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http://www.macnn.com/articles/02/12/06/column:.nomad/

Column: Nomad Zen pricing threatens iPod

updated 04:45 pm EST, Fri December 6, 2002

", 0, 0);

A CNN Technology article favors Creative's , and credited the Zen as the best moderately-priced player.

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12/06, 04:55pm | report spam | close Reply |
oh my GOD

....I can see alot of messages a cumming.....

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12/06, 04:57pm | report spam | close Reply |
LOL

I like that. Its much better than the ipod.

Well apart from this.. oh and that.. and it uses USB... but thats all... and well its 5lbs... but other than those points... and its not mac compatable... and quite ugly... but OTHER than those points, its much better than the iPod.

iPod?

OHHH! I thought we were talking about a Skoda

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12/06, 04:59pm | report spam | close Reply |
wondering

I was wondering the same this... usb, heavy, not mac compatable, ugly... yes, we like it better cause it's cheaper.

you get what you pay for.

that being said, the iPod is too expensive... but I still love mine.

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12/06, 04:59pm | report spam | close Reply |
LOL 2

So it is our choice, but it really is not better, but they gave us more money than Apple...and Macs suck anyway...so we think that the Nomad is better. Joke!

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12/06, 05:00pm | report spam | close Reply |
Rebates bite

You know why the manufacturers give nice-looking rebates instead of just knocking the price off at the store, don't you? They make it tougher than toenails to actually get that money back after you buy the thing. You have to jump through a bunch of hoops, and then they make the actual check look like junkmail so you'll accidentally throw it out...

Bunch of crooks...

I feel much better now. Thanks for listening.

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12/06, 05:01pm | report spam | close Reply |
Wow

How long would it take to transfer 20GB through USB?

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12/06, 05:04pm | report spam | close Reply |
article said ...

The Zen looks like the iPod's less refined but handsome cousin. Its brushed aluminum body measuring 2.99-by-4.43-by-.95-inches fits comfortably in one hand. And its lines are clean and rectangular. The unit weighs 9.5 ounces, and one of my favorite features is the jog dial on the unit that lets you easily scroll to songs and press the dial to play.

The unit connects to your computer via USB port and FireWire. Right now, it only works with Window's PCs, not Apple products. And the Zen lets you connect and share your music collections in multiple computers. By contrast, the iPod, according to reviewers who have tried it, has light copy protection that only allows syncing to one computer.

Another handy Zen feature is that you can recharge it via your laptop's USB port, which could save you the trouble of carrying a separate charger when you travel.

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12/06, 05:06pm | report spam | close Reply |
>>

�

�

FIREWIRE ALSO not just USB!!!!

�

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12/06, 05:07pm | report spam | close Reply |
rebate

even without the $50 rebate, its still comes to about $250.00 for a 20Gb model.

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12/06, 05:08pm | report spam | close Reply |
The Zen is not usb only

it also has a FireWire port.

The zen has a greater value for the bucks.

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12/06, 05:15pm | report spam | close Reply |
its time

while I think the Zen is probably a much less attractive unit than the iPod, Apple needs to get realistic with the price, for its time the iPod was a bit pricey but so was the hardware, now that the technology used is much more commonplace and the competition is gaining ground, Apple should get its act together and get some really competitive pricing going.

Oh and rebates Blow Monkeys. Another point against them, when you pay added tax (15% in ontario) you get the rebate, but not the tax for that money back. Which causes me to wonder where all that money is going.
Rebates are barely honest, and its sad they're becoming so rampant as it shows the level of honesty most companies these day have.

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12/06, 05:16pm | report spam | close Reply |
iTunes...

There's no point for mac users to even bother with it.

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12/06, 05:25pm | report spam | close Reply |
ha

You can't get a new BMW for the price of a KIA.

Come on...

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12/06, 06:01pm | report spam | close Reply |
USB2

I think it's USB2 isn't it?

