http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Technology
--- In April 1999, Creative launched the NOMAD line of digital audio players that would later introduce the MuVo and ZEN series of portable media players. Creative remains a serious competitor in the portable audio player market, a market which they dominated until the entry of Apple Computer with the iPod.
The firm applied for U.S. Patent 6,928,433 on January 5, 2001 and was awarded the patent on August 9, 2005.[8] The ZEN Patent was awarded to the firm for the invention of user interface for portable media players. This opened the way for potential legal action against Apple's iPod and the other competing players. The firm took legal actions against Apple in May 2006. In August, 2006, Creative and Apple entered into a broad settlement,[9] with Apple paying Creative $100 million for the license to use the Zen patent. (...) The Creative ZEN name is used in a range of handheld media devices by the company. They are the successor to the NOMAD line of players. The line has won several awards, including three CES Best of Show awards, in 2004 with the Creative ZEN Portable Media Center,[15] 2005 with the ZEN MicroPhoto,[16] and 2006 with the ZEN Vision:M.[17] The company uses MuVo branding for its smaller, flash-based devices. ---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod
"The iPod line was announced by Apple on October 23, 2001, and released on November 10, 2001."
"Apple did not develop the iPod software entirely in-house, instead using PortalPlayer's reference platform based on two ARM cores. The platform had rudimentary software running on a commercial microkernel embedded operating system. PortalPlayer had previously been working on an IBM-branded MP3 player with Bluetooth headphones.[5] Apple contracted another company, Pixo, to help design and implement the user interface"
---
So, Creative had a product even before APPL had an announcement. Oh, and Creative has a patent that Apple licensed.
Myth #2 Apple´s constant innovation makes it invulnerable.
Oh-oh, IPod sales declining from 2008 to date http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ipod_sales_per_quarter.svg
OK, OK, some might say that there are other reasons (besides competition) for this...
http://technology.canoe.ca/2011/10/05/18786161.html ---- "But where there used to be a massive glut of MP3 players all vying for market share, I now found a desert. With MP3 players now being worked into car stereos, shower radios, and pretty much every new cellphone model, demand seems to have plummeted for separate players. In the days leading up to Apple's keynote speech on Tuesday, rumours swirled that the venerable iPod classic, now standing alone in the market with 160GB of space, was on the chopping block; however, it appears to have been spared. Just hours before that address, Microsoft announced it was officially sending its Zune MP3 players -- including a roomy 120GB model -- to that great electronic recycling depot in the sky." ----
Myth #3 - APPLE knows what customers want. Does what customer wants.
" I have this huge library of Ogg Vorbis files I want to listen to, but for some really(!) strange reason there is no Ogg Vorbis support for the iPod? Why? It is a free file format (as in no patents) and offers better sound quality pr. mb. Please, help me get my iPod playing my Ogg Vorbis files!!" https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1808000?start=0&tstart=0 Archive: http://pages.citebite.com/o1k1b5x5u6cwi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod#Software
"Alternative open-source audio formats, such as Ogg Vorbis and FLAC, are not supported on IPods without installing custom firmware onto an iPod (e.g., Rockbox)."
SanDisk Upgrades MP3 Player Series http://www.twice.com/article/472813-SanDisk_Upgrades_MP3_Player_Series.php
"The Clip Zip and Clip Plus both offer FM radio, voice recording, MicroSDHC card expansion slot, rechargeable battery delivering 15 hours of music listening, clip to secure the device to clothing while running or walking, and compatibility with multiple major music, audio book and podcast formats, including MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, and Audible files."
"SanDisk lays claim to being second in U.S. MP3 and MP3/video player market share in units and dollars in 2010 and for the year-to-date." ---
Interestingly, I have been unable to find 2010 or 2011 stats for *global* shipments of mp3 players... (I suspect that Apple´s iPod supremacy is narrower outside US borders).
Don´t answer, I´m just pulling the Apple fans´ strings... ;-)
FC -- "The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers." Richard Hamming - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamming_code
