is nearly the same, except that it is updated hourly. In any given hour the new iPods will show up on top, with the new Zunes and Archos being in the runners up as hard drive based models, and the Samsung P2 sneaking in there in various colors and capacities as the runner-up touchscreen flash model.

Rather than compare sales, it is more interesting to compare players by ratings. In almost every case, the new iPods will not appear anywhere near the top of a "ratings" list. I'll agree that this phenomenon may be due to their popularity, with a higher number sold creating a large pool of reviews, and a greater likelihood that dissenting buyers will feel the need to review. Still, with several players getting 5-out-of-five stars, and the iPods always getting less, it points out that buyers don't buy iPods based on the reviews.

For flash memory based Touchscreens there appears to be only two major players. Amazon rates the year-old Samsung P2 second only to the new iPod Touch. Samsung's S3, a sexy little player that only has a touch sensitive control pad, ranks third among bestselling touchscreen players in the same poll.

There is no science expressed here. The lists/polls I've linked to will change over time. What sells and what is "best" are often different things. I am impressed that the rarely-advertised Samsung players appear so high so often. Owning both a P2 and a T10 I can see their value and compare them directly to my iPods and Zunes and other players. I can also understand why the Zune does well, particularly with it's latest 3.0 firmware update. The Zune software is great, and the players are more efficient to get around on than any iPod except the Touch.

What does it all mean? There are great alternatives to the Apple products. Some people get it. Fortunately for Apple most people don't.

What do YOU think? Leave me a comment.

4D

How to Sell More MP3 Players than Apple.

I'm on a personal search for THE best pocket media player. I keep finding GREAT players made by companies other than Apple. Yet Apple owns more than 70% of the player market, and no one else seems to have a clue how to compete. I know the secret, and I'm sharing it with you.

1. Steve Jobs is the face of Apple. He is the consumer's personal connection to the products. We hang on his every word, as if he is Moses just down from Mount Sinai. He is rock star, preacher, father figure, and mage. Name the face of any other media player company. You can't.

2. Apple products have memorable names; Nano, Touch, iPhone. They are both clever and descriptive. At best the competing products have a short letter/number to remember. It is more likely they have some lengthy cryptic model number as name, and as such are as memorable as 37 digit prime numbers. Take the Samsung YP-P2JCB, the Sony NWZ-S738FBNC, or the Philips SA5245BT for example. All fantastic players, but could you remember that Sony model to tell a friend about it?

That's it. It's that easy.

Appoint someone to be the spokesman for your entire media player line, and put him on TV and the internet. Give him a title of respect, and make sure he knows your products inside-out and is a fan of them. Give him a 20 year contract to let people know you're serious and that he will be the face of your products for a long, long time.

Now find simple, memorable names for your products. Drop anything that isn't a real word. That's right, NO ZUNE! Zune is a limited vision at the moment. Some of you can keep your category names. I like "Walkman", Sony. We trusted it until you went crazy with your model names. Sandisk you're on the right track with Shaker, Clip, View, Connect, etc.. That explains why you're in second place. Samsung you need names not letters for your players.

Of course the products have to be great. The ironic thing is that many are. Samsung and Sandisk, for example, have great products lines. Yet we don't know anyone at Samsung or Sandisk, and so there is no one we really trust at either company.

This blog is about predictions. The 4th Dimension is time, and in time someone will catch on. I predict the next non-apple MP3 player you WANT to buy will have a name you can remember, and that you'll know who speaks for it. Samsung please contact me. I have some advice for you. ;)

4D

The Best MP3 Players To Buy Your Kids This Christmas!

