[blessingx]

See here.

 

[apnk]

Interesting.

What players is Samsung bringing out?

 

[blessingx]

Here's a few and here's a related article.

New models include a cheaper version of its limited edition Yepp YP-W3, a 900,000-won white gold-plated MP3 pocket watch with diamond trim and scratch-resistant sapphire glass. The less expensive version does not have diamond trim and sapphire glass.

 

[apnk]

the 3rd player looks like a cell phone.

 

[Zappa74]

Quote:

“We are working hard to be a strong number two player in the market,” Sim said on a conference call.

Now I know that he's just being realistic, but it sure is weird to see a big company actually say we're working hard to be second best.

 

[bangraman]

I'd have their marketing guys fired, they do not have a clue. Maybe their design guys too.

 

[adhoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman I'd have their marketing guys fired, they do not have a clue. Maybe their design guys too.

agreed. the zen touch was an amazingly ugly piece of work. it doesnt even qualify as having an 'industrial' look.

and fwiw, samsung joining the dap fray is imo going to be a non-issue. i know their players have not reached US markets yet, but over here in asia, their mp3 players are ridiculously overpriced. just yesterday morning i saw an ad for a 256mb 'yepp' player that was more expensive than a 1gb shuffle.

yepp? nope.

 

[maxsnowboard]

I think Creative players are just fine, the micro's are great and look good too, theyre not iPods but perform flawlessly (at least in my experience). Still, I think they need a huge Ad campaign for people to actualy know they exist, because many people I know think iPods are the only mp3 players there, and that's something creative is gonna have to battle.

 

[blessingx]

Well at least here in the Bay Area, Creative (and a much lesser extent iRiver) has had massive billboard campaigns. Every electronics store here (CompUSA, Good Guys, Circuit City, Fry's, Best Buy, etc.) has at least the Zen Micro next to the iPod. And in a few places like California, they even have brick and mortars in the form of "Cambridge Soundworks" (bought five or so years ago), which while not as busy as your typical Apple store, is at least connected to audio and on peoples radar. Since about November there's been a big push there for Creative MP3 window/shelf space (in fact I'm a tad worried about CSW life as Creative is taking over).

Plus remember they've reported to spend $100 million in advertising this year. How much of that went into these (yeah, I'll post one more time) I don't know.

Never saw them broadcast.

But if the numbers in the article are true, Creative is betting the kitchen sink on this gamble. Pretty risky. I hope it doesn't backfire, as competition is good. But we did see Creative change their prices (was it even a week?) after Apple, and now we see the results on their bottom line. Suppose this should be titled Price Wars 1, but I hope we haven't seen an indicator of the first causality. Don't know which if more worrisome, the numbers or comments like "Sim said the supply of components for MP3 players was tight during the quarter, saying he saw no need for Apple to have cut prices.." Is that not a good sign in several ways, or is it just me?

 

[maxsnowboard]

I've visited circuit city's several times and the zen micro has been in the top rated or most popular (don't remember) in the mp3 player front page. About billboards, I live in Caracas Venezuela so I wouldn't know but micros have been arriving, which Creative should consider an accomplishment because technology advances relatively slow here, and so far, only iPods.

 

[mushu]

I can imagine samsung becoming one of the top DAP manufactures you know. They've done it with almost all markets recently, LCD monitors, TV's, mobile phones etc.

 

[yeeyy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mushu I can imagine samsung becoming one of the top DAP manufactures you know. They've done it with almost all markets recently, LCD monitors, TV's, mobile phones etc.

Not mobile phone yet. I still prefer a Nokia.

 

[JWFokker]

I like Samsung phones better, but Nokia still has consistently better reception than any other manufacturer, and that's what decides it for me.

But as for DAPs, Samsung and Creative and Sony really need to follow the Apple price scheme. The cost is no object market that buys $300+ players partly as a status symbol and the budget $99 or less market that just want a cool looking player for cheap, regardless of quality or features. But the thing is, everyone except sony prices all their players between $150-250 and it's a deadzone. If Samsung dropped some features off their Yepp series and came out with a $99 1GB player, they'd sell like hotcakes. Maybe not as well as the shuffle because they don't have the brand recognition, but you can bet it'd be a better player. And considering the size of Samsung and Sony, they certainly would have scale of economy on their side and could produce $99 players that are still profitable will ease. It wouldn't take much to have a better player than a shuffle. Of course, they'd need better design teams because most players are ugly. Sony's are okay, but they're still a bit gaudy. Samsung players just look a bit dorky. They should steal mpio designs maybe. Creative I think will just eventually go under. The market for educated buyers isn't that large. Sony and Samsung will eventually get their acts together and squeeze the smaller players out, like Rio and Creative. They should probably stop trying to compete and just produce a higher quality player for the audiophile market and charge $300-400 for it. They're not big enough to take on Apple or the other major players once they get in the game. And their players are UGLY, despite their attempt at the iPod look.