<< Considering most poeple don't have collections bigger than 20GB, the USB vs. FireWire argument is almost void. >>
Try managing an hours worth of music over USB and get back to us. It's a
moot point if you already have all your MP3s organized exactly the way you
will always want to listen to them before transferring to the USB player.
But try on-the-fly replacement or updates of those songs and you might see how
the additional speed of firewire makes that task much more convenient for the
consumer.
<< The Rio offers 4x more storage, FM tuner and voice recorder in a slightly larger package (an inch on each side) for $400 >>
As you said above, most people won't benefit from the increased space.
The FM Tuner and recorder are great features though (I wonder if it can record
from the radio?)
<< The iPod, while being slighly smaller, offers less storage, fewer features and costs (for PCs who need the software and a 1394 card) about $60 more. >>
Less storage yes, but that space can be split between the music collection and
standard drive space, making it a valid form of portable storage as well.
It's form factor also makes it appealing for such usage.
Only 1" difference is still a lot in a world of slimline devices.
You seem to overlook the interface on both units in your feature comparision.
The iPod looks to have a very easy to navigate menu system, while the RioRiot
has the additional capability of remembering favorite songs and categories.
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Apple is one of the few companies from the early days of the PC revolution to
still have a charismatic leader at the helm. Jobs always gave the impression
he was in the business for more than just to make money, which makes for a
great "human interest" side to stories and articles about the company.
All the other CEOs come across as Geeks, Suits, or Maniacs of some sort
(no offense), while Jobs seems more like a regular Joe.
Its an act of course - he's just as much (or as little) a geeky suited maniac
as Gates, Ellison, McNealy, Fiorina and the rest, but the way he comes across
and the loyal following that Apple has built over the years, makes reporting
about them seem more fun.
Apple has a lock down on its own market (Mac owners) which almost garauntees
success for the company in many product and service releases. That makes it
a lot easier to report on a few simple combinations of products and software
in the Macspace against the (literally) millions of combinations of
Hardware vs Software that can be thrown together in a standard PC configuration.
Because they are different/proprietary Apple is the only other "consumer level"
PC company that the press can use as a measure against the rest of the PC industry
to track availble trends in technology.
Take the iPod as a second example, if it had flopped for Apple with Mac
users alone, then that could be seen as an indication of weak demand for
MP3 Players overall. But since there is high demand for iPod both on Mac
and for PCs, the media can use that information to know what kinds of
stories to followup on to keep their readership/viewership and thus build
on thier own userbase.
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I really like the RioRiot, and it is almost an iPod-killer but without
USB 2.0 or Firewire (or both) it doesn't quite make it. For the price
the Rio is not competing with the iPod, it is competing with every
other MP3 player on the market and the iPod.
The iPod only has to compete with other MP3 players that will work
with Macs, and even then only with costomers who could not easily find
or afford the iPod in the first place.