Well-designed iPod upstarts
are music for the budget
By Mike Langberg
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Here's a pearl of wisdom for the week: Products that are adequate and inexpensive often triumph over products that are better and cost more.
I'm betting this will prove true in the market for hard-disk portable music players, now dominated by Apple Computer's elegant and expensive iPod.
While Apple has received all kinds of publicity for the iPod, rival Creative Labs has pulled into a tight No. 2 position through its well-designed, if less slick, Nomad Jukebox line. With prices significantly lower than Apple, Creative could pull ahead.
Nomad Jukebox Zen
Creative Labs
Storage: 20 GB (5,000 songs @ 128 kbps) or 60 GB (16,000 songs)
Size: 3 inches wide x 4.4 inches high x 1 inch deep
Weight: 9.5 ounces
How it works: Transfers music and data files from your home PC or Mac using USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 compatible port
Playback formats: MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3), Windows Media Audio (WMA) and WAV
Rip CDs? Yes
Battery life: 14 hours of playtime
Price: $299 (20 GB), $399 (60 GB)
Creative is already out front of Apple in capacity; the new Nomad Jukebox Zen (www.creative.com) at $399 offers an awesome 60 gigabytes of storage. Apple's iPod (www.apple.com/ipod) at the same price offers only 15 GB, with a $499 model at 30 GB.
I'm also betting hard-disk players, a niche product today, will become very popular. As more and more people maintain big libraries of digital music on their computers, hard-disk players offer a huge advantage over portable CD players or memory-chip players: You can put your entire music collection in your pocket, not just a small selection of songs.
Creative saw the opportunity first, introducing the original Nomad Jukebox with a 6 GB hard drive at $499 in September 2000. Apple followed with the first iPod in November 2001.
But Creative lacks Apple's not-so-secret weapon: founder, chairman and chief evangelist Steve Jobs. I've watched with equal parts frustration and admiration as Jobs repeatedly unveils Apple products with such flair that otherwise skeptical journalists don't question his assertions — and give their audience the impression Apple is creating pure innovation rather than building on the painstaking work of others.
Which doesn't mean the iPod is undeserving of praise. There's no question in my mind the iPod is the best digital music player on the market today, if money is no object.
The three current iPod models — 10 GB for $299, 15 GB for $399 and 30 GB for $499 — are truly portable; about the size of a pack of playing cards and weighing a mere 5.6 to 6.2 ounces. They run for eight hours on a rechargeable battery and work with either Windows or Macintosh computers. They synchronize with iTunes software on the Mac or MusicMatch on Windows to automatically transfer any new music on your computer into the iPod.
iPod
Apple Computer
Storage: 10 GB (2,500 songs @ 128kbps), 15 GB (3,700 songs), 30 GB (7,500 songs)
Size: 2.4 inches wide x 4.1 inches high x 0.6 inch deep (10 GB, 15 GB); 2.4 x 4.1 x 0.7 (30 GB)
Weight: 5.6 ounces (30 GB model is 6.2 ounces)
How it works: Transfers music and data files from your home PC or Mac using USB 2.0 dock connector and wired remote connector
Playback formats: AAC, AIFF for Mac, MP3 and WAV for Mac and Windows
Rip CDs? Yes
Battery life: 8 hours of playtime
Price: $299 (10 GB), $399 (15 GB), $499 (30 GB)
Even 10 GB is more capacity than most people need, enough to hold 250 to 300 music CDs converted to the compressed MP3 format.
Creative, meanwhile, has been pushing down prices. A few months ago, with little fanfare, Creative broke through the $200 price point with its 10 GB Nomad Jukebox 2 at $199 — occasionally discounted with rebates to as little as $149. The Jukebox 2 is considerably bigger than the iPod and somewhat heavier, but it's a bargain.
The Jukebox Zen line, consisting of a 20 GB model for $299 and the 60 GB model at $399, is a much closer match to the iPod.
I borrowed the 60 GB model, available only by ordering directly from Creative's Web site and in such demand that it's often out of stock, and found much to like.
The Zen is about a half-inch wider, higher and thicker than the iPod, and at 9.5 ounces is about a third heavier. The LCD window that displays information on the music stored inside is smaller, and the control wheel and buttons for navigating to your selection are tiny and awkward.
But, aside from the slight extra heft and somewhat longer time to find individual tracks, the Zen played back my 5.3 GB collection of MP3 music with no problems. The battery life, at 14 hours, also exceeds iPod.
The Zen even has some features Apple's iPod lacks. Unlike the iPod, the Zen will play Microsoft's WMA format and can make voice recording with an optional wired remote that costs $69. Both the Zen and iPod, by the way, can store data files as well as music, acting like an external hard drive for your computer.
I haven't yet bought a portable hard-disk music player, although I'm interested. When I do take the plunge, I'm not going to spend $300 or $400 or $500. So, unless Apple makes a sudden and unexpected change in strategy, I probably won't be buying an iPod. Creative's adequate and inexpensive line will meet my needs.
Meanwhile, competition is gradually picking up. Although Apple and Creative are the only two big contenders today in portable hard-disk players, more than half-dozen other companies offer one or two models, including Archos (www.archos.com), Philips (www.consumer.philips.com), RCA (www.rca.com) and Toshiba (www.tacp.toshiba.com).
By the end of September, two more companies are expected to roll out products: Rio (www.rioaudio.com), formerly part of the defunct Sonicblue and now re-emerging under new ownership, and Samsung (www.samsungusa.com).
AI