Kids. Plural. More than one. Twins maybe? Parents with more than one child who are looking for "equal" gifts to get each of your children are the target of this post. There are a few hundred MP3 players to choose from out there. These are the ones you should consider for siblings. Why? Each of the players mentioned in this post have a sharing feature. When these players are in close proximity they can share files including music and photos, and the Samsung P2 or T10 can play games one-to-one wirelessly between devices! All these players do a fine job of playing music, podcasts, FM radio and videos, and displaying photos. The two Samsung models can even display text files including ebooks in the .TXT format. The players I recommend are:

Samsung YP-T10 4GB

Samsung YP-P2 8GB

Microsoft Zune 8GB or 16GB or 120GB

The Samsung YP-T10 is the only one of the bunch that I haven't personally played with. It's the little brother of the Samsung P2, yet has most of it's features and a few tricks of its own. Generally available for around $100, this 4gb player features Bluetooth 2.0 for use with wireless headphones, file transfer, and potential* pairing with your Bluetooth enabled cell phone. The built-in microphone allows voice recording, and for two friendly siblings this means easy sending of recorded messages to each other via Bluetooth. The kids can even be in separate rooms, so long as they are within about 30ft of each other. The FM radio included allows recording of songs heard playing on your favorite local channels. Should one child capture a great song he/she thinks the other should know about, it can be sent wirelessly to the other T10 using Bluetooth again. The T10 comes in at least three colors.

The Samsung P2 is my personal favorite. It's a touchscreen player with a 3" 480 x 272 pixel widescreen. Available now at BestBuy for $179.99, it is exceptional for video playback. Large enough to make reading text files easy. Both the P2 and the T10 feature Samsung's DNSe 2.0 audio enhancement feature for optimizing the sound of music you're listening to through headphones. The P2 has a touchscreen interface which is user customizable. Clever use of touch, tap, double taps, arcs, and swipes on the screen allow very efficient access to all your media. It's Bluetooth allows simultaneous listening with two bluetooth headsets at once. You can pair the P2 with your bluetooth capable cell phone and use the P2 to receive or initiate phone calls. Transfer your cell phone's contact list to the P2 using bluetooth. Transfer any file on the P2 between it and your computer (assuming it has bluetooth), any other P2 or a T10. I use my P2 as a wireless headset for Skype phone calls on my iMac. The P2 includes 5 games, and two of them can be played one-to-one with another P2 or eventually* the T10 using bluetooth! Your children can be in separate rooms, or front and back seats of your crossover, so long as they are within 30 feet playing games against each other on their P2s. The P2 comes in Black, White, and a Burgundy Red.

Last there is Microsoft's Zune. You can get an 8gb model for $149.99, a 16gb model for $199.99, and a 120gb (larger) model for $249.99. All feature WiFi wireless networking. What I love about the Zune is the ability to "squirt" files wirelessly using wifi to other Zunes. Kids can send photos or music files to each other. The music files can be played on the other Zune for three days before they will self-delete. The Zune's wifi can also be used to synchronise media files on your PC with itself. You can access the online Zune marketplace for music purchase from the Zune, and download songs you purchase directly to the Zune. If the built-in FM radio plays a song you would like to own, you can mark it for subsequent purchase using info (RDS) the radio station has broadcast along with the song.

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All three players can play MP3 music files purchased or made from your own CDs. For kids just starting a music collection, all players work with subscription music services so an unlimited number of songs can be downloaded for a flat fee per month. The Samsungs work with Rhapsody, and Zunes work directly with the Zune Marketplace. It is not required to subscribe to these services, but they are a great legal way for kids to grow their personal music collections. Both brands have great PC-Based software to organize your media collection. You can download and try them out for free at:

Zune.NET

Samsung's Emodio

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Yes, your kids may have asked for iPods. While the iPods come in a rainbow of colors, and are seen being worn by 70%+ of the U.S. population, they are NOT the best sounding or most feature packed players out there. iTunes does not offer a subscription model for buying music. No iPod has an FM radio, which in addition to music would give your kids access to local news, weather, and event reports. No kid can follow the local radio broadcast of the high school football game on their iPod.

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IF you've got more than one child, and you treat them equally at Christmas and other gift-giving times, then you owe them the smartest MP3 players out there. With a Samsung T10 or P2, or the Microsoft Zune, they will be unique among their friends and the envy of all of them.

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4D

* The Samsung T10 is expecting a firmware update to enable gameplay between devices as well as "maybe" cell phone pairing with it's Bluetooth feature.

Apple's $40 iPod Touch Penalty

Apple demands $20 from iPod Touch owners for an upgrade.
Many retailers are now selling iPod Touches for $20 less than MSRP, recognizing that if they don't, and a new shipment of Touches comes in wth the software already upgraded for MSRP, they'll have to refund $20 to those buyers anyway.

