I Am Displeased With iPod for Monopolising The MP3 Player Market

The BBQ Pit
1

I’m about to begin my second semester of studies at University and as this will involve a lot of time on public transport and time spent in front of computers at university doing work, I thought I might upgrade my current MP3 player (which is basically a 4Gb USB stick with a single-line display at an earphone jack, and has a battery life of maybe six hours if I’m lucky) to something a bit easier to use and with a longer battery life.

But there’s a catch. I don’t want an iPod. Primarily because- and this is really quite simple- I can’t be bothered fucking around with iTunes or anything like that. I just want to be able to plug my MP3 player into the computer, drag and drop the music I want (organised by folder/album) into it, and then be able to listen to it on the bus and select specific songs or albums rather than having to keep hitting the “random” button in the hope that I get a song I feel like listening to. Oh, and an FM radio with respectable reception is important, as I need to be able to listen to the news etc on the radio.

But do you know what? Pretty much every major retailer has stopped dealing with windows-based MP3 players (except at the bottom end of the market in the sub-$50 1-2Gb shut-the-kids-up models), it seems.

I’m really not exaggerating. There are two stores I’ve been two with MP3 players that suit my requirements, and one of them isn’t much better than what I’ve got (albeit with a longer battery) and the other is more than I would like to spend. Now, I know well-meaning people out there are going to come in and suggest I try buying online, but that’s not something I’m comfortable doing, as (having worked in retail electronics) I know that MP3 players are sometimes given to Not Working Properly, and if I’m paying good money for one then I really want the ability to go into a store and say “This isn’t working, can I have another one please?”

Anyway, back on to my original point: Nearly all the major retailers have pretty much switched over to retailing iPods exclusively, basically because that’s what people want. (“iPod” long having become a synonym for “Any MP3 player” in this part of the world). Fine, that’s the business choice they’ve made, and it’s obviously working for them. Apparently.

But the lack of choice for consumers still pisses me off- iPods are expensive and need iTunes to work. Sure, lots of people like them, and they’re allowed to. But not everyone wants Funky Colours or Accessories, and our options shouldn’t be limited to “USB sticks with earphone jacks” or “Not much cheaper than an iPod but with a complicated interface or un-necessary touch-screens”.

The thing is, I know these MP3 players exist (Creative and iRiver make excellent and affordable MP3 players of the type I’m looking for) because I’ve seen them online- but they’re not in stores, because most stores are now only selling iPods.

So, I hereby express my displeasure at Apple for monopolising the retail MP3 player market and making it unnecessarily frustrating for me to purchase a simple, reliable, affordable MP3 player. Yes, this rant lacks vitriol, but seeing as most of the replies are likely to be “There’s nothing wrong with Apple!” or “You should buy an MP3 player online”, I didn’t see the point in getting worked up over it. :wink:

2

The only thing I have to say is that you have a different definition of “monopoly” than I’ve seen generally used. :slight_smile:

3

Anapod Explorer pretty much does this. But, yes, it’s a piece of software and you can’t use the iPod as a USB mass storage device right out of the box.

:confused: That is how a normal iPod works.

4

itunes is the Microsoft of MP3 players.

5

Have you considered Sansa? I just got a 4GB Sansa Fuse from Best Buy that I’m pretty happy with, and the Sansa View has a 32GB player with an FM receiver and video playback for about $250.

6

I just bought a Sony Walkman with 8GB. Could have stood larger, but I’m not overwhelmed with the reviews of the hard-drive based players. 8GB just barely held all of my 160 CDs that I ripped, so that works.

When I was in the store, making my final decision after my research, I also saw three or four other non-Apple players.

7

Dude, check out the Sansa Clip, available in 2 and 4gig sizes. Someone else here pointed me toward it and I couldn’t be happier. It’s almost as small as a Shuffle, but has a bright, easy-to-read screen, 12+hour battery life, and no bullshit softwate; it’s all drag and drop. Best of all, they’re cheap! Like $50-60 cheap. Many stores carry them, so keep an eye out.

8

I use Creative Zen and it’s compatible with Windows. Not as cheap as a Sansa (damn, that is a good price), more like $100, but it’s easy to use, small, cute, and most importantly doesn’t break. My iPods kept breaking every six months till I finally jettisoned it.

9

Are you aware that it’s only the iPod shuffle that gives you no choice over what plays next? The other iPods all allow you to create playlists or to play individual songs and albums in order, along with repeat for individual songs, albums and playlists, or to pick and choose songs or albums on the fly.

iTunes is fine if you’re not a power user. It uploads from your CD’s virtually automatically and anything you buy from the iTunes store shows up immediately. I’ve had very little trouble downloading and dropping songs from other sources as well, but it did require some trial-and-error tweaking.

