iPod What Happened to the iPod killer media craze?

yoman said:

Ever since the announcement of the iPhone in January the media has been buzzing about the iPhone and what possible competitors it will face. Has the battle againt the iPod already ended? Will "iPhone KILLER" be the new headline found in countless articles for years to come? Is the term "iPod KILLER" a last season fad?

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That phrase died when the Zune became a faillure... a royal dissappoinment that is.

Maybe the iPod 'killer' will be the iPhone? It could end up as the 2nd largest music player?

Someone will eventually make a hot competitive product. However, just the term 'iPod' defines the market. Companies dream of achieving that with one of their products. Once there, it is pretty difficult to uproot them. As long as the iPod keeps developing, and remains a moving target, I do not see them losing significant marketshare. iPod is a great product. Who needs a 'Killer'?

What'chu talkin 'bout.

The Zune instantly took 20% of the market.

That Ballmer.

mcarnes said:

What'chu talkin 'bout.

The Zune instantly took 20% of the market.

That Ballmer.

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Well, you have to say things like that if you're the CEO. It's like being a politician, you have to call your constituents the best in the country.

But don't count out the Zune(no, seriously. stop laughing). They're selling just enough to keep making them. 1 million is just enough for them to stay in it. It's like the Starbucks strategy. They'll operate at a loss to gain marketshare. At 1 million units, they're probably breaking even, which is enough incentive for them to keep it around for a couple more years.

mcarnes said:

What'chu talkin 'bout.

The Zune instantly took 20% of the market.

That Ballmer.

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Haha, I played lacrosse against his son once. His kid is as weird as him.

w_parietti22 said:

Haha, I played lacrosse against his son once. His kid is as weird as him.

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Did you ask him for some money?

SMM said:

Someone will eventually make a hot competitive product.

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The full size iPod is, for me at least, by far the best larger capacity player available at the moment.

However, the Nano - although a great little machine - doesn't have quite the enviable positon of its bigger brother. I recently plumped for the iRiver Clix 2 and am very very impressed; the screen is outstanding and the battery life really does dwarve that of my girlfriend's Nano. Best of all: the sound quality is superb.

I know iRivers have been expensive in the past, but i got my 4GB version new for £100 ($200) on ebay.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/multimedia/review/2007/05/04/Iriver-clix-2-4GB-MP3-Media-Player/p1

Nice design too.

Sorry if that turned into a bit a clix advert

They don't seem to exist at the moment. The Zune certainly was not the last hope to topple the mighty iPod. They exist but currently are only iPod "co-existers". Similar to the iPod but without the press and hype to push them to victory.
Creative players for example are a worthy adversary.

I really don't think that ANY product announced as an 'iPod killer" will in fact become such. Was there ever an announced Walkman killer, or Xerox machine killer, Klennex killer. iPod defines a market as well as a specific product. What will happen is some new product will come along and make the iPod no longer relevant. Maybe it is the iPhone, or maybe some technology come along that will redefine (again) how music is consumed.

With their achievements, I think the only company to be able to "kill" the iPod is Apple. Through a new product, closure, or ending the device itself. It's just become so synomonous with portable music/video playing. Everyone in my house has one ('cept my dear mother), even after evaluating other devices they all chose iPods. The only thing that came close was "an MP4 player, is that better than an iPod?"