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Fri, Nov 20, 2009 - 08:55 PM EST  —  AAPL: 199.92 (-0.59, -0.29%)  |  NASDAQ: 2146.04 (-10.78, -0.5%)

Dell launches ‘iPod shuffle killer’ DJ Ditty
Tuesday, September 20, 2005 - 01:06 PM EST

Dell has announced their new US$99 Dell DJ Ditty which they hope against hope will be an iPod shuffle killer.

Dell DJ features include:
• 512MB of storage for up to 220 songs (Assumes audio format is 64kbps WMA encoding with average song length of 4 min. MP3 audio format at 128kbpS compression: 512Mb - up to 110 songs.)
• 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack
• Integrated FM tuner
• 26x11mm LCD screen
• USB 2.0
• 3.6 x 1.1 x .5 inches and weighing 1.29 ounces (vs. Apple iPod shuffle: 3.3 x 0.98 x 0.33, .78 ounce)
• Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery with up to 14 hours of battery life
• Includes earbuds, lanyard, and black & blue USB Cap only
• Easy and affordable downloads via Musicmatch Jukebox by Y!Music
• Compatible with Napster to Go
• Compatible with Audible

More info here.

Advertisements: iPod shuffle. Starting at $99. Free shipping.
Apple iPod nano. 1,000 songs. Impossibly small. From $199. Free shipping.

MacDailyNews Take: Now we know what floats through Jonathan Ive's nightmares. Why does Dell even bother? If you want a smaller-sized, equal-capacity, good-looking, cross-platform player, get an iPod shuffle 512MB for the same price, 1GB for $30 more. If you want a screen, then Apple's iPod nano is a no-brainer starting at $199. Dell ought to just forget about the digital music player market and concentrate on assembling commodity Wintel boxes.

[UPDTE 2:51pm: changed $50 to $30 in "Take," thanks "macnut222."]

Related articles:
Dell plans expansion of Dell DJ portable music player line - September 14, 2005
Dell CEO: Apple can't just have one product and then say they're the innovative leader of the world - February 22, 2005
BusinessWeek: Rather than dismissing Apple products as fads, Dell should try starting a few - January 31, 2005
Dismissive Dell CEO not impressed with Apple Mac mini, calls iPod a 'one-product wonder' and a 'fad' - January 17, 2005
Mossberg: Dell, Rio, Creative 'iPod mini killers' lag badly behind Apple iPod mini - October 27, 2004
Dell offers $100 rebate for Dell DJ buyers who send in Apple iPods 'for recycling' - June 30, 2004
Dell vows 'to chip away at Apple's market-leading iPod and iTunes combo' using Dell DJ, MusicMatch - June 14, 2004
Columnist: Dell DJ a junky knockoff of the superior Apple iPod - May 28, 2004
Dell preps its own 'iPod' hard drive portable music player - September 23, 2003
Dell re-signs Apple iPod retail contract - April 16, 2003
Dell to sell Apple's iPod - October 29, 2002

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Sep 20, 05 - 01:43 pm Comment from: JJ

I think PUFF DADDY might have a lawsuit here ....

Sep 20, 05 - 01:44 pm Comment from: JJ

oh wait, that's spelled DIDDY - not DITTY...

Sounds the same though ... smile

Sep 20, 05 - 01:46 pm Comment from: Cloudwall

Ho-hum. Another iPod killer. Competition is a good thing

Sep 20, 05 - 01:46 pm Comment from: wandering joe

dum ditty.....

Sep 20, 05 - 01:46 pm Comment from: Noella

iPod Shuffle Killer? Ha ha... I needed a good laugh today.

Sep 20, 05 - 01:48 pm Comment from: macnut222

It should be spelled "shitty".

Sep 20, 05 - 01:49 pm Comment from: Unsuccessfully stifling gag reflex via iPodDailyNews

Do the people at Dell even have eyes? I've seen Zippo lighters with more style and design acumen. Hell, I've seen things floating in toilets that looked better. Placing it next to the shuffle is a low blow, iPodDN, but I love it!

Sep 20, 05 - 01:49 pm Comment from: macnut222

Actually, a 1 GB shuffle costs $30 more than their 512 MB model.

