“Looking at the press reports and comments this morning you could be forgiven for thinking that Apple’s payoff to Creative had a hidden agenda. The new battle ground is hotting up,” The Business News Source reports.
“Fat with its $100 million cheque from Apple, it seems that Creative is on the attack again – this time though its PR people have launched a full scale assault on one-time-partner, Microsoft,” The Business News Source reports. “In what must be the most amazing stroke of luck for Apple, it seems that the non-iPod player market is turning in on itself whilst Apple sits on the sidelines creaming in more sales and more plaudits. Typical of this PR onslaught is this excerpt below from Information Week:”
Creative Technology has launched a portable media player that will compete against former partner Microsoft’s Zune. Creative, based in Milpitas, Calif., released the Zen Vision W video, photo and music player on Thursday, the same day partner-turned-rival Microsoft unveiled details of Zune, which is expected to ship in time for the holiday season. In announcing the new device, Creative played up its support for Amazon.com and the online retailer’s Unbox movie and video store, which would compete with Microsoft’s Zune online store. Amazon launched Unbox this week.
“The marketing guys at Apple probably can’t believe their luck. To have two strong competitors fighting each other for ‘second place’ is likely to divide and waste their resources and lessen the impact of any marketing campaigns – splitting and confusing the messages to their target audiences,” The Business News Source reports. “Better still neither product is able to touch the newest Apple iPod’s in terms of specification or ‘cool’ appeal. What seems to be a good idea for Creative in the short term, will probably end up benefiting Apple significantly more in the longer term – Bill Gates must be fuming.”
Full article here.
Related articles:
Creative Tech: we will pursue all MP3 player- and cellphone-makers that infringe on ‘Zen patent’ – August 30, 2006
Apple investors cheer as Jobs wins again by getting Creative – August 24, 2006
Apple and Creative settle – the bigger picture – August 24, 2006
Analyst: Apple’s relatively small settlement with Creative removes threat hanging over iPod – August 23, 2006
Apple & Creative settle: Apple pays $100M for ‘Zen’ patent, Creative plans iPod accessories – August 23, 2006
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
dude. in this case, you are the enemy and your enemy is your other enemy’s (apple’s) friend.
i knew all along that this is apple’s strategy. apple’s settlement is just to give creative more credibility and leverage to go after other competitors (in this case, microshit) to do apple’s dirty work of squashing potential competitors. i’ve said it here before. Hah!
Soon, apple will be getting some refund checks from creative.
In the words of Flounder…….
This is greeat!
For $100 million, I’d expect nothing less.
Of course that leaves that much less in hte accounts of beleaguered Creative.
After seeing the webcast last night (I know, I know, I’ve been working a lot), I’m inclined to think that Apple has just decided “Screw it, we’re putting everybody out of business”.
With the new nano and shuffle (and a better video iPod on the way) not to mention iTunes 7, I really can’t imagine why anyone would bother with anything else…
$79 for the new shuffle? Wow, I just recently gave my 1st Gen 512K to my son, so I might go order two of the new ones.
~M
Creative’s Zen Vision W seems to be a strong competitor to Zune. Unfortunately, compared to Zen Vision, Zune looks and functions more like a embarrassingly inferior prototype from 2002 than a commercially viable product for 2007. It would seem that Zen Vision will be a stocking stuffer for good boy and girls, while the naughty ones will get coal with their Zunes.
(and a better video iPod on the way)
Says who? I didn’t see anything in the webcast about a better iPod video on the way..
Read
http://www.macgeekery.com/tips/security/basic_mac_os_x_security
http://daringfireball.net/2005/08/trusted
Too bad there are so many folks out there without brains, a few of the uninformed will buy Microslop Zunes by mistake (thinking a white player with a wheel thingy is a player, is a player, is a player) and then be sad, very sad.
WOW, I could’a had’a iPod
Hmmmm, i really need to take a zune. Afterwards, i’ll have to scratch my ballmer.
Security Pro:
Just, what do those urban legends have to do with reality?
On topic:
Yeah, let let Creative pinch and poke at Microsoft’s zunes. We can sit back and watch the fun.
After all, Creative players and the Zune ARE for the Wal-Mart crowd. Fat, slow-moving and dumb.
And why, oh WHY can’t I get an 8GB iPod nano in GREEN?
“The enema of my enemy is a load of Zune”
What seems to be a good idea for Creative in the short term, will probably end up benefiting Apple significantly more in the longer term – Bill Gates must be fuming.”
While you can’t deny that Gates has built the world’s largest, richest software company, in my opinion he is a total idiot, devoid of imagination and vision.
Instead of making his products better, he blames his business partners for failing against Apple, and launches a product that competes not just with Apple, but with his business partners as well.
You know you have won, when your enemy begins eating its young. No amount of Microsft supported press is going to reverse the iPod steamroller. Time for the Thurrott’s and Enderle’s to find other employment.
> Creative, based in Milpitas, Calif., released the Zen Vision W video, photo and music player on Thursday…
Too bad it’s not available. I wanted to see the price, so I tried to go through the online store at creative.com. Surprise (not really), it’s not available for purchase. All you get is a product description.
Not available, no pricing details… sounds familiar. But that’s actually one better than Microsoft. At least Creative gives a complete description of its product.
Dogs fight for scraps under the table.
As it should be…
Zune, Zen, Zig, Zag, Zing, Zarathustra…
whatever… background noise.
Let them all cannibalize each other.
The battleground is “hotting up”, huh? I guess relations between Creative and Microsoft are “colding off”.
Switch Boy!
Do you know why women yawn and stretch in the morning???………
Because they don’t have any ballmers to scratch!
Do you know why dogs lick thier ballmers???………
Because they can!!!
Ok everyone!!…..Lets here’em!
“Bill Gates must be fuming.”
Oh no doubt. This whole time I’d been thinking that it MAY give the OTHER guys a run for thier money, but then I found out… IT DOESNT PLAY “PLAY FOR SURE”. WHAT THE F!!!? What is M$ thinking? The only people who are going to buy and is this monstrosity are people who really REALLY REEEALLLYY LOVE M$. So, maybe they will sell 2. One to Billy Gates and one to the monkey boy Ballmer. No one who already owns a Creative, Sandisk and…. uh… whoever else with any Play For Sure media on them will NOT buy this.
Also, it really must have PO’d Billy off that Apple brought down the price of the iPod. I bet they were counting on the old price point to undersell Apple. OH WELL. Now they have to convince people to pay the same price (or more) for something the same color as dooky.
What’s the betting that Creative will slap Microsoft with lawsuit for Patent infringement the day Zune is released?
Cheers,
Tim.
should the zen vision w ever get to consumers, it’ll wipe the floor with zune in the also-ran market – it actually looks pretty sweet, at least in the flash demo…
I had high hopes, still do, that the iPod has a widescreen in the pipeline
i do so very much hope that M$ will continue to shoot themselves in the foot and that Zune continues to be incompatable with Plays For Sure. this can only be good news for Apple… and computing in general!!
Lord Robin:
The opposite of “hotting up” would be “colding down”, yer highness.
“hotting up” is perfectly acceptable in British English and is the preferred form on the BBC.
hotting
verb
1. Present participle of hot.