What exactly is an iPod killer and should you be interested in one? The latter part of the question is one that only you can answer. Understanding what an iPod killer is, however, may help you to create your answer.
iPod is considered the premier word on media players. Apple has taken over the market and remains the champion of media devices that often try to compare and compete with the iPod but simply fall short. In other words, the iPod is the most purchased, most demanded, most used MP3 media player. Apple understands the value of this market and continues to work at being the public’s choice by producing additions to the family such as the highly acclaimed iPhone that combines the functionality and pleasure of a phone, MP3 player, media player, Internet connectivity and more; all bundled together in an attractive handheld touch screen that is virtually guaranteed to delight even the most discriminating of techies.
Did you know that the very first MP3 player was not designed by Apple? That’s right, for all of the accolades that are now being placed on Apple for their products, Apple did not design the first MP3 player. In 1998, a company by the name of Eiger Labs introduced the first digital media player, the MPMan F10, to the U.S. market.
Think the Apple products came next? Wrong again. There were several other media players that came to the U.S. market and threw their hat in the ring to be considered. The Rio PMP300 may not ring a bell, but it took hold of the market for a spell and was the most popular player of that time. Several other players were introduced to the market over the next few years and represented a degree of success for their manufacturers. However, in 2001 Apple introduced the iPod and staked its claim to the top spot in digital media players, where it has remained since that time.
It seems that competitors recognize iPod cannot be killed off easily and sensibly speaking, this has kept clones from surfacing. However, in the spirit of competition, it is expected that someone would come along and give iPod a run for their money. That someone is Sony. Although Apple currently manufactures over 75% of all of the MP3 sold internationally, Apple would do well not to snooze and risk losing their top spot to Sony.
Sony recognizes that a little competition can be healthy and beneficial for the public and have produced a new Walkman MP3 player, the NW-HD5. To woo buyers, the NW-HD5 dares you to compare to Apple’s iPod which doesn’t offer removable/replaceable batteries. Sony also challenges Apple by offering the NW-HD5 for a retail price of around $280, which undercuts Apple’s iPod price by just enough to make a difference.
Sony has also invested the technology into its NW-HD5 to provide a 40-hour rechargeable battery which is reason enough to consider this new Sony product a very formidable adversary of the Apple iPod.
