Dell Digital Jukebox and Dell Music Store

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by shadowfax
what's your point? i'm sorry that my analogy was not accurate enough for you to get the gist of what i meant.

OMFG! that dodge ram is a TOTAL ripoff of that Toyota pickup! look, they both have headlights, wheels, seats, beds, windows, doors... the similarities are striking. someone should be suing someone here!

All trucks look remarkably similar. However, in terms of MP3 players, the iPod does not look like other MP3 players. Dell's DJ is similar to the iPod, although whether it's similar enough to be a ripoff I don't know. I think it looks ugly enough to not be a ripoff, personally

Was the Chevrolet El Camino a ripoff of the Ford Ranchero? I think that, essentially, is the question that most resembles the question, "Is the Dell DJ a ripoff of the iPod?"

I'm not sure either way, but it's not valuable to utterly dismiss any discussion of the issue without consideration.

 

[the_mole1314]

I think Dell will be surprised soon on how big the Apple Legal Department is. Can anyone say candy-colored E-Machines? Also, I wonder if the Dell Music Store will feature 10 burns, unlimited downloads to it's iDJ, and will have brushed metal? I just wonder....

 

[scem0]

I think it looks really nice.

The iPod still looks a little bit better though.

scem0

 

[reyesmac]

Good for Dell, better for Apple customers

I just saw that the Nintendo Gamecube is selling for $99!!! Why? Competition! I hope this makes Apple create an iPod that anyone can afford. It's about time. It will be good for everyone.
In case they don't though, I hope this new Dell pod will work with iTunes.

 

[DeusOmnis]

i think dell and apple are secretly working together....

 

[scem0]

Re: Good for Dell, better for Apple customers

Originally posted by reyesmac
I just saw that the Nintendo Gamecube is selling for $99!!! Why? Competition! I hope this makes Apple create an iPod that anyone can afford. It's about time. It will be good for everyone.
In case they don't though, I hope this new Dell pod will work with iTunes.

Knowing apple, they will go up to 60 gig, add more features, and jack up the price.

I hope your right though...

scem0

 

[tazo]

Originally posted by MoparShaha
Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. That music player is such a blatant rip-off of the iPod. I really wish the iTMS for windows would hurry up and get here.

why? because it plays music and is an mp3 player? riiiight. you're going to have to come up with a better explanation; the thing looks nothing like it besides the white trim; which is not even the same color as the ipod's. I extremely dislike mac users who think anything that comes after any mac product is a 'blatant ripoff'.

It is almost always untrue, and almost always lends itself to more erroneous statements by MR members.

Can't we all just accept other companies make mp3 players?

 

[Phil Of Mac]

Re: Re: Good for Dell, better for Apple customers

Originally posted by scem0
Knowing apple, they will go up to 60 gig, add more features, and jack up the price.

I hope your right though...

scem0

Apple will probably keep the price the same.

*sigh* All this as soon as I buy an iPod.

 

[scem0]

Originally posted by tazo
why? because it plays music and is an mp3 player? riiiight. you're going to have to come up with a better explanation; the thing looks nothing like it besides the white trim; which is not even the same color as the ipod's. I extremely dislike mac users who think anything that comes after any mac product is a 'blatant ripoff'.

It is almost always untrue, and almost always lends itself to more erroneous statements by MR members.

Can't we all just accept other companies make mp3 players?

I agree.

Although I do think it looks like the iPod.

Who cares though? If apple is such a superior company then the iPod will sell and Dell's won't. If that isn't the case then you can't blame people for getting the better deal.

scem0

[edit]

Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
Apple will probably keep the price the same.

*sigh* All this as soon as I buy an iPod.

thats probably true. They will probably keep the same prices and add some more features. [/edit]

 

[Juventuz]

I'm going to have to agree with the minority here, I like the way it looks. I'm in no way saying I'd buy it, but I do like the way it looks.

I LOVE my iPod and am thinking of getting another one, but if I was strictly a wintel user I'd consider the dell mp3 player. Let's be honest here, price matters to a lot of people.

 

[Gymnut]

Originally posted by tazo
why? because it plays music and is an mp3 player? riiiight. you're going to have to come up with a better explanation; the thing looks nothing like it besides the white trim; which is not even the same color as the ipod's. I extremely dislike mac users who think anything that comes after any mac product is a 'blatant ripoff'.

It is almost always untrue, and almost always lends itself to more erroneous statements by MR members.

Can't we all just accept other companies make mp3 players?

Well, who can blame them? Apple has always kicked down doors and blazed new paths with PC manufactuers close in tow. I recall the emachine was a rip off of the original imac. Perhaps imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Goes to show how unimaginative and uninnovate PC manufactuers are.

