Because it’s not an iPod.
Creative’s latest effort in trying to (re)introduce itself into the portable audio industry, again, will fail, and possibly has failed already. It is not about how good a product is or how many buttons or features it has. It is about the hype and the feeling that comes with it when people purchase it.
If Apple doubled the price of the iPod right now, more than half of the people who were planning on buying it will still buy it. That means more profit than Apple is currently making. It also means Creative and all its competitors are losing because its products have no identity.
You bring a Zen somewhere, you don’t say “Here’s my Zen.” That’s not because no one knows what it is, it’s because “Zen” is not an identity for anything. “iPod” on the other hand directly corresponds to a stylish, expensive mp3 player that everyone is in love with.
It seems that it will take an awfully long time until the competitors realize what they really have to do. It’s not reinventing the wheel, it’s inventing a round, stylish, and pop-culture-dependent object that will make everyone crave for its sheer existence.
It’s called marketing–and it’s something that Apple has finally learned to do.
Wouldnt Creative do better if they came up with a product that doesnt look likes it trying to look like an iPod?
A lot of mp3 players look alike. If Creative decided to market its products in pop culture, say product placements in TV shows, it would help their business so much.
~Leo: Creative are using the platform already made by iPod. They’re using the already established ‘way’ it looks. Its up there at the moment, and pushing their product up on it only makes their position stronger.
~Elliot: Yup
“Because it’s not an iPod.” Cool!
I am so tired of listening to children babbling out something they don’t even know. Zen V is much better than any iPods in terms of the sound quality, resistance to scratches, size, battery life, and, most importantly, price. It’s OK to enjoy iPods. But what’s the point of following iPods blindfolded?
Because everyone else does :)
Apple knows that most people don’t want more features, they want less features. Most consumers don’t even realize that that is what they really desire.
I wish Apple made my TV remotes. 80 buttons, I use 9 of them regularly and those I do use are the same size as the other 80 that no one uses.
‘Because it’s not an ipod’! What a stupid way of advertising ipod. I have actually tested most of the popular mp3 players in the market including the Korean & Japanese ones, and ipod is the least convinient to use regardless of how it makes you feel and how it looks - you buy a mp3 player to listen to music, not to look at, right? (Unless you are deaf & stupidly posh!) Zen V Plus at least has the function of drop & drag files directly from any computer which means you are not restricted to the computers that you have installed the specific software on, and you can share your music and other stuff much easier. Of course if you are really as cool as that you would spend hundreds of pounds to buy something you can’t even use properly without spending hours in front of your computer and struggle with the very stupidly designed software it’s your choice. But don’t bullshit it to others as if everyone else is an idiot too! If I have a good mp3 player I say ‘I have a very good mp3 player’, whether it’s ipod or zen. And the way ipod is making money on all its ‘unique’ accessories is just disgusting - even if all the other mp3 players are making an effort of being multi-functional, ipod has to rely on all sorts of other stuff (not included in the package) to do the basics.
And if you work for apple and are just trying to get some extra dough by farting to the general public like this, that really sucks, as well as apple ipod.
Indeed. Apparently 80% of the mp3 player owners in North America are “deaf & stupidly posh.” Apple has proved marketing works like a charm no matter what kind of product you make.
And I forgot to mention the poor video & sound quality of ipod compared with many other mp3/mp4 players including ZEN! (By the way the same applies to apples MAC)
Have you never heard of the saying: The truth is most of the time in the hands of the minorities? 80% doesn’t mean anything apart from successful marketing and where does this figure come from anyway? Apparently apply can say whatever they want.
If you want argue about a product point out the goods & bads. It seems to me you don’t really know what you are saying at all. Have you ever used a Zen or other mp3 at all before you start attacking them on apple’s behalf? Shut your pie hole before you do that.
Can you not read? When did I attack other mp3 players? I said they will not sell because Apple didn’t make them. And FYI, I do own a Creative mp3 player before my iPod.
“And I forgot to mention the poor video & sound quality of ipod compared with many other mp3/mp4 players including ZEN! (By the way the same applies to apples MAC)”
Hrrmm…this brings up the question…have you ever used an iPod or a Mac? Because the sound quality between a mac and a PC is pretty much the same…that only depends on the soundcard, not whether or not Apple makes it :-D
And, believe it or not, my iPod sounds a gazillion times better than my RCA Lyra…so what, exactly are you trying to say about this lack of “sound and video quality”? Where’s the facts, eh?