I have a 10GB iPod and it's excellent (except when it gets cold and stops working but then again so does my camera, I have that) but Apple has a pretty bad track record if you have a think about the AirPort. They released that when the technology was new at a very competitive price but never dropped the price. I would have bought one but it was twice as much as much better hardware. Ok, the d-link isn't as cool looking or funky but it works a lot better. It think looks are a lot more important with this market but when you're talking about double the price it gets to be a little much don't you think?

daniel

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12/06, 06:10pm | report spam | close Reply |
Re: Value

There is more to "value" than just basic specs.....the size of the iPod makes it much easier to carry around, with its smaller sized hard drive compared to the Zen (go to a store and hold both in your hands and you will see this). The iTunes integration can't be underestimated, as the Creative software I think frankly is pretty poor. Finally, the actual interface of the device can't be underestimated. The iPod's interface is a logical, clean and a pleasure to use, whereas the Zen's interface is much clunkier.

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12/06, 06:12pm | report spam | close Reply |
Must be a really great

So great as a matter of fact that I get a 404 error on CNN's website....they can take that Nomad and shove it up the a$$, oops, guess it won't fit....too big...

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12/06, 06:12pm | report spam | close Reply |
Must be a really great

So great as a matter of fact that I get a 404 error on CNN's website....they can take that Nomad and shove it up the a$$, oops, guess it won't fit....too big...

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12/06, 06:52pm | report spam | close Reply |
Um

Yeah but it's ugly! Who needs 200 bucks when you can have Style

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12/06, 07:15pm | report spam | close Reply |
Eh

This review appeals to PC cheapskates who weren't going to buy the iPod anyway because they are cheapskates and that RULES a whole class of user. They don't make enough at their $6/hour jobs to afford an iPod, so I think it's good that someone makes something that's not really anywhere near as nice but "good enough" (remember, that's how Wintel got so popular in the first place -- cheap up front and "good enough").

Besides, a little competition never hurt anybody, least of all Apple. If the Zen takes off, Apple will be forced to lower the price of the iPod a bit. Who's got a problem with that??

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12/06, 07:21pm | report spam | close Reply |
Apple should

Apple should lower the price of the iPod for mac users. Just as a little spit in the face of competitors. Leave the windows price the same.

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12/06, 07:36pm | report spam | close Reply |
Re: Apple Should

The Windows version is already cheaper since Dell offers much better promotions and discounts than Apple. The almost constantly have stackable 10% off coupon codes, 40-50$ off 400$ purchaces, etc.

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12/06, 07:48pm | report spam | close Reply |
I-Pod Wheel

The control wheel on the ipod beats anything out there! A co-worker got the Zen, and complains about the little screen, and the little thumb wheel thing. He love's my i-pod, the big clear scree, the control wheel, the size...but he was going for big space, little price.

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12/06, 07:57pm | report spam | close Reply |
Puhleaze

Eveything time a zealot can't win an argument this comes out: You can't get a new BMW for the price of a KIA.

In most cases, Mac ain't BMW and the the PC product isn't Kia.

In this case, iPod is like a BMW M3 and Zen a 330xi. Should iPod cost more? Yes, but not at 2x.
_________
I am well established enough to buy both but I ain't gonna buy Mac at any cost like some fools here.

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12/06, 08:13pm | report spam | close Reply |
Gotta hand it to him

At least he admitted not even playing with an iPod. I also liked the four days spent looking for a feature. That's why I paid 400 bucks for a 5GB a year ago. I think he just dropped Apple's name to get hits on his story.

Z

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12/06, 09:06pm | report spam | close Reply |
USB charging?!

Good god. Charging the battery over USB has got to take FOREVER! Firewire is by far the preferred port...it carries more power (and thus can power devices without additional power, etc).

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12/06, 09:42pm | report spam | close Reply |
What's the UI like?

No one's mentioned the USER INTERFACE?

When you have 20 GB of tunes to manage, a decent UI is essential.

The iPod's is elegant and very well thought out.

What's the Zen's like?

testudo
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12/06, 10:35pm | report spam | close Reply |
What's SB1394?

They advertise SB1394. What is that? Is that Sony's 4-port iLink version of Firewire (also the reason they don't promote charging over firewire)?

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12/06, 11:05pm | report spam | close Reply |
firewire charging

zen can't be charged over firewire. i concluded from macnn.com main page.

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12/07, 12:15am | report spam | close Reply |
re: eh

Affording an iPod != justifying its high cost.

