Who Are The iPod Competitors?
By Max on Nov 29, 2007 in MP3 Players
On April 9th, 2007, Apple Inc. announced its 100 millionth iPod sold, marking a monumental milestone in this product’s history. Since launching this portable media player in October 2001, the company has released more than a dozen models with improved features and storage capacity. Accessories for the iPod, commonly referred to as the ecosystem, range from fashion savvy protective cases to external speakers. Apple’s iTunes software is used to transfer music to devices, and its online store has experienced equivalent success selling from its catalog of more than 5 million songs, 350 television shows, and 400 movies.
Apple’s success has continued despite a myriad of companies claiming to have the next “iPod killer.” Competitors range from sophomore companies like Creative to media giants like Microsoft, who released its Zune model in November 2006. Do these mp3 competitors offering more technical capabilities (personal organizers, recorders, FM tuners) present any real threat to Apple’s market domination? For now, Apple is having no trouble holding on to its sovereignty in the mp3 kingdom.
Competitors Line Up To Cash in on Profits
Mp3 models have appeared in a surplus of shapes, sizes, and styles. While iPod focused on unique user interface and ease of use, other companies including Creative, iRiver, Samsung, Sony, and Microsoft added extra technical functions to gain an edge. The result is additional costs. An Apple 30GB iPod currently retails for $10 per gigabyte. The closest contender is the Creative Zen Vision:M at $11 per gigabyte, which adds $30 dollars to its price tag. Samsung and iRiver, who are also capable of playing video, are priced at $15 to $25 per gigabyte; other competitors without video are at least $11 per gigabyte. Thus, when it comes to consumer pricing, it is hard for other competitors to beat the iPod.
The question still beckons, what competition truly exists for the iPod? As it appears that a single company alone can tackle this iPod dominated market space, Yahoo, SanDisk, and Zing have teamed up to pool their talent resources in efforts of launching an “iPod Killer,” aka the Sansa Connect. The Sansa Connect is a unique Wi-Fi based audio player. The product does deserve proper kudos for their efforts, as those with a Yahoo ID are able to utilize the device to access LAUCHcast Internet radio or even peruse through Flickr photos. However, there is still a tremendous way for the Sansa Connect to go before becoming a true contender in the iPod arena.
iPod vs. Zune - Battle of Giants
Until now, when assessed by sheer volume, the only real competition for the iPod is Microsoft’s Zune. Microsoft teamed with smaller developers to produce their mp3 players and services built on Microsoft technologies. However, Microsoft’s Zune is more likely to steal market shares and customers from those companies making iPod alternatives, rather than from the Apple iPod itself.
In a side by side comparison of Microsoft Zune 80 and Apple iPod Classic, the storage and capacity of songs and pictures are identical. The Zune outperforms the iPod in hours of video played (Zune’s 250 hours to iPod’s 100 hrs) and FM radio capability. Zune also has a larger screen, which can be turned 90 degrees, making it perfect for horizontal viewing of pictures and videos. The Zune also offers “Wi-Fi” for Zune-to-Zune audio and picture file sharing (although it has a 30 feet limitation, and it cannot be used with other devices or PCs). The catch is that digital rights management (DRM) makes it very difficult to transfer songs between Zunes; with DRM, any song or podcast that is loaded to another Zune will automatically be deleted from the receiving device after three plays or three days - whichever occurs first.
One can also look forward to unlimited music downloads for a $14.99 subscription fee. As for iPod, they carve their niche by offering more entertainment options including downloadable videos, TV shows, movies and games. The iPod also supports Windows and Mac OS X, while Zune only supports Windows.
Consumer reviews of the Zune software have placed it second in comparison to the iPod’s software performance. Whereas the iPod is available in a diverse array of capacities, Microsoft’s Zune can only be purchased with the 30 GB capacity.
The Zune will be the leading competitor to the iPod, but Microsoft acknowledges that it is a first effort, and we can expect many new versions to arrive on the market. However, with the current version, most consumers and media experts concur that the Zune places second after the iPod as a media player; On the other hand, the overall functionality of the Zune is excellent, and in some aspects, it performs better than the iPod. This is the start of true competition for iPod. Let the media games begin.
