Holiday Competition For iPod Dollars

An anonymous reader writes "MP3newswire.net is running a two part article on 15 new digital music portables or "iPod Killers" as the digerati have dubbed them. iPod Killers for Christmas Part I includes what I think is the coolest new player, the Olympus MR 500i with touch-screen technology and and sharp black-on-white color scheme. iPod Killers for Christmas Part II's most interesting portables are the new Epson MPEG-4/MP3 media jukebox and the SoniqCast Aireo 2 Wi Fi. Lots of photos and size specs. Also, Ogg Vorbis is picking up steam as more new players are adding it."

Re:Title Image

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, yes you are the only one.

Re:Olympus MR 500i

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, keep your eyes out for the coming news story about someone getting shot and/or killed by a mugger who got angry when he found out the MP3 player he just jacked wasn't an iPod.

Eck.

[boredMDer]

From the story [mp3newswire.net]

'Virgin Player
Another newcomer to the digital player arena is Virgin. Their first portable is the 3.1oz Virgin player, half an inch lighter than the iPod Mini's 3.6oz. The player also offers an extra GB of space coming in at 5GB for the same $250 price tag.'

Emphasis mine.

Anyone care to explain how 'half an inch' converts to ounces?

Oh god...the dirty jokes.

Re:iPod Killer?

[grungebox]

If there's anything that's going to kill the iPod it'll be its lack of Ogg Vorbis support...

That's true. I know that Apple's target demographic is definitely on the fence regarding Ogg support. Here's a sample polling question for someone in this key age group:

Q: So, what file types would you like to see supported in a portable music player? WMA? MP3? Ogg?
A: Like, I totally thought Billy was into Jane 'cuz they were all like making out last night, that's what Katie told me but she has like this like weird thing in her hair and ohmygod! was that justin timberlake on TV! ohmygodohmygod I mean OMGOMGOMG! G2g brb ttyl!!!!1111 Wait...what's like an "ogg", and like stuff, you know?

iPod color

[ilyagordon]

I see more and more people on the city bus with iPods. And these aren't your standard everyday geeks. These are the hardcore ghetto types. It is the most striking image to see one of those guys with that wussy little white iPod case.

When I see those people, all I can think of is ripping those little white earphones out of their ears and shaking them down for lunch money. Then I realize that they're still the hardcore ghetto types and I'm still the geek, and I return to day dreaming about being able to afford an iPod.

Re:iPod Killer?

[Sophrosyne]

Yes the Ogg music store seems to be outpacing the iTunes Music store by a factor of....
Oh wait a second what Ogg music store...?

Re:iPod Killer?

[Anonymous Coward]

If I asked 90% of my friends "Hey, do you want Ogg Vorbis support on your iPod?", they would think it was some industrial band.

How could they be so stupid? ...everybody knows Ogg Vorbis are a black metal band.

Re:Anything that's going to kill the iPod...

[vi-rocks]

I don't think the name "iPod Killer" should be used until one of them actually kills an iPod -- or even wounds it. Take the case of the HD players, no one should get this moniker until they get at least 15 to 20 percent of the market. Even then, they would be classified as an "iPod Attempted Murder".

Currently, the "iPod Killer" is in the same class the Easter Bunny or the Tooth fairy .. they don't exist (and even if the did, there is a good chance that they would both own iPods).

Now, while the "iPod Killers" look really cool and they are packing hardware to kill -- not one has been sent to trial for killing. Not one has ever committed a misdemeanor . Not one has ever got a speeding ticket or parking ticket. Not one has ever cheated on their taxes. There are 11-year old Catholic school girls with bigger criminal records than these "killers" .

How about "iPod wanta-bes" (and I am not talking about functionally, because most exceed the specs -- I am talking about market share).

GIS for iPod Killer:

[microcars]

This [japantoday.com] is what shows up on the first page of a Google Image Search for iPod Killer

I have not yet seen it announced.

Watch out Apple!

(linked image is Safe for Work...)

Re:Why exactly hasn't apple done this?

[krel]

It's very keen how you figured out that Apple secretly has a plan to stamp out consumer freedoms all over the globe.
Steve Jobs is rarely caught on camera crushing puppies with his bare hands, and to the average joe his justification for running a music store with a near-zero profit simply because it will make consumers buy more iPods usually makes sense, but you've really caught on to the unimaginable depths of nazi-supporting, devil-worshiping corruption that has become nothing less than unstoppable in the hateful underbelly of Apple.
Any sane person should realize that there is no reason conceivable by God or man for the iPod not to be compatible with Ogg Vorbis. Everyone uses it these days, and ultimately it wouldn't cost Apple a single cent (because everyone knows development and support are essentially free in a huge technology company with millions of customers) so the only possible reason for Apple to deny consumers their God-given right to play Ogg Vorbis files on their iPods is that Apple secretly wants to oppress music-enthusiasts all over the world with their murderous music store.

Re:User-replacable batteries

[bitingduck]

Everything with batteries has user replaceable batteries. Just the level of technical sophistication required of the user varies.

Re:iPod Killer?

[}InFuZeD{]

Perhaps we should rename "Ogg" to "Omg".

When marketing execs hear their kids saying "omg" all the time, they would be forced to implement change.