 

[macnews]

Originally posted by tazo
why? because it plays music and is an mp3 player? riiiight. you're going to have to come up with a better explanation; the thing looks nothing like it besides the white trim; which is not even the same color as the ipod's. I extremely dislike mac users who think anything that comes after any mac product is a 'blatant ripoff'.

It is almost always untrue, and almost always lends itself to more erroneous statements by MR members.

Can't we all just accept other companies make mp3 players?

Umm, Michael Dell has said he was coping Apple because they do things well - this was a general comment not specifically about the mp3 player. The dell model is a copy of the iPod with some changes - this is rather obvious from the outer appearance. The inside/functionality of it might be different, but looks help Apple sell.

However, I agree with you in that we do need to accept other companies make similar products to Apple. Always have, always will.

What this will come down to, in my opinion, is how easily you can mix/rip/burn so to speak. What sort of limitations are with the music you download? Sony has a very interesting little mp3 player but it sucks because of DRM. My guess is dell will only as good as Apple will get, if not one step down - since Apple is now a proven good client to the labels.

 

[solvs]

Some of you seem to be missing the point. Dell is doing the same thing Gateway did with their iMac ripoff, BuyMusic did with their commercials, M$ does with... well, everything. They insult Apple, then rip them off. This DellPod may not look exactly like the iPod, it will probably be cheaper and sell pretty well to the masses, and may even be an ok product.

That's not the point. Michael Dell is always talkin' trash about Apple and Steve Jobs. Then they copy them. Apple may not have been first, but at least sometimes they innovate. They can take existing products and make them better (not just cheaper). Wireless networking, mp3 players, online music stores, all-in-one computers. Computers period.

The rest are just pale imitators. The best part, though, is that every time this product is reviewed they will say "well, it's no iPod". Apple legal probably won't even bother with them. Every time someone has a bad experiance with one people will just say "shoulda bought an iPod". Cheap knockoffs have their market, but you get what you pay for.

And, I mean, c'mon. Did it really have to be white? It's obvious that they are trying to capitalize on the iPod. "It's not a rip, it's a compliment... really".

 

[Gorbag]

Re: actually the scroll wheel like the mouse is a bad idea

Originally posted by bellychris
the scroll wheel on the dells music player is good for webpages. But try to scroll through 1000's of songs. I dont see how it can be accelerated like the ipod is if you have to take your finger off of it. Well even if it is accelerated there is no way it can be as fluid as the touch sensitive scroll wheel on the ipod is

Er, think of what you do in Windows with a scroll wheel. You press it in, and a pointer icon appears. You then move the mouse, and the page scrolls proportionately to the mouse movement. You could adapt this for teh Dell, by pressing the wheel in once, and then move the wheel up, or down. The further you move the wheel from centre, the faster the scrolling.

Not unlike a pitch bend wheel on a synth!.

No difficult to do, I'd guess, and, as nobody has actually tried one out, it COULD work that way on a Dell. Means you DON'T have to repetitively lift your finger of the wheel.

But I bet they didn't!

 

[asphalt-proof]

I think that this is very good. (dell making an ipod like devise). It will drive down the price of all ipod-like devises. Why? Economy of scale. More harddrive devise makers will start making that size of drives making the price much lower of the drive. lower price on the drive will drive down the retail price. Everybody wins.
BUT.. I doubt Apple will lower their prices. Its just not interested in appealing to the lowest consumer denominator. That is not a bad thing.
As far as being a design rippoff... it rectangle and that is probably more drive by the form of the hardrive. Its going to be a common and intuitive design no matter the end manufacturer. the buttons are different. Really the only thing that makes it look like an ipod is the color and the rounded corners. I haven't heard of any car manufacturers sueing each other for the color of their paint being too similar to their own.
I used a jog wheel on an hp hadhelpd and loved it. it was perfect and intuitive for reading books. it was on the side of the unit, however for my thumb. don't know where the dell is. if its on the front of the unit then it would be awkward. I tried out an ipod and wasn't really wowed at the store by the thumb wheel navigation. still want one and hopefully will get it tomorrow when i buy my powerbook.

 

[asphalt-proof]

Okay just looked at the picture of the thing and saw where the scroll wheel is.. don't like it at all. what i liked about my pda was that the scroll wheel was on the left hand side at the top. my thumb fit naturally on it when hodling it. very well designed in my opinion. this thing on the front of the dell unit doesn't make any design sense at all. a mechanical d-pad would be better but then it would be a bit too much like the apple (even more than the size shape and color). Bad, bad, design. Ironically, i bet it sells well at first simply because no one will be able to play with it when considering a purchase. but i bet a lot of them will end up on ebay in a few months. this is a good thing for apple.

