The Sorry State of MP3 Players
It continues to baffle me that computer companies are so incredibly clueless when it comes to making consumer electronics. Actually, it makes perfect sense to me…they simply don’t get it and don’t understand what the consumer wants. There are a few exceptions to the rule but for the most part most companies simply don’t get it.
Despite some of my reservations towards Apple’s iPod (i.e. the battery issue), I have to give them mad props for coming out with such an elegant designs that has essentially stood the passage of time. Imagine that since its inception, not much has changed in terms of the design and how it works. There’s a reason why they’re in the lead in terms of the MP3 player market…they took their time, did the right research and brought out a device that’s simple and elegant.
If you look at their supposed competition, it’s essentially a mess with tons of companies releasing a lot of different products into an already crowded marketplace. Granted, many are trying to snatch the price points (i.e. value market) that Apple has skipped on. There are a few that can be considered Apple competitors but even that is debatable. It’s hilarious because these companies continue to release new models every couple of months with features the previous version should have had to begin with. Then, they introduce new features or use a different interface for the new products. Of course, the consumer gets confused because this one company has 10 different MP3 players with 5 different interfaces and the review they just read has last season’s models which look totally different.
A lot of the companies see the success of the iPod and simply think, “hey, people want MP3 players. we can build one too and make it cheaper than the iPod.” Yeah, it would be that simple if all they were building a similar product with the same features and ease-of-use…but they’re not. The only part they seem to be getting right is the actual playing of MP3s. These “me too” companies as I call them are missing out on the user experience and just want to quickly get something out on the market.
One of the weaknesses of many of the “me too” companies is that they release a bunch of products that have different user interfaces and software interfaces. Many rely on integration with Windows Media Player or other popular media players for their interface and many of those, while decent, are still more complicated than iTunes.
Another weakness (and my biggest complaint) is simply the lack of quality in these devices. It’s a two-fold problem. One is design and the other is build quality. I understand that they are trying to hit certain price points and some customers don’t seem to care. They just want the most capacious and cheapest device they can get. However, I would argue that this is only a minority of buyers. The iPod is generally more expensive than similarly equipped devices and yet it’s the most popular. I think that people will pay more for a nicer “feeling and looking” device.
I’m a Sony MiniDisc fan….yeah, I know…it’s dead technology. Whatever. However, if you’ve ever owned the higher end MiniDisc models, you would know that they are first rate devices. Even though they were incredibly light, they had high quality finishes and were exteremly durable. Also, the regular NiMH batteries lasted something like 14 hours and a single AA battery pod boosted playback well over 50 hours. Sony understands consumer electronics even if they have dropped the ball recently. I think people expect a product to feel that it’s worth its price. Sony MD players and Apple iPods have a refined feel to them. iRiver is getting their with their higher end jukeboxes but most other companies still are missing that feel.
I recently bought a Creative Labs Nomad Muvo2 4GB MP3 player. I actually bought it because I wanted to rip out the 4GB MicroDrive in it but that’s another story. Anyways, the device itself is simple and functional. It connects to a PC without any problems and you can simply drag and drop files to it with ease. The sound quality is excellent and the size and battery life are superb. Now here’s where it falters. First of all, while it may feel solid (when you squeeze it) but it feels cheap in your hard. You can tell that the exterior shell is simply thin cheap plastic. Also, there’s a certain imprecision in the buttons and the ports and even down to the labels. The LCD display is great in bright lighting but the contrast is poor in low lighting with the backlight on. The backlight and contrast controls are essentially useless. The choices are essentially dim backlight or dimmer backlight. Because it’s so dim, the contrast controls do nothing. The navigation is decent considering the tiny size of the LCD display but there are almost too many options on the top level. All in all, the device, while competent, doesn’t stand out and does not feel like a $200 product.
Now that summer is rolling around, some of these companies should go out and get a whole bunch of interns from Industrial Design colleges and let them come up with designs. Many MP3 players on the market now look like they were designed by engineers. It might also help to build actual prototypes and get some feedback on the actual usability of the product. When it comes time to decide on the manufacturing process, spend a little more money and use nicer materials. One would assume that these companies are doing this but given what’s on the market, it’s apparent they aren’t doing it or not doing enough of it.
I think there’s still hope. iRiver is the only other company who seems to have a clue and has a plan to bring out good solid devices that are made well. Of course, there are other players out there as well and we’ll see what they bring to the table over the rest of this year. I know that many are jumping up to the portable media players as they see that as the future. I’m sure many of them will continue to make the same boneheaded mistakes but we’ll probably also see some unique thoughtful products as well…i hope.
Ok, that’s my rant of this for now…next up is Digital Media Players…and don’t get me started on those…I’m even more angry about those! :-p