My experience with my iPod has been good. I have the first generation five giger, its been the best audio product I have ever owned. I have dropped it many times over the last five years, and it still works great. I have never felt dissatisfied at any time with it.
Honestly I kind of liked it when I was the only person I knew that had an iPod because it was something a bit novel. Now at the university I am attending, I would estimate that about half the students, maybe more have iPods.
Apple has done a good job with the iPod. There is this Zen zealot in one of my classes, that keeps telling me iPods suck… he doesn’t get it, he hasn’t ever really used one.
I believe creative will continue to sell Zen, but I don’t see their market-share exploding even if they add more features. The iPod is more elegant, and I think most people do to.
I also don’t believe the Zune will hurt iPod sales either, though I think the Zune might take away sales from creative.
Apple finally got the marketing right. I grant you that the ipod is expensive but it’s the standard by which all other mp3’s are measured. I have found Apple’s contact us service to be limited though.
the zen v plus sucks! so much lags and the instruction manual doesnt help AT ALL! got it for a day and its dead lagging, cant move, no buttons helps, just hangs there! even the reset doesnt helps. i should have just stuck to the idea of getting an ipod. to think i gave creative a chance.
You only had it for a day. FYI: It’s probably defective, and you COULD just go get an Ipod instead of pointing your wretched prejudiced statement about the Zen V Plus at others. It’s verrry annoying. It’s not that I HATE IPODS, it’s just that I happen to have a Creative Zen V Plus, and I know on the upper hand how Ipods and Zens work. (I have an Ipod, so don’t critique me on something I already mentioned.) If yours lags, it’s natural if it lasts for a brief amount of time. Do you even have patience to wait a few seconds? Oh and the manual doesn’t help? Please read it again. It’s either that, or you can’t understand a couple of simple sentences.
On the other hand, why would you buy an Ipod just because it is one? It sounds mildly… idiotic. Okay, maybe you want an Ipod because ‘everyone’ has one. How entertaining, and no offense, but that would prove that you are a wannabe. I still don’t hold a grudge against Apple Inc., but really… if you think about it, it makes you sound like you’re desperate for attention. I did a lot of research on Zunes, Ipods, and Creatives, but I haven’t seen too many websites posted as ‘Why Creative Zens Suck so badly’. If you look on google, search for reasons Ipods or Zunes are really bad, you have a pile of websites you can file through all night.
Well I do own an ipod and I love it , I also got a creative zen v plus this weekend and I’m trying to get to play with it , I know it has some cool features, but when it comes to transferring files the easy way I’m really troubled, besides I can’t get to download movies, the creative labs people are not very helpfull letting you know where to go and what makes it worst is the fact that I own a Mac and a PC, so when I want to transfer stuff from one OS to the other, I found out that some files on my mac are not supported. Looks like creative didn’t care for us mac users.
if creative had advertisement and racked up the prices a bit evry1 might want one. the only reason evry1 likes the ipod is because evry1 has it and if they bought it they would look rich its called propaganda bandwagon
i have a mac computer how do i put videos on it
the creative zen v plus
I too have Zen V plus- 4gig….after 2 weeks now dos not power up…reinstall all my software and switched to other usb 2 ports…pc does not detect it…got so furious and went online ….I thought I did a lot of reserach b4 buying this…I bought mainly for recording feature to go along with others…I hope I can get a refund…creative soundcards are the BEST…but these Zen…has to be the worse product ever ever made…
If you just use windows media player, you can sync to a Zen V plus, or you can just put all the files on it manually.
this dicussion on mp3 players sounds quite a bit like politics,some people vote for a certain candidate because the neighbor did,I vote for whomever is best for the job.the same way I pick my music players,I like a good solid thump and clear music,and I really don’t care what anyone thinks.I don’t follow fads and America would be better off if the people would have the guts to be who they are,coolness is not a fad,it’s a way of life.GET ONE!
IPODS ARE INSANELY GOOD, great sound, simple and they look great, thing is they are fragile…i have broke 2 and i have recently bough a zen V plus as im told they are reliable and can take more punishment. people who dont have ipods hate ipods. simple