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12/07, 12:45am | report spam | close Reply |
$too much

f*** the ipod.

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12/07, 01:19am | report spam | close Reply |
"F@#$ the ipod"

You must have some kind of headphone socket sized item to do that with. Grow up. :-

20GB of tunes to manage comes down to iTunes and playlists as far as I'm concerned so the UI of the device isn't that important to me.
I think the biggest things here are price and battery life. I'd like the iPod to get a little closer than that, almost double is not good.
As far as the battery goes, I have used my iPod until it's run out so an extra hour or 2 would be good.

daniel

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12/07, 02:04am | report spam | close Reply |
Link

Here is the link:
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/11/28/sproject.hs02.jukebox.zen/index.html

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12/07, 02:45am | report spam | close Reply |
Yeah Firewire

Yeah, the Zen has a Firewire port...and if you are lucky it actually works after the first month. What is with these 3rd party products and their shoddy excuse for Firewire implementation. Apple devices are the only ones I've owned so far that actually have reliable firewire.

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12/07, 08:49am | report spam | close Reply |
CNN 404

If you're getting a 404 at CNN's site, try this URL:

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/11/28/sproject.hs02.jukebox.zen/

For some reason, when I click the link it lops off the html from index.html... so I just deleted index. altogether and it works fine.

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12/07, 08:58am | report spam | close Reply |
iPod should add features

Digital Cameras are forcasted to be one the the big items this holiday season. If Apple were to make the iPods with built in or inexpensive add on flash memory readers *I* would buy one to use as portable storage.

>$200 to listen to music though ..get real. It might be worth $500 for a music player if there were NO compromises in the design. (Hot swapable batteries or a battery life of a couple weeks for example)

Macs used to be rediculously expensive because they had functionality that was literally years ahead of the competition. Now Apple is mining the name to sell fashion items. They keep releasing products that are frustratingly close to being truely innovative then stop just short of the mark.

(if by some chance a company has released a product adding this functionality to the iPod by all means someone please speak up)

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12/07, 12:27pm | report spam | close Reply |
I want a Porsche...

...but can't afford one, so f*** the manufacturer for pricing it out of my budget.

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12/07, 01:19pm | report spam | close Reply |
But this is still ONLY...

a Walkman.

I love how the iPod look's and work's. But I'm never, like most users, ever gonna pay 300-400 or 500? For a portable music player. Come on... If Apple want's to keep these high prices, they need to had functionalities to the iPod. Make it also a voice recorder or something and then maybe.

Heck, the 5GB iPod is 300$. How can you justify this??? Some one could buy a complete videogame system with games for that price.

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12/07, 01:48pm | report spam | close Reply |
re: I want a Porsche...

Again, affording an iPod != justifying its cost. (And that applies to Porche as well.)

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12/07, 05:45pm | report spam | close Reply |
The real problem...

... with the iPod isn't so much the $200, but it's that the sound quality just doesn't hold up to the Zen. Creative Labs uses a significantly more powerful amplifier that keeps the sound much clearer at even medium volumes. I have the 10 GB iPod and, while the size is great, the sound quality is lacking compared with other products I've used.

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12/07, 07:19pm | report spam | close Reply |
blah

I hate this board. Too many PC users trying to justify themselves. Go away.

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12/07, 07:21pm | report spam | close Reply |
?

I find the iPod sounds quality much greater than any other product I've listened to. And another plus, I took a 15 minute walk with it on in -40 Celsius weather. Not a hitch.

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12/07, 09:03pm | report spam | close Reply |
mpeg4

the next gen of itunes will have mpeg4 so the ipods storage capcity will soon dwarf all the pretenders

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12/07, 10:48pm | report spam | close Reply |
Ah...

"I find the iPod sounds quality much greater than any other product I've listened to. "

I have a RioVolt, an iRiver IFP-180t, a 10GB iPod and have played with the Creative products and, I really hate to say it, but the iPod is the worst-sounding of the bunch. It doesn't sound bad by any stretch, but the amplifier is underpowered. It's good, but for the price I paid, I expected great.

