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Asher
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Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Tingkai
And look how this online retailer is selling the Zen Touch:
There is currently a shortage of iPods and iPod minis in the UK. We can therefore highly recommend the new Creative Zen Touch 20GB - digital music player with an amazing 24 hours battery life that holds 10,000 songs or other digital files such as photos, presentations or business data (that's 10 times as many as the iPod mini), but all for the same price!
http://www.ukoffer.com/ipod-mini.php |
Tingkai, does it look like I live in the UK? Do you think I care about the UK?
The UK situation is always different. Their launch dates are different, their pricing is different, and their market is different.
Another consideration regarding the salesblurbs (which are ALWAYS trustworthy...right?)...did you ever think they were trying to establish how leet it is to own a player, rather than providing facts?
It reminds me of going to a car dealership and having them tell you that "we can't keep up with all the people wanting this car! But you can drive it away today..." 
Anyway, there must be an incredible iPod Shortage if Future Shop ships them out within 24 hours, eh? 
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...19&WLBS=fsweb22
Strangely, Future Shop doesn't even carry the Zen Touch. And as the mobile audio manager for the Richmond Hill store told me the other day, they haven't been able to secure any nationwide.
Best Buy in the US has the exact same story: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...53&type=product
They, also, don't have any Zen Touches at all. Yet they do have other Creative players...
So folks, what have we learned? If you're going to harp about there being a dramatic iPod shortage, usually this would require for there to be not enough supply of iPods. A good indicator for this is having 4-6 week waiting periods, not "shipping in under 24 hours".
And no, Tingkai, it really doesn't matter if the Brits have an iPod Mini shortage. We are not British, we have totally different markets.
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Asher
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Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Asher, have you gotten the Zen Touch or are use still using your older Creative mp3? If it is the latter, what do you think about the Zen Touch compared to the older one. I heard they took out some features. |
One of the euros here has the Zen Touch, and he confirmed that those features are in again.
I still use the original Zen. I'm waiting for the Zen Micro to get 20GB. 
From what I've read, the Zen Touch now has a superset of the features in the original Zen (which were a superset -- from the music perspective -- of the iPod).
It really amazed me when Apple made a big deal of adding the "Shuffle" option to the menu prominently with the iPod 4G, seeing as this was a staple of the original Nomads back in the late 90s, and ever since. Even then, the Zen's is still better. The iPod's "shuttle" randomly plays a song off your iPod. Which is nice...the Zen can do that too, or it can randomly play a song in a playlist as well.
Even basic stuff like playlist editing on the device (rather than the computer, so you could do it on-the-go) wasn't added til the 2nd or 3rd gen iPod, while it's been around forever on the Nomads...
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Asher
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Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Tingkai
I tried them both and the circle approach is definitely a better design. The problem with the Zen Touch design is you have to move you finger to exactly the right spot to get the desired direction and speed.
With the iPod, the direction can be set from any point on the pad and the scroll speed is set by the speed you move your finger. If you had an iPod, you would understand.  |
I've used an iPod the other day to test it out.
If you don't like that, change the setting to be more like the iPods -- where you can "sweep" your finger down the pad to scroll. It has both options. See, it's strange having a choice isn't it...
The original Zens, you scrolled the wheel continuously to scroll down. In the Zen Xtras, you push the wheel in one direction or the other and it would scroll, varying the speed with the relative offset of the wheel. The Zen Touch defaults to a style similar to the Xtra, but you can change it to be more like the iPod and original Zen if you so choose.
Usability studies disagreed with your assertion that it's better to "sweep" like the iPods and original Zens do. It requires much more effort to do, and cannot vary the speed appropriately (it's limited to the speed of your finger movement -- which over a circle the size of the iPods isn't too fast).
I will concede that you have to be somewhat brighter and you have to use it for about 5 minutes before you get used to the default Touch method, but in the end it's far more efficient. In retrospect, it doesn't surprise me in the least that Apple assumes the user's a moron and has trouble with relative controls...
quote:
People are not buying the iPod because of clever marketing. They're buying it because it looks great and because it is easy to use. |
They're buying them because they're hip, they're buying them because they're available, and they do the job.
I'm definintely not a fan of the sterile white, in any case.
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Tingkai
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To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001
time: 13:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Asher
These stores that don't have the Touch still stock the totally crappy RCA and Sony units, and the Rio ones...plus the old Zens as well.
It makes NO sense for them not to offer the updated Zen at well if they could. |
Why stock something no one wants? It would just mean more totally crappy units collecting dust. Instead, they stock the iPod that they know will sell.
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Tingkai
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To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001
time: 13:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Asher
Usability studies disagreed with your assertion that it's better to "sweep" like the iPods and original Zens do. It requires much more effort to do, and cannot vary the speed appropriately (it's limited to the speed of your finger movement -- which over a circle the size of the iPods isn't too fast).
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Studies show... you don't know what you're talking about.
People love the click wheel. That's one of the reasons people are buying the iPod.
I haven't seen a single review that says the Zen Touch is a better design. I've looked at the Zen Touch and it looks shoddy.
If the iPod was made by any company other than Apple, you would be saying it's great. You just hate Apple.
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Agathon
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Leafs 4TW!! - CPA
Dec 2002
time: 00:20
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quote:
People are not buying the iPod because of clever marketing. They're buying it because it looks great and because it is easy to use. |
In a nutshell that's it. Asher, and many of the technically inclined people on this forum, make the assumption that everyone is like them, and wants endless numbers of features, while caring about tech specs.
Most people don't care about that crap, they just want something that works and is easy to use. Only Apple seems to get this. That's not a surprise really, since their design philosophy has been "make it work as simply as possible" ever since the original Macintosh. Add to that their penchant for design (and only the visually and aesthetically impaired believe that any of the others come close to the ipod's looks) and you have what people want.
Techie people whine about the auto-sync feature (which you can turn off), but miss the point of it - this is what most people want, updating with no hassles.
The other companies also have completely missed the boat when it comes to marketing - the whole point of the damn things is that it is about the music. Marketing your player based on tech specs, features or battery life is missing the point. That's why ipod sales rocketed after the introduction of the itunes store, which is pretty cool, simple and designed around the content. The other stores are hopeless in this respect - they are trying desperately to be hip and failing miserably.
The ipod is an all in one experience that is as simple as possible so that the majority of human beings can use it without thinking too much about it. If your product isn't designed with this end in mind, you are going about it the wrong way.
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Zopperoni
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quote:
Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
A lower price would be the first step in making a dent, IMO. |
Ah yes, but do they want to? If there's a supply problem due to Creative's lack of resources, then putting the price higher is a way to leverage it while still applying some sort of value-based pricing (instead of benchmarked pricing).
quote:
People are not buying the iPod because of clever marketing. They're buying it because it looks great and because it is easy to use. |
Identifying what the needs and preferences of consumers are is clever marketing.
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