Gadgets! Microsoft iPod clone pic, a HUGE TV and a Flash-based PC...

That's not that much bigger than the 90" I ordered yesterday, and should be receiving Wednesday, and I'll be viewing it from 3 meters.

I know, that 20 m was an exaggaration... but I just had to tell ;)
 
demonic said:
As they arent really features worth having. You may say they are, but we'll have to disagree.



Fine, I agree with that. So its not next-gen, its this gen. Doesnt really matter. We can say that Zune is also this gen. As it doesnt really add that much either.



No. If a product doesnt come out as being next-gen or at least offering better functionality and features at same price or lower. Its going to be just considered a clone compared to the market leader.



I would hardly call the Ipod inferior compared to the Zune or the Creative.

Its just that it lacks features that most users would hardly use or if the features were included in the Apple, i.e little bit bigger screen, able to use different codecs, etc. Wouldnt make that much difference.

Im also definately NOT defending the apple product. I have said a few times and I will say it again. If Creative, Microsoft or another player introduces a new mp3 player which has NEXT-Gen features. I will happily put my ipod on ebay and get that.

I have already spend over £200 in my ipod. I would be foolish to purchase a creative or zune for so little.

You also have to realise, there are so many other (not neccessarily non technical) people out there that either own an IPOD or want one. That will compare the Zune, Creative and Ipod together and get the IPOD as in their eyes, and since the "Ipod" is cooler (blame apple) and the others wont offer much extra. Wont switch over to another type of placer or in the case of buying something. Purchase an Ipod.

If you cant understand, why I am taking this stance. Then I am sorry.

Why not try and become a mult-billionaire and then pour millions into advertising on why Creative and Microsoft produce much better mp3 players than Apple and maybe they will start to do better!
Click to expand...

What exactly is next gen to you besides a full screen with a cell phone style key slide layout???

To me better resolution and more codec support is a definite upgrade. My phone i consider an upgrade simply because it has better resolution and longer battery life than my last one.

Do you feel that when these players advance to having decent games on them for people to play (in higher resolution) WHILE listening to music the battery life isnt needed?
 
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rabidrabbit said:
That's not that much bigger than the 90" I ordered yesterday, and should be receiving Wednesday, and I'll be viewing it from 3 meters.

I know, that 20 m was an exaggaration... but I just had to tell ;)
Click to expand...
Which begs the question, why not buy a smaller screen and sit closer? :p
 
Btw, I'm still perplexed that you guys show more interest in the TV then the flash-PC... and it looks so damn sexy!!!

sony_ux50_1.jpg
 
demonic said:
I think its for those who sit only 30cm from their apple 30" wide screens! :LOL:
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OT, but I've seen one of those in first person now. There's a store here that have them set up so you can try them. Normal viewing distance for me is approximately one arm length. If I extend my arm straight forward, the knuckles will almost touch the screen. At that distance, the viewing angle on the sides of that screen is so high that the colors are distorted! Is the Dell 30" monitor just as bad?
 
Chris123234 said:
What exactly is next gen to you besides a full screen with a cell phone style key slide layout???

To me better resolution and more codec support is a definite upgrade. My phone i consider an upgrade simply because it has better resolution and longer battery life than my last one.

Do you feel that when these players advance to having decent games on them for people to play (in higher resolution) WHILE listening to music the battery life isnt needed?
Click to expand...

Next-gen are important features which everyone will use.

- Screen real-estate is the full length of the player
- As far as other codecs are concered with. It is a nice feature, but there are many people like myself who have a tool to convert from other codec to (quicktime) mp4 for ipod screen and resolution. Just has to be done once and thats it.
- Proper wifi or wireless usb. To allow for streaming from the pc or infact, another ipod. Lets say you are on the plane and you have a friend on another aisle and they are happily playing music, but have a film you want to see. Why not connect to him? Or how about the airplane has a server. That you can log onto and stream a movie of your choice? Or how about you are in a cafe and there is a pc with literally 1000's of songs and you can listen to them for free?
- Again, wireless that allows you to surf the net and watch decent sized and resolution clips.
- How about a touch screen, with a pen and with IM can chat using an msn or yahoo clone. Ipod brings up a HUD with keyboard and you just either push the buttons or use a pen to chat.
- 4pm Camera. I really want this, so I can ditch having a seperate device to carry around. Also can be used to capture video and as a webcam for when you are online.
- Phone? Only thing you need is a bluetooth headset to answer or make calls.
- PDA functionality. Calendar, email, sms, IM, etc.

Those are truly next-gen. My hope is that one day, there is a one device that does all. That whilst it is long, its very thin and portable.

I wont currently ask for a portable games device thrown into the mix. Whilst Zune could one day do that role. Unless there are paddles which slide in and out of the player to give on the left directional control and on the right some buttons and the full length screen allows you to play games. Its going to be a tough one to implement whilst allowing the player to be small and portable. The PSP is currently too big for me to purchase and carry around with me all the time. Like I do with the Ipod Video.

Maybe one day, I'll be on that plane, on a long hall flight. Chatting to other users on a wifi peer to peer network, checking out other videos or music that they have or even playing 8 way mario-kart? A typical 8 hour flight will just melt away.

Well, I can dream right? Although shouldnt be that far away, the components are there. Who is brave to give it to me? Apple, Creative, Microsoft?
 
