Group 1: Kayla, Sophie, Imran, Trudy, Chris Joo

Is The iPod Overrated? By: Kayla, Sophie, Imran, Trudy, Chris Joo



=Introduction= The iPod is one of the most fashionable accessories of the 21st century. Not only do you see Apple’s token white earphones plugged into every third person in workout gyms across North America and the world, iPods are also strikingly visible on your daily commute to the down town core. If you are a college or university student you see the white earphones all over campus as you walk from class to class and occasionally you can even see students using their iPods during lectures. Apple makes a variety of iPod models consisting of different physical sizes, Giga bite storage sizes, features, as well as a wide selection of colors to choose from. The iPod is known to be more expensive than other MP3 players on the market, but yet it is still the most popular. Other companies such as Samsung and Sony have developed music devices that sacrifice some of Apple’s iPod’s features but simultaneously provide interesting and unique alternatives. For this reason, we are providing consumers with an analysis of two other MP3 players, all of which are 16 giga bite, in order for consumers to answer the question, “Are iPods overrated?”.

=Apple=

History of Apple
Apple Inc. began in 1977 mainly producing computers, as well as computer software. The company has now grown to producing music players, smart phone and accessories for all their products. In 2008 alone Apple Inc had a total of US$32.48 billion sales worldwide, and was named the most admired company of the United States by Fortune Magazine. The IPod was launched in October 2001, with many different models to fit any customers’ needs. The iPod Touch first generation was introduced in 2007, and the second generation was released in 2008 with various upgrades and improvements.



Advantages of the iPod Touch
• There are many fun applications

• Added feature for new cars that include an iPod dock.

• Is Wi-Fi compatible, with an online iTunes store.

• Has an inbuilt speaker.

• Considered fashionable/trendy. • Ablility to watch movies and music videos on the display.

• Ability to view Album Artwork.

Disadvantages of the iPod Touch
• Constantly promoting new designs, therefore keeping up with the trend might be expensive.

• Tendency to freeze often.

• The iPod will only sync with iTunes, no other software will allow file exchange.

• Irreplaceable batteries.

• iPod must be plugged into the computer in order to charge.

• Cannot receive FM radio

Price: $299.00

...Is it really worth it?

=Sony=

History of Sony
Sony Corporation was first established in 1954. Starting off as a company that emerged from General Distributors (Gendis), Sony has now become one of the largest retailers of consumer electronics. At first, Sony was Japan based, however Eatons was the first company that began to retail Sony products outside Japan. Over the years, Sony has become one of the leading companies in the electronic world producing quality products that range everywhere from music devices to gaming systems.



Advantages of the Sony NWZA829B Walkman
• The Sony Walkman has Bluetooth capability; you have the ability to connect it to a wireless headset.

• The walkman has an amazing 36 hour battery life or a 10 hour video life. Quick full charge in 3 hours.

• You have the ability to stream music to other Bluetooth enabled devices.

• You have the ability to watch videos vertically or horizontally.

• It is compatible with secure Windows Media Audio.

• Supports many different audio formats including mp3, wma, and aac.

• Headphones produce sufficient bass without distortion of music.

• Powerful search feature: search by title artist track etc.

Disadvantages of the Sony NWZA829B Walkman
• Does not have touch screen capabilities.

• Does not have the ability to automatically switch screen from vertical to horizontal and the other way around.

• Does not have an inbuilt speaker.

Price: $239.99

...A good alternative?

=Samsung=

History of Samsung
Samsung which means “Three Stars” in Korean, and was founded in 1938 by a farmer, Byung-Chull Lee, in a small city in Korea named Taegu. Since then, Samsung expanded its size dramatically into a world’s competitive company especially during the Korean War era. Using refugees as their main labour forces, Samsung reached its specialized areas from world trade, their main industry, to electronics, insurance, finances, and more on areas wherever Korea needs to develop. It was the time called “the miracle on the Han river” that the company had a powerful influence on the country's economic development, politics, media and culture. Nowadays, Samsung represents Korea’s industry as it accounts for more than 20% of country’s total exports. If ranked larger than Argentina, the Samsung Group could have been the 34th largest economy in the world in 2006.



Advantages of the Samsung P2
• Has Bluetooth capability that allow users to transfer files between devices

• Has stereo head phone capability that supports multiple head phones and remote control

• Has phone connectivity with availability to speak into built in microphone.

• Has an FM Radio.

• Photo & Video viewer.

• Compatible to many formats MP3, WMA, MP2, OGG (UMS version), AAC (M4A), TXT, JPEGS, WMV, SVI.

• Customization – main menu design, font, background image, beep sounds, brightness, language, time, hold option, sleep time, auto power-off, passwords, customized equalizer.

• 35 hr song, 5 hr movie lifespan.

• Has a magnesium alloy body, that is resistant to scratches.

Disadvantages of the Samsung P2
• Has irreplaceable batteries.

• P2 must be plugged into the computer in order to charge.

• Is not Wi-Fi capable.

• Does not have gap-less playback.

• 16GB is exclusive to Canada.

Price: $249.99

...A good alternative?

=Conclusion= Whether sitting in class, riding the bus, or even going out for a quick walk, the iPod’s white earphones are visible. The iPod is used as a form of entertainment throughout North America and the rest of the world. It has become the most popular MP3 player on the market today. The iPod Touch has many amazing features such as Wi-Fi internet, video and photo viewer, as well as the ability to add fun applications. Overall, the iPod is a good product with small defaults, such as it’s delicate design and it’s uniqueness which only allows it to function with specific computer music programs that are designed by Apple. However, are these additional functions really necessary for a portable music player? After all, in most cases, a customer is purchasing an mp3 player for the main purpose of having their favourite music available to listen to while on the go. The Samsung P2 has the added feature of an FM radio, which could be quite useful if the user becomes bored with their own music. The Sony NWZA829B player has a Bluetooth feature that allows users to transfer and share music. These two alternatives are less expensive than the iPod touch and although they lack in added entertainment features, they hold strong to the main concept of being able to store and play back music. After analyzing the above mp3 players we have come to the conclusion that the iPod Touch is overrated. If one is solely looking to purchase a portable music player, an electronic that functions to par with the iPod without a few entertainment features, the Sony NWZA829B Walkman would be a much better choice at a price of 70 dollars less, as well as the P2 which is 50$ less.

=References=

 Imran 

http://www.sony.ca/view/history.htm

http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/ProductDetailDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&productId=1004999

 Kayla 

http://www.ipodhistory.com/ipod/touch/

http://www.ipodhistory.com/ipod-touch-second-generation/

http://www.apple-history.com/

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/01/21results.html

 Trudy 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc

http://www.businessknowledgesource.com/technology/advantages_and_disadvantages_of_using_ipods_in_the_workplace_024544.html

http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070526003041AAkcEXq

http://musiktekweb.blogspot.com/2007/10/my-review-on-ipod-touch.html

http://geekyprojects.com/ipod/ten-ipod-disadvantages/

 Sophie Zhang 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_P2

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5983946

http://www.gadgets-reviews.com/samsung-p2-first-pmp.html

http://www.overclockersonline.net/?page=articles&num=1601&pnum=7

http://www.transnationale.org/companies/samsung_group.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IZZ7I6

http://www.gaj-it.com/

 Chris Joo 

http://www.samsung.co.kr/about/history.jsp

http://www.samsung.com/my/aboutsamsung/corporateprofile/history.html