So, if new Touches are $20 less than MSRP, every early adopter is getting laughed at right now. Apple doing half the laughing, and anyone who buys a new one for $20 less (because retailers think they'll have to pay another $20 to get them upgraded) getting the second laugh.

I could sure use that $40 difference, which the new apps are very much NOT worth. Gee thanks, Apple. I know. I bought the apps.

Just to compare, anyone who was an early adopter of the original Zune got a FREE firmware upgrade which included new functionality when the new Zunes came out. Anyone who has already bought an early Samsung YP-P2 can now update their P2 for free, adding new features and usefullness. Anyone who bought an iPhone can expect free firmware upgrades which will include more functionality. Anyone who bought an early Apple TV will get for FREE the new firmware and considerably better functionality that the new releases will have. Sony Playstation 2 and 3 owners have not had to pay for firmware upgrades that made those machines into what they should have been in the first place, far closer to being worth what they cost. I paid $299 for my Touch, not because it was worth that much at that time, but because of the obvious potential it had to be better. I invested in it's potential. The new apps make it better. By putting those apps on new touches for FREE and NOT raising the price, even Apple admits that the original Touch was overpriced without those apps. They will make their profit by selling Touches with the new apps to a much larger group of people who didn't already buy one and wouldn't have with the lack of those apps.

What should Steve have done? Perhaps he realized that Touch owners don't spend as much money at iTunes store as other iPod owners do. I find the browser far more interesting, and can listen to almost any song I want using it and seeqpod.com. Maybe he's right. IMO he should have offered previous Touch owners a special $20 gift card. Buy the card for $20 and you can also download the new apps for free. Why is this good? The card can still be used as a $20 credit at iTunes, but many people won't use it. Apple makes another $20 either way, and Touch owners aren't paying for what should have been free as they can get new songs (or movies) with that gift card. It is very clear what is fair. It is very clear what is common practice in related electronics industries. What Apple did is neither fair or common. Dangerous is the best word I can think of.

4D

Technology in an Ice Storm

Kansas got hit with an Ice Storm on Monday night December 10th 2007. It took out the electricity from more than 80,000 homes, and by the date of this entry this author did not have electricity in his home. This was written at his place of employment where power was restored within 24 hours of the storm.

The obvious dilemma when power is out is that almost all the technology we come to depend on doesn't work. I woke up on the morning after the storm to no lights, no PC, no Satellite TV, and no heat. Fortunately of the gadgets I own one was a Zune. With it's FM radio I could listen to local stations for closings and weather reports. I suppose I've got a radio somewhere in the house, but none have kept me distracted enough with simple radio to have me keep them running with fresh batteries. The Zune entertains me with music and videos and as such gets charged every night. The radio feature is a bonus that proves invaluable during power outages.

The second gadget I've come to rely on is an ancient Casio Pocket TV. I bought the Casio several years ago to use as a monitor for a video camera. I was still using it as a monitor for the DVD player I use to play music on my deck. It had fresh batteries in it since it had been running off it's power adapter. Built in UHF/VHF tuners and telecoping antenna allow it to receive local analog TV broadcasts. Fortunately my local stations are still broadcasting in analog. On a normal day the little Casio doesn't get very good reception from the main TV towers 40 miles away or so. With the ice storm shutting down all electric devices, the lack of interference made for surprisingly good reception. The screen is tiny, but I've been able to keep up with my local TV programming with it. It uses three AA batteries, and fortunately in this crisis AAs are still easy to find. My D cell flashlights are worthless as D cell batteries are sold out everywhere.

My Ipod Touch didn't prove as worthwhile. With my wireless router not working, it's just another media player. I've got more music and videos stored on the Zune's 80 gig hard drive than I do on the iPod's 8 gigs. The Zune wins when power is out. Both media players have to be recharged from either a wall adapter or a PC's USB port. I could fortunately take both to work and charge them from my work PC, but the inability to use standard batteries makes both less useful when resources are limited. As such I'm looking for a media player with FM radio that can run on AA batteries.

The gadget I realize I'll need to find now is a portable TV with a digital TV (ATSC) tuner. Within a year or two those analog broadcasts will be turned off. When that happens my little Casio TV will be demoted to monitor again.