"Dance to the iPod Shuffle? Not Likely!" Says Creative

[Steve]

Creative have responded to Apple's launch of the iPod Shuffle - a flash based mp3 player - with these these thoughts:

Sound Bites from Flash Market Leader, Creative

I’m delighted Apple joined the flash party but, I’m surprised it’s taken Jobs so long. You have to hand it to him, entering the market with a statement about pioneering the ‘shuffle’ function is certainly a bold move that will grab headlines – the problem is it isn’t quite true. The ‘shuffle’ or ‘random’ function as it was previously know has been around since the inception of portable music players.

It will be interesting to see whether Apple takes its lead and learns from us or if it continues to use its million dollar marketing machine to bulldoze its way into the market. They haven’t learnt from our experience yet; we’ve been there, done that and have a story to tell…

What’s the Story?

Whether people choose to buy an iPod Shuffle comes down to whether they want control over their music or if they want manufacturers to do that for them. I wonder if the Shuffle is really easier to use than a similar product which incorporates a screen that allows people to see what they are doing and to choose from a random or set play list.

In the three years we’ve operated in the flash market we’ve learnt that people want to be in control of their music. Years ago the original MuVo was launched without a screen; it did well at the time but we had to redevelop and offer more as the market evolved. We’ve listened to our customers and have since incorporated a screen and other features (FM radio & voice recording function etc) into our low-end products. Since then, we’ve gone onto lead the flash market with 21% share. (The flash market makes up 50% of the MP3 player market.)

It’s important to understand your market and not to under-estimate the consumer. Ease of use? Yes. But we don’t need to blindfold people by taking away functionality and choice. There’s a boundary, and when you cross that it can be seen as patronising.

Our business is built on choice. We offer different products to suit different needs and allow our customers to choose between functionality and price. Our MuVo and Zen products also work with a huge range of music content providers so that our customers are not locked in to our brand alone. We’re confident this strategy of choice will win through in the end.

So Apple are now in the flash music player market. Given their success with the hard drive based iPod and its many variants, you would expect them to succeed with the iPod Shuffle too. However there is a lot of competition in the flash player market, and companies like Creative have a 'head start' on Apple. We will keep a close eye on how things pan out over the coming months.

[Alex]

That sounds like a really pants idea to me, it has to be said! I mean, a random function by all means, but that as the only function? Surely no-one with any sense would buy one? And hasn't a random function existed for ages, even on portable CD players before MP3 players were invented?

I think apple have made a mistake on this one.

[Barakka]

Now there's someone who's missed the point (Creative that is)...

The iPod Shuffle is not about random play from the tracks copied to it, but that when you plug the iPod shuffle into your machine it randomly selects tracks to copy to it. The idea is that you get to hear tracks from your music collection that you forgot you had. And yes you can turn Shuffle off.

Also, it hasn't got a screen but it's got 512MB for £60 and 1GB for £100.

Will indeed be very interesting to see how this one pans out

edit: runs on a FAT format too, so can also be used for Windows file storage.

[[GSV]Trig]

Its an Apple thing and it will sell, theres people out there like Coco that'll buy it over a normal flash player cos its Apple....

[Agent]

The iPod Shuffle is not about random play from the tracks copied to it, but that when you plug the iPod shuffle into your machine it randomly selects tracks to copy to it. The idea is that you get to hear tracks from your music collection that you forgot you had. And yes you can turn Shuffle off.

Also, it hasn't got a screen but it's got 512MB for £60 and 1GB for £100.

Oh wow !, it randomly chooses tracks to copy ! ill be sure to buy one for that !
Nothing that couldnt be done in a script thats probably under 10 lines long

Still, the pricing is very aggresive, 1gig flash pen drives are around the 60 mark for cheap ones, and just over 70 for decent ones like cosair. 30 quid for a music player on top isnt too bad at all.

[Barakka]

Oh wow !, it randomly chooses tracks to copy ! ill be sure to buy one for that !
Nothing that couldnt be done in a script thats probably under 10 lines long

Way beyond the capabilities of most iPod owners though

[da.Guvna]

If I see anyone wearing one of those I'm gonna have to slap them.
The only people who are gonna buy that are:

Idiots
Idiots that think that random playlists are a great new innovation
Idiots that want to be part of the iPod 'crowd' but can't afford a real one

And the whole '"filling your MP3 player with random tracks".....why not just shut your eyes, hold ctrl+shift, and click on random icons in your MP3 directoy, LOL.

Having said that, for the price and size it's not bad, but I prefer having a screen and more functionality.

[Howard]

Awesome. I think I'll go and buy a Creative Muvo. It does exactly the same things, yet actually has useful features. At a similar price. Lol

[Lee H]

LOL

Its the DELL of the Mp3 world

[Lord Kordir]

Creative > Apple in the mp3 player dept. Cheaper, better running time, better build.

The Mac Mini on the other hand is a stroke of marketing genius

[DavidM]

The Mac Mini is quite neat...

[Marcos]

Only thing apple have is good, simple, iconic designs and good UI as far as MP3 players go. Its frustrating for me as a consumer to have to watch competing manufacturers lose out in those departments, i dont understand, there is no reason for some of the poor designs out there. And design and UI are the first things that greet a consumer.

[unrealrocks]

I have a feeling that now Apple have released there own flash player they'll suddenly come back into fashion (like they we're about 4-5yrs ago when HDD players didn't exist).

[Nemeliza]

The iPod Shuffle is not about random play from the tracks copied to it, but that when you plug the iPod shuffle into your machine it randomly selects tracks to copy to it. The idea is that you get to hear tracks from your music collection that you forgot you had. And yes you can turn Shuffle off.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH now i see, i was so mislead.

Now you have put some of us straight, that sounds like a good idea, and for £60 could be worse, no?



...i dont like how apple are slowly converting me

[PinkPig]

Despite Creative's ranting, I'm quite likely to buy an iPod shuffle. Mainly because it's the cheapest 512MB flash MP3 player (and by some margin) - also because it's a nicer design than most, because it's easy to get random songs from itunes, and because it's compatible with the itunes music store. I appreciate that none of these are really unique features - but given that I'd never use a screen (most of my listening is on a bus - I put a random CD in in the morning, put it in random mode and play until I get home again) or FM radio, etc, the shuffle seems the best value around. Plus I find the minimalist style much nicer than most of the other flash players around.

[Marcos]

Despite Creative's ranting, I'm quite likely to buy an iPod shuffle. Mainly because it's the cheapest 512MB flash MP3 player (and by some margin) - also because it's a nicer design than most, because it's easy to get random songs from itunes, and because it's compatible with the itunes music store. I appreciate that none of these are really unique features - but given that I'd never use a screen (most of my listening is on a bus - I put a random CD in in the morning, put it in random mode and play until I get home again) or FM radio, etc, the shuffle seems the best value around. Plus I find the minimalist style much nicer than most of the other flash players around.

This is a pretty cheap 512mb player:

http://www.aria.co.uk/productinfocom...pecialStatus=1

Nowhere near as good looking as the shuffle, but it does beats it price-wise.