I would highly recommend the iPod Touch. It’s virtually a PDA plus you get internet access from Wi Fi hotspots. I use mine for all sorts of things in addition to music. I love the little sucker. Check one out at an Apple store if you have them there, or at whatever retailer sells them. They should have some that you can play with to see what they have and how you like them.

10

I think a few of you have completely missed the point of my OP- I know what features the various iPods have and how they work. I used to sell them. My complaint is how bloody difficult it is to get a decent MP3 player that isn’t an iPod. I’m aware of brands like SanDisk and Creative and iRiver- the challenge is actually finding a suitable unit in a retail store to purchase.

I don’t want an iPod. I don’t like them, I can’t afford one even if I did like them, and I don’t care for many of the “features” they boast. I want a drag-and-drop MP3 player with a decent battery life. As it happens, I think I’ve managed to track one down, but it’s taken a long time- far longer than it should. Because on-line retailing in this country sucks (I live in Australia) and the retail stores are all (or appear to be) largely iPod-exclusive now.

I do appreciate the player suggestions, though. I’ve got many of the same players on my “possibles” list, but the problem is that none of the stores I’ve visited have them- because most places are dealing with iPod almost exclusively now, and the few non-iPod players are cheap and nasty 2GB USB sticks with earphone jacks, for the most part. That’s what I was talking about in my OP- not “Non-iPod MP3 players don’t exist!” but rather “The shops here only sell iPods and that annoys me.”

11

Can’t you j ust buy online?

12

Okay then, nevermind. Your comment about having to keep pushing the button in hopes of getting the song you want made me think you didn’t know much about them.

13

That was in reference to the various “budget” non-iPod MP3 players which mostly have, at best, a single line display and no easy way of selecting a specific song short of either setting it to “random” and seeing what you get or having to manually cycle through 4Gb of music one song (and button press) at a time until you find what you want.

14

Guess that’s what I get for skimming instead of reading, eh? :stuck_out_tongue:

My apologies.

15

If you’re in the market for a cellphone too I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of my G1 as an mp3 player. Putting music on it is no harder then mounting the phone’s microsd card as a usb mass storage device and copying the tunes over. The media player is simple to use and simple to make playlists with. Plus you get youtube videos on the go and stuff. It also has 3.2 megapixel camera, and full ADP2 stereo bluetooth support so you can get some wireless headphones for it. It also has GPS and google maps.

There’s even a torrent client for Android now, so you can pirate music directly to it, if you’re into that.

Storage it comes with a 1 GiB microsd class 6 card, but I upgraded mine to a 8 GiB SDHC class 4 card for $18 which I bought at a retail store.Online I could have gotten a similar card for around $10.

About the only downside is it needs an adapter for 3.5 MM headphones, but it comes with one.

16

That’s OK… happens to the best of us. :slight_smile:

Interesting suggestion! I might look into something like that when I do go and get a new phone.

17

So, you’re upset at Apple because if you ignore the thriving market of less expensive alternatives, iPod is monopolizing the market?

How does online retail suck in your country? Does NewEgg not ship there? Buy.com?

18

I hear the Texas Rangers shortstop, Omar Vizquel, brought his three kangaroos into the clubhouse before a game. Maybe he’d have ideas on a good MP3 player for Australians.

19

It’s not so much Apple that’s the problem to me, it’s their competitors. It seems as if all the competitors (other than Microsoft Zune, which is a whole 'nother story for another time) looked at the iPod and thought, “We can’t compete with that, so we’re aiming low.”

I’ve got two MP3 players which I got for nothing–one I found in an empty parking lot, the other was a work service award–but which retail at under $50. One’s a Creative Zen, the other a Coby Something. They’re both easy to use but have almost no features. The Coby won’t even let you put music in folders. Compare this with my stepson’s more pricey iPod, which has features coming out its ass but is a massive pain in the butt to use. Every time he syncs it or downloads a new song something goes haywire.

There’s got to be some forward-thinking company out there willing to put out an MP3 player which combines “lots of features” with “ease of use.” There’s certainly money to be made. I’d be willing to drop a couple hundred on such a product, and I’m sure I’m not alone.

20

Can you people not read or something? He doesn’t want to buy it online because he wants to be able to walk into a shop and exchange it if it isn’t working.

I can’t imagine an American store having that kind of policy at all, at least outside the return period- once your 30 days are up, if your device stops working it’s the manufacturer’s problem- but I can sort of see where he’s coming from.

I don’t understand why he’s pitting Apple or iPods, though. Blame your retailers for following the herd. It’s not like Apple is forcing the other manufacturers out of business.