Sep 20, 05 - 01:53 pm Comment from: Jeff

What's the matter, Dell? Your name on it once is not enough? If that was my product, I'd be trying to hide the name of my company.

Sep 20, 05 - 01:55 pm Comment from: iSteve

Let them keep trying, it consumes resources and lets people see them as failures in the marketplace.

mw = economic!

Sep 20, 05 - 01:56 pm Comment from: macnut222

This ditty is heavy!

iPod shuffle: .78 oz
iPod nano: 1.5 oz

Dell ditty: 1.29 oz

The ditty is .2 oz lighter than a nano - a product with a REAL interface and 1.5" color screen. Pathetic.

MW: distance

Sep 20, 05 - 01:56 pm Comment from: tHE dUDE

Not as ugly as their desktops. Wait, maybe it is. Oh I'm not sure. Hell, just bring back beige. I... uh...

MDN word: able (not ABLE to pass design school)

Sep 20, 05 - 01:57 pm Comment from: anon

doesn't ANYBODY other than Apple have a clue about design?? really, it can't be _that_ hard. and I'm sure every teenager wants to flash around that cool DELL logo (yeah, right...). DELL = DULL
oh well look for this one in the Best Buy bargain bin in a couple months...

Sep 20, 05 - 01:57 pm Comment from: DudeMac

Are they kidding??! It's nothing more than a repackaged MP3 player from some other company!!!

Sep 20, 05 - 02:02 pm Comment from: dubmonkey

lol, i love some of the responses. haha

Sep 20, 05 - 02:05 pm Comment from: Wouldn't give one to my worst enemy

MacDailyNews Take: "Now we know what floats through Jonathan Ive's nightmares."

Ouch... Diet Coke laughed through my nose...

Sep 20, 05 - 02:05 pm Comment from: Derrick

I am sure they will sell a couple of them ... I am sure Michael Dell has some nieces or nephews.

Sep 20, 05 - 02:06 pm Comment from: Hal

Why do they still bother? Once that comes regular dell costumers will be so repulsed they'll just turn to apple (which they should have done long ago)

The shuffle pretty much - no never mind - it totally owns that hideous thing...

Sep 20, 05 - 02:08 pm Comment from: Derrick

I forgot to mention ... they display the company name on the screen to show what size of font would would need to see anything on it.

Sep 20, 05 - 02:08 pm Comment from: Fred Mertz

Dell, uses the Sony tactic of lying about capacity and quotes 220 songs at 64kbps WMA which, of course, will sound worse than the stupid FM tuner they've included in the world's first silver and black bar of shit.

I want to meet the lobotomy victim (Andrew Kantor) who buys one of these.

Sep 20, 05 - 02:09 pm Comment from: mac dood

Michael Dell woulda been better off if he kept selling
the iPods ....

But.... no one ever accused him of having brains !!

LOL

Sep 20, 05 - 02:10 pm Comment from: Dank

i just think its funny that by the time they get something to compete with the shuffle, apple unveils the nano...

they just don't get a break, do they? =D

Sep 20, 05 - 02:10 pm Comment from: Tommy Boy

There it was just a sittin' on the shelf singin'
Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do
Beggin' me to buy sayin' gonna kill iPod singin'
Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do

It looked good (looked good) It looked fine (looked fine)
It looked good it looked fine, and I nearly lost my mind.

Before I knew it it was on my belt clip singin'
Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do
Fillin' my ear just as natural as can be singin'
Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do

I logged on (logged on) To Napster (Napster)
I logged on to Napster, #^%%#^@%^$#^&#!!!!!!

Oh, I knew I fell for the wrong player.
No this was not the player I was dreamin' of.

I'm so unhappy nearly every single day singin'
Poo wah shi++y shi++y dum shi++y poo
I'm unhappy and that's how I'm gonna stay
Poo wah shi++y shi++y dum shi++y poo

I need an iPod (iPod) And iTunes (iTunes)
I need an iPod with iTunes, foget Dell and Napster.

Oh, I knew I bought the bobo player.
Yes I did so I bought the iPod I've been dreamin' of.

