Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:09 pm

I feel quite genuinely sorry for those people that buy one of these Creative players. I'm really not trying to be sarcastic, they'll be bought by people who don't really understand this 'ipod' thing and are likely to be exactly the kind of people who need the simplicity and ease of the itunes interface. OK, there will be some PCphiles that will argue anything Apple is against the natural order of evolutionary life and will argue that Creative's players have more functions and are better value for money. However, I suspect they'll have already bought their non-ipod and are not likely to buy another just because the price has come down. It does also seem like the wrong time of year to be doing this in a usually quiet sales season. I've jsut realised that could be the whole point, market them at a low price for a while then by the time anyone notices put the price back up again.

You really have to feel sorry for the non-ipod manufacturers, you can see the business meetings - Ok so it's got a radio more memory , longer battery life, lots of flashy bits AND it's cheaper then you tell me no one wants to buy it because its not an iiiiipod! What is genuinely fascinating about the ipod is that near monopolies conventionally stagnate innovation and development whereas Apple consistently adds features that work with an ease of use found in mature products. Well I'd better stop rambling - where was I - Oh yes - lay your bets now on how long Creative keep selling non-ipods.