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12/07, 10:48pm | report spam | close Reply |
mpeg4

your and idiot, you think everyone is just going to switch to MPeg4 and recompress all existing mp3's. think befor you comment you f***** r*****, i hate you and your dumb a**. go f*** a goat

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12/08, 11:28am | report spam | close Reply |
Re: Eh

"They don't make enough at their $6/hour jobs to afford an iPod"

And because they have a 6$/hour job their comments don't count???

Besides, I make more than 6$/hour and won't buy an iPod. It's not that I don't have the money, I just can see when someone is trying to rip me off.

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12/08, 12:18pm | report spam | close Reply |
re: blah

If you find nothing wrong with the iPod, good for you. No one's saying you can't buy it. I like my Mac, but that doesn't mean I automatically agree with everything Apple does.

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your and idiot,idiot.

what, are you gona continue to rip to mp3 after itunes4 just so your mp3s dont feel fat? Or is it that you just steal music and don't rip it yourself. Short sighted b******.

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12/08, 01:05pm | report spam | close Reply |
mpeg 4

The point is that the other mp3 players are finaly catching up to apple, just as apple is about to set the standard for the next ten years. mp3 is dead, mp4 is the new standard, and who knows what else is up apples sleeve for macworld. mut i'm sure the slow witted pc world will cling to mp3, just like they cling to floppie drives. at least till microsoft rips apple off again.

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12/08, 10:48pm | report spam | close Reply |
Maclot Dreamers

Why would anyone move to AAC when it's quality is S*** compared to Lame alt-preset standard standard? If people want excellent quality but greatly reduced size they use WMA9 on the Nomad Zen.

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re:blah

I hate you, you go away!

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12/09, 05:10am | report spam | close Reply |
The problem with WMA9

is that it locks you into Windows and Windows Media Player. Microsoft's record on file protocol mismanagement will mean that in a few years when WMA11 or whatever is released the then-current crop of devices will not be capable of reading WMA9 files, much as is the case with Office 95/XP documents. When you pick a format for your content, go with something that lasts, a standard - not a file format controlled by a single entity that may turn the format obsolete in order to drive sales of the newer product.

Further, since when has DRM become a consumer request?

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12/09, 10:00am | report spam | close Reply |
Typical FUD

That's FUD and you probably know it. If you create the profile in WME9 you can uncompress back to standard PCM audio from WMA (which is especially useful if you've encoded in the lossless WMA9 codec). Adding DRM to your collection is optional and entirely up to each individual user.

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12/18, 04:55pm | report spam | close Reply |
Whatever

Sounds like a lot of justification for an overpriced iPod to me. Hey if you want to spend the extra $200 for a smaller unit go for it. Mac users are used to overpaying for cute items, so of course they will get defensive. The interfaces are both fine to use. I think the iPod is great, just too expensive for playing c*** format music through a toy. That's why the Zen recording uncompressed wav files is cool.

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01/11, 11:37pm | report spam | close Reply |
Style

That's the problem with the prices on these gadgets--losers like the lot of you who are WILLING to pay gouged prices because you think your milky white iPod is cool and stylish. i want the technology and the convenience for the lowest price--not the lack of style and sense of hip that a loser and hanger-on like Steve Jobs forces down my throat for the most expensive price. (Who the heck says white electronics are cool anyway? The new thing was silver for a while, then white, blah blah blah...stick with basic black if you ask me.) Now, if all of you would-be-hipsters would stop paying such high prices, the rest of us could get our new gadagets for less.

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11/05, 10:42pm | report spam | close Reply |
rules

iPods rule you poor freaks. go get one, you know you want to.

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Column: Nomad Zen pricing threatens iPod

updated 04:45 pm EST, Fri December 6, 2002

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oh my GOD

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>>

rebate

The Zen is not usb only

its time

iTunes...

ha

USB2

Re: Value

Must be a really great

Must be a really great

Um

Eh

Apple should

Re: Apple Should

I-Pod Wheel

Puhleaze

Gotta hand it to him

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What's SB1394?

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$too much

"F@#$ the ipod"

Link

Yeah Firewire

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But this is still ONLY...

re: I want a Porsche...

The real problem...

blah

?

mpeg4

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re: blah

your and idiot,idiot.

mpeg 4

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