Now we're together nearly every single day singin',
Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do
We're so happy and that's how it's gonna stay singin',
Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do

Well I'm its (I'm its) And it's mine (it's mine)
Well I'm its and it's mine, wmy music choice is oh so fine.
Oh...Oh yeah
Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do (We're singin)
Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do

Sep 20, 05 - 02:12 pm Comment from: iMaki

It's ugly ass, just like their PCs. I remember back in the 90s when Acer came out with a cool-looking Aspire desktop with a case designed by Frog Design, Inc. It was a trend-setter. After that, everything got uglier and uglier. It's as though PC makers don't have a clue. The iPod Nano now blows everything away. Dell and its chief doughnut boy need to bow to the king--Apple!!!

Sep 20, 05 - 02:12 pm Comment from: Dank

i'm sorry, Tommy Boy, but it doesn't even fit the rhythm...

Sep 20, 05 - 02:13 pm Comment from: Peter

Plus, there's the obvious one.

The Ditty has a 90 day warranty--the iPod Shuffle has a one year warranty. "Upgrade" the warranty on the Ditty and it's an extra $14.

The Dell also claims an extra 2 hours of battery life (14 vs. 12). I gotta admit, though, that I get curious. The Ditty gets 14 hours of battery life playing 128Kbit MP3s. Is this different for Windows Media Files? Apple doesn't mention anything about where they got their 12 hour number from.

Sep 20, 05 - 02:16 pm Comment from: If I ever got one of these for Xmas...

Even without seeing it, MDN was so right with their take for the article that the new Dell DJ's were due:
You better watch out,
You better not cry,
Better not pout,
We're telling you why:
Santa Claus could bring a Dell DJ.


MDN Magic Word: "ill." (Now, that really is Magic!]

Sep 20, 05 - 02:20 pm Comment from: Nick

Let me get this straight:

costs the same, is a tad bigger, weighs almost twice as much, doesn't work with iTunes or Macintosh.

butt ugly.

has built-in radio.

dude! how bad do you want that built-in radio?

Sep 20, 05 - 02:23 pm Comment from: Emil

woohoo nano coming in a week but what's with the lanyard/heaphones 4-6 weeks? not like they didn't know the nano was coming smile

Sep 20, 05 - 02:23 pm Comment from: jackspratt

Dell made an MP3 player called Diddy
that wasn't terribly pretty
they claimed, "It holds more!"
"WMAs at 64!"
but the quality was godawful sh*tty

Sep 20, 05 - 02:24 pm Comment from: inform me please

I must have joined late - what does it mean when people put this at the end of their post?


MW =

Sep 20, 05 - 02:27 pm Comment from: Jamie Kelly

My Magic Word says it all: atrocious

grin

Sep 20, 05 - 02:28 pm Comment from: anon

Someone should be able to get a viable Linux port going on that Ditty....what with it having a 26x11mm LCD screen and all, that makes all the difference.

Sep 20, 05 - 02:34 pm Comment from: Spark

You know Dell has been working on this for a while. They must have crapped their pants when they saw Steve introduce the nano. The ditty will be sold only to people that can't bring themselves to buy anything from Apple. We know they are out there, so Dell will sell a few.

Sep 20, 05 - 02:34 pm Comment from: Chinese electronics junk dealer via iPodDailyNews

Oh I'm a Chinaman, making plastic crap, singin'
Do wah ditty ditty dum ditty do
Michael Dell is fat dumb ass, singin'
Do wah ditty ditty dum ditty do

I'm so untalented, I can't even rhyme, singin'
Do wah ditty ditty dum ditty do
Got a million from Dell, so Sim Wong Hoo really cares, singin'
Do wah ditty ditty dum ditty do

The landfill, that's where Ditty's will end up, singin'
Do wah ditty ditty dum ditty do...

Sep 20, 05 - 02:38 pm Comment from: dennis

"I must have joined late - what does it mean when people put this at the end of their post? MW ="

It's means the poster is a jackass.

Sep 20, 05 - 02:40 pm Comment from: qka

BRAVO, Tommy Boy!

That made my day!

Sep 20, 05 - 02:44 pm Comment from: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Longhorn

"• Includes earbuds, lanyard, and black & blue USB Cap only"
Bruised before it even hits the shelves!

