“By the time I arrived at Circuit City, the ravaging hordes had picked clean all the one-day specials. And so it was that I settled on what was left over–in this case a Sansa m240 from SanDisk,” Charles Cooper reports for CNET. “CNET Reviews gave the product a 7.3 rating, so I went with the recommendation. But after nearly two weeks of tinkering with the unit, let’s just say I’ve been quite tempted to hammer the Sansa into scrap metal.”
“Too few technology gadgets and applications fall into the category of plug and play. More often, it’s manipulate and pray,” Cooper reports. “I won’t bore you with the details of the software hell I suffered, but there were any number of minor technical questions the company leaves customers to figure out on their own… If I want a mind teaser, I’ll open the day’s New York Times crossword puzzle. I don’t get my jollies wasting a full day trying to deconstruct the original intention of a clueless product designer–and from what I gather from a recent panel on what consumers want in their gadgets, most people feel the same way.”
“How many manufacturers really obsess about eliminating customer confusion? Unfortunately, Apple Computer is the exception to the rule. Postscript to my personal tech tale of woe: after a day mucking around with the Sansa, I eventually got things straightened out. But it also confirmed the indelible truth that SanDisk CEO Eli Harari is no Steve Jobs,” Cooper reports. “I should have bought the iPod.”
Full article here.
Related article:
CNET’s Cooper: Apple products reflect an attention to detail that rivals should study – June 02, 2006
“Unfortunately, Apple Computer is the exception to the rule.”
Unfortunately? I think he meant fortunately …
“I should have bought the iPod.”
Hey Charlie, it’s not too late. You can take stuff back to CC within 15 days of purchase and get what you really want.
“Unfortunately, Apple Computer is the exception to the rule.”
As in unfortunatly only one company gets it.
the exception:
Exactly, no insults here.
Inform yourself before you buy.
The guy is an obvious idiot. He probably traded the Sansa for a Zune… LOL, going from bad to worse.
Apple is the exception on computers as well. Others? assembly crapola with crapola OS pre-installed. Apple is the exception: how many manufacturers really obsess about consumer experience? ONE, Apple Computer, and thanks to Steve Jobs, the most obsessed person in Apple of all. Only *good enough* projects and products are simply killed by SJ if they cannot improve well above that.
i guess the editor wasn’t in agreement with his review team then? what does that say for the organisation?
Hehe “you get what you’re not paying for”
i guess the editor wasn’t in agreement with his review team then? what does that say for the organisation?
It says you can’t possibly extrapolate the health of an organization based on one incident of a boss having a differing opinion than his employees.
…and you pay for what you get.
Simplicity. That’s all people want. And reliability. Simplicity and reliability is all people really want. That and a nice set of hooters…
“How many manufacturers really obsess about eliminating customer confusion? Unfortunately, Apple Computer is the exception to the rule. . . .”
Friggin idiot. Probably thinks he’s too good for a copy editor.
I had a friend call me yesterday to ask what kind of MP3 player she should get for her husband. He bought one of the first ones that came out and hated it so much because it was impossible to load and use. I explained how easy the iPod is, how there are 3 different types, etc. I also told her that there are others out there, but NOT TO BUY THEM. Her husband is getting a Nano for Christmas – yay!
Death by a thousand rants, except for the exceptional.
@Roberto: actually, i think he *was* making an informed decision….he had read some good reviews about the product. but when faced with a store that had been “picked clean,” the writer’s biggest mistake was falling into the instant gratification trap. his other options could have been:
– find a different store
– find a different sale online
– admit you missed the deal and wait for the product to be restocked
instead he chose to pick up one of the leftovers. there’s a reason why it was still sitting on the shelf, and he found out the hard way.
It’s also not hard at all to find iPods at a 5-10% discount at places like Circuit City and Amazon (among others) if you simply take the time to go to their website. Even Apple had a sale on iPods on Black Friday. There really is no excuse to not go with the best.
One reason to buy, Sansa, Zune etc. – they aren’t the all popular iPods.
Which I suppose is why they are bright enough to use Windows and MS Office.
“Unfortunately, Apple Computer is the exception to the rule.”
I think either he’s an Apple hater or an iPod hater.
Dude you work for CNET. Seek help.
I sincerely hope James Kim is alright but the guy fought so hard to give Apple products a bad rating, because CNET is a PC-centric site. Stop lying to your audience.
How could have tinkered with the sansa for two weeks when he bought it last Friday?
Charles Cooper of Cnet is the person who dissed Apple’s Big Mac supercomputer at Virginia Tech a couple years ago. He’s no fan of Apple, so this has to be grudging praise.
Where is Zune Tang?
I wonder how many kids out there are looking foward to getting a ipod for Christmas, only to get stuck with one of these crummy third rate mp3 players? Lots of clueless people out there thinking something like a zune is like a ipod.
Thanks, TowerTone. I just snotted on my keyboard.
TowerTone:
Do you want that “nice set of hooters” on a woman or on yourself?