Focusing on a 20" screen that is 30-50 cm close is not as relaxing as watching a 90" screen from three meters.
Besides, it would be silly to watch a movie with friends when everyone is ear to ear in front of the monitor, and it's difficult to get a good surround soundscape in that setting.
Don't know, but I don't wanna sit in front of my desk staring at a monitor 30 cm in front of me when I've done that 8 hours already at work, that's why I rarely play PC games either, because the couch or recliner is much more comfortable.
 
All that blabber aside, the thing that's important to me is sound quality AND enough volume. And Cretive beats them all there, period. That's why I bought Zen and will stick to it.

IPod _is_ the best overall product, though. Best design, most conveniant to use and the biggest "coolness" factor, the sound quality is also pretty good (though not like Zen).

And whichever player you choose, you'll need better phones for it. I know of none with good phones in the package.

And: if I want a crapload of non-music related functions, I'll buy a PDA. Having anything else but mp3(or your prefered format) playback and maybe radio and rudimentary recording abilities in a player is just silly IMO.

What do you guys expect from a "next-gen" player, playing Quake on it, surfing the net? Pointless.
 
_xxx_ said:
All that blabber aside, the thing that's important to me is sound quality AND enough volume. And Cretive beats them all there, period. That's why I bought Zen and will stick to it.
Click to expand...

I think its subjective really. I've seen forum posts from those who had an ipod and tried out creative and others and went back to ipod. Yeah, I know those who love to bash apple will say they are deaf or arent audiophiles, but thats what I have read.

_xxx_ said:
And whichever player you choose, you'll need better phones for it. I know of none with good phones in the package.
Click to expand...

I have the apple in the ear ones and they are pretty decent for me. Seinegiser? You know, there was another in the ear pair I tried out. A friend of mine got them. I really didnt tell that much apart.

_xxx_ said:
And: if I want a crapload of non-music related functions, I'll buy a PDA. Having anything else but mp3(or your prefered format) playback and maybe radio and rudimentary recording abilities in a player is just silly IMO.

What do you guys expect from a "next-gen" player, playing Quake on it, surfing the net? Pointless.
Click to expand...

Pointless to you. Maybe ;)

But as I said at the top. Its all about subjective. The pda, ipod, portable player, camera and phone will all merge. Its just a matter of time. Look at the mp3, camera and phone. Its happened already.
 
Surely they will merge. I just hate bulky devices. I go for a walk and want to listen to music and not be bothered by the phone for example. Or I want a small phone with nothing else in it, but nope, the market wants a phone which is an mp3 player and a camera as well, although it's bulkier then a early 90's mobile phone. Duh.

IPod Nano, or even moreso the Shuffle was the right thing to do. Sony T600 was the right thing to do for a phone. Small, tiny, easy/simple to use and not annoying.

I'd pay a small fortune for a mobile phone which does nothing else but phoning and sending text messages and is half as big/thick as the Razr V3. Even just a simple two-colour display would be fine there.
 
Oh, one more point: ANY player or phone which requires you to read the manual in order to operate it is a total design failure. Also anything with a menu deeper than 2 levels.
 
Hehe, i can see you are part of the bandwagon that wants devices to do what they were specifically made for and not for the inclusion of so many add-ins..Well, im in the opposite camp, so we'll have to disagree.
 
In the ear? You mean ear buds (which all suck) or an IEM? Any $30 Sennheiser or hell even the Creative EP630 will blow anything Apple has for a ear bud out of the water. Dont get me started on he crappy devices they want to sell you to actually listen to their iPods. Any store that carries Bose and thinks they sound good needs a slap in the face with a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 so it really hurts.
 
Skyring, do you live in your own world?

Its just that, where I live and work. The VAST majority of people I see with white headfones are the basic standard headfones that you can buy with any mp3 player.

I rarely see people wearing anything like in the ear or even chunky headfones.

I must have counted 150 people with mp3 players, thats on the bus, street, tube, shops as I went about my business all throughout today. Not one did I see with anything other than crappy headfones.

Maybe you should startup a website that clues people up and that with a combination of devices can get the best sound/video quality per buck? :LOL:

The fact is, even though you like to state you are so clued up on audio, etc. The majority of people arent and they settle for that quality. Its that same majority that propelled apple to its current status. Im afraid, you are in the geek category and that makes up a very very small amount of market share.
 
Funny, there are already many websites that do such things and many forums soley for headphone listening and finding great quality audio for cheap.

I cant understand how someone can listen to music when they're missing half of the audio or listening to it through ear buds that make it sound like a robot.

In fact, its well known most people would want better sounding audio. This is the reason why many blast their ear buds. To make up for the lack of dynamics in many of todays recordings. People who press crappy headphones to their ears are suffering from the same thing.

Sadly, Apple doesnt carry a quality audio product at their stores.
 
Every single person who tried my Sennheiser or Sony phones went out and bought something of the likes. With comments like "Thanks, I never knew what I was missing".

For me (not a geek but a working musician since 22 years), using the earbuds delivered with the IPod or Zen is absolutely out of question. Not even funny.

Let alone that I still miss some stuff due to mp3 encoding even with 384kb (dull sounding cymbals, missing harmonics/overtones etc.).
 
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