Sep 20, 05 - 02:44 pm Comment from: Andrew Kantor

At least until recently, when Dell's DJ Ditty debuted, the iPod shuffle's controls felt better that the competition's. The competition has caught up, and there are some just-as-slick players out there. Get a Dell DJ Ditty and you can do the same things — download, play, pause, shuffle, etc. And the Dell DJ Ditty even includes an FM tuner and a tiny useless, er, useful screen. I didn't go for an iPod when I bought an MP3 player. I wanted something larger, heavier, uglier, and more complicated, so I got a superior Dell DJ Ditty.

Sep 20, 05 - 02:46 pm Comment from: for Inform Me Please

I must have joined late - what does it mean when people put this at the end of their post?

When you go to post a reply, you are required to enter the "MDN Magic Word" displayed below the reply window.

Very often, that MW just seems so right in regards to to reply that responders include it for the amusement of others.

And to bedevil jackasses like dennis.

MW = "ready", Dennis are you ready to grow up and use proper English?

Sep 20, 05 - 02:47 pm Comment from: Bob

somebody hitting this forum has WAY too much time on-hand...

Sep 20, 05 - 02:58 pm Comment from: Chris

Geez, who do they think their fooling (besides Grandma) with the song capacity. Who would want to hear their music ripped at 64 kbps? Soon they'll start saying that their next iPod-killer holds 100,000 songs and in the fine print it will say * when ripped at .01 kbps! Sheesh...

Sep 20, 05 - 03:06 pm Comment from: F.U.B.A.R.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Sep 20, 05 - 03:16 pm Comment from: Botvinnik

hell, that's why I bought an iPod: so I wouldn't have to listen to the goddamn radio.

Sep 20, 05 - 03:19 pm Comment from: macnut222

"The Dell also claims an extra 2 hours of battery life (14 vs. 12). I gotta admit, though, that I get curious. The Ditty gets 14 hours of battery life playing 128Kbit MP3s. Is this different for Windows Media Files? Apple doesn't mention anything about where they got their 12 hour number from."

They probably got their figure by playing a bunch 128 kbps AAC at medium volume.

Sep 20, 05 - 03:22 pm Comment from: Nick

Botvinnik, I totally agree!

Sep 20, 05 - 03:31 pm Comment from: Rainy Day

Dell should just close up shop, hold a garage sale to sell their assets, and send the proceeds to its shareholders.

[MW: cent, as that’s what Dell’s player is worth]

Sep 20, 05 - 03:34 pm Comment from: ken

Kudos to Dell for having the balls to bring this to the market after the nano was announced. The guy that made that decision was probably given a pat on the back and told "you cant win them all" as he was given a map to the Unemployment Office.

Sep 20, 05 - 03:36 pm Comment from: Bill

Wow, that's an amazingly horrible product. It really makes you wonder what institution for the insane Dell test-marketed this thing at?

"Everyone in the 'Napoleon' groups loves it, 86% of the 'bed shitters' prefer it and 75% of the 'compulsive masturbaters' can't take their hands off of it...I think we have a winner!"

Sep 20, 05 - 03:57 pm Comment from: tumok

The thing is, it's not like Dell made this thing overnight... they must've dreamed it up and decided to go forward with it six months to a year ago, at least... then went to design, testing, etc... and finally got everything wrapped up a few weeks ago ready to go into production... And I'm sure as they were sitting around all patting themselves on the back with their new tiny iPod killer with a little screen that's finished up and ready to hit the market in a week or two, Apple announces the iPod Nano and offers it for sale on the same day... Ohmighod! I would've loved to have seen the looks on the faces of those Dell executives with their jaws on the floor. It had to be priceless.

Sep 20, 05 - 04:04 pm Comment from: billysmom

why is it so important to "kill" the iPod? even those hapless persons still under the spell of redmond can use iTunes and their choice of iPod every bit as easily as those of use on the path of righteousness. why would anyone insist on encoding their music as mp3, when aac is superior in every way? what is little mikey smoking, to think that this ugly piece of dull crap could have even a chance of "killing" the iPod?

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