Jukebox vs Portable - Target Market?
Jun 3, 2005 at 2:46 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 1

pretzelb

100+ Head-Fier
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
Posts
211
Likes
0
Silly question but after browsing this forum for a while I'm a bit puzzled as to how to proceed for my first purchase. I'm looking at the products in the $180 - $220 range and it seems like there are two distinct groups.

First there are the jukebox types with 20gb or more storage. I think the Karma is a good example of this type. Then there are the "more portable" versions with around 5gb of storage. I lump the iPod Mini and the Zen Micro in this category. The confusing part is there is very little difference in price in many cases.

At first I thought that the different unit types were meeting a different market need, basically the jukebox was more for the person who wanted to play something in a different room (living room, at the office) but the portable player was for the person on the go (jogging, skiing, riding the bus). But, as I read more and more it seems like many people are using the jukebox units (like the Karma for example) and using them when jogging or skiing. If a jukebox can do that then why do I need a "portable"?

So my question (finally) what "need" is met by the different category of players? What is it that makes a person buy a jukebox vs a portable? Is it really just a matter of disk space? Or maybe is it the smaller size offered by things like the iPod Mini or the Zen Micro make it worth the small disk space? Is there some other features besides size or disk space that I'm missing?

Seems to me if a jukebox is capable of being used during a jog, and it's cost is close to that of a smaller unit, then the it's 4x storage should make it an easy decision. Then again, I think I'm missing something.

Sorry for the rambling but I plan to make just one purchase (I'm not as hard core as many of you) so I'm trying to make sure I make the right one.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top