 

[rickvanr]

Re: regarding competition

Originally posted by Photorun
Doubtful Apple will lower their prices so nobody get their hopes up. Apple has spent it's entire existance pretty clueless that in some cases a lower price means more volume and more adoption of product.

If apple lowered there prices there would be a percieved notion that quality would also be lowered. That would be bad for apple.

That is why you see apple dropping prices $100 here, and a $100 there, over time i think apple will compete with other Pc makers prices, they will just do it as a gradual change so that it isnt so obvious. They also need the extra revenue for R&D, which is very expensive

 

[kiwi_the_iwik]

OK, OK - so Dell jumped on the MP3 player bandwagon. Big deal.

What you guys AREN'T seeing is that it's NO challenge to Apple in the slightest. In fact, it's more of a motivational platform.

When was the iPod first released? Nearly 2 years ago?!? Well - it's nearly due for a radical new design - with new applications and features.

What Dell have bought out is a piece of technology that is over 18 months old. And THAT will make their product suffer.

The beauty of competition is that it brings out the best in a person - or in Apple's case, in a company.

Don't be surprised to see that Apple's NEXT incarnation of the iPod will blow any and all competition clear out of the water.

We've come to expect such miracles from Apple - and that's why we love 'em...

 

[scem0]

Originally posted by solvs
Some of you seem to be missing the point. Dell is doing the same thing Gateway did with their iMac ripoff, BuyMusic did with their commercials, M$ does with... well, everything. They insult Apple, then rip them off. This DellPod may not look exactly like the iPod, it will probably be cheaper and sell pretty well to the masses, and may even be an ok product.

Why do you say they ripping off apple?

Because they are making a mp3 player with lots of storage space which has a white frame?

Apple did not invent the mp3 player, sorry.

 

[Wash!!]

That' not the point

Originally posted by scem0
Why do you say they ripping off apple?

Because they are making a mp3 player with lots of storage space which has a white frame?

Apple did not invent the mp3 player, sorry.

True Apple did not invent the mp3 they took it to the next level, the point is that Dell instead of "innovate" just plain and simple copied the concept and the look just like they do with everything Apple does, for every great Apple product there is a bad Dell copy of it and they have the nerve to say that it is innovation..please.

no matter how you look at it will be an still is a really bad copy of the ipod

 

[dilg]

Call me strange, but my first impression was not of an iPod rip-off. Does this device look familiar?

http://www.palmone.com/us/products/handhelds/zire/details.html

So they use a blue backlight - so what. It's a popular LED color and not too expensive either. I actually like the look of this player, and I like the new Phillips player too. Not as cool as my 3g iPod, but I wouldn't be embarassed to carry them around in public. As someone else said, Apple found the ideal portable music player form factor two years ago, and the competition is just now understanding that.

 

[shadowfax]

Re: That' not the point

Originally posted by Wash!!
for every great Apple product there is a bad Dell copy of it and they have the nerve to say that it is innovation..please.

yeah, the extensive Dell lineup is a total ripoff of apple; it has exactly dorresponding copies for everything. right.

come on people. sure, this design was pioneered by apple, but now that they have laid out the general principles, the fact that they are loosely imitated by other companies doesn't make it a rip-off. do you guys realize what a ripoff is? it's basically making the exact same product with a different name on it. if you're dumb enough to think that's what this is, then i truly pity you.

dell is not into product innovation, and this is no exception to that. but that doesn't make them lame copycats.

 

[Belly-laughs]

Madly amused.

Stop defending your dad, man! If you ask him I bet he´d rather work at Apple.

 

[Wash!!]

Yes they do

Everytime they come out and say that came out with a innovate product that is a copy of an Apple product sample " We are the first laptop with wireless connectivity" duh!! Ti powerbook please sing that song to some one else. All the pcee world is the same they copy whatever Apple comes out with...

 

[jaykk]

None of the have the 'coolness'

This is the real rip off of ipod.

I can't believe its not iPod: Zen NX jukebox launches

All these companies will alwsys copy, but apple will bring the 'next big thing' and it will take them 2 yrs or more to copy. But none of them gets the 'coolness' factor apple brings. And of late, even sony can't bring that coolness. No wonder iPod have a huge marketshare in Japan. You will see a lot of dullpods on the street, but only one mp3 player stands out from the rest of it, and that is our beloved iPod from apple. I doubt Dell or Gates can ever bring that "coolness" factor to their products. Gates and Dell is more successful than Jobs if you measure in terms pure money they are minting, but Jobs' vision is different.