New iPods just got dropped on your collective asses today. Screw the commentary, let’s whip out the giant nerd chart! (It’s so giant that I tweaked the design of the entire site just to fit it in, suckas!)
| Price | The iPod | The Competition | Why the iPod? | Why not? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $100 | iPod Shuffle $79, 1GB flash |
Creative Zen Stone $39, 1GB flash |
It’s tiny, it has a built-in clip, and I guess it’s your only option if you want a second miniature player that plays stuff you bought off iTunes. | If you don’t have any iTunes songs, the Stone is half the price, only slightly larger, and isn’t tied to the iTunes infrastructure (a big plus in my book). |
| Sandisk Sansa Clip $59, 2GB flash |
It’s also tiny, it too has a clip (duh), and it has a screen to boot. | |||
| Creative Zen Stone Plus $79, 2GB flash |
A screen and twice the capacity in a package only slightly larger than a Shuffle. | |||
| $100-$150 | Apple iPod Nano $149, 4GB flash |
Creative Zen V Plus $109, 4GB flash |
Nanos are pretty competitive price-wise, and the new version plays video and has that Cover Flow feature. | The Zen V Plus is quite a bit cheaper, if you don’t mind the thicker, plastic-y body and the nub joystick. Now that the new Nano does video, that’s no longer a plus for the V Plus, but it does have an FM radio (whether you’ll ever use it is another matter). |
| Creative Zen $149, 4GB flash |
The new Zen has an SD card slot for extra memory, and though it’s a bit chunkier the screen’s also bigger than the Nano’s new screen. | |||
| $150-$200 | Apple iPod Nano $199, 8GB flash |
Creative Zen V Plus $169, 8GB flash |
Same as above, but twice the memory and more colour choices. | Same as the V Plus 4GB, except the price gap is smaller. |
| Creative Zen $199, 8GB flash |
Same as the Zen 4GB. | |||
| Microsoft Zune $199, 30GB HDD |
Yeah, it’s a Zune, and though it isn’t quite as competitive as the iPod is (mainly because of that iTunes synergy), it suddenly looks a whole lot better if you think of it as a competitor to the Nano. Just forget about the Wifi functionality and the Zune store and treat it as a really cheap 30GB player. | |||
| $200-$250 | Apple iPod Classic $249, 80GB HDD |
Creative Zen Vision:M $249, 30GB HDD |
The same iPod you’ve seen before, but with the new Coverflow UI and an all-brushed-metal enclosure (meaning no more cases for scratch resistance!). | Honestly? Unless you really hate iTunes (and I do hate iTunes, but not that much), there’s not much reason NOT to buy one if you’re looking for a player at this price point. |
| Archos 604 $249, 30GB HDD |
Not only is it in the same boat as the Vision:M, it’s also likely to be discontinued in the mid-future as Archos rolls out its next-gen line. Note that this is NOT the same as the 604 Wifi; the plain-Jane 604 has no Wifi capabilities (which is why it’s still on sale as a compliment to the 605 Wifi). | |||
| $250-$300 | Apple iPod Touch $299, 8GB flash |
Archos 605 Wifi $299, 30GB HDD |
It’s the iPhone, minus the crappy phone part—sexy touchscreen interface without the tiny keyboard hassles (presumably Safari uses the widescreen keyboard), Wifi connectivity, and Safari. Oh, and it plays music and is hellaciously thin at 8mm. | The Archos looked a lot better before today’s announcement, but it’s still in the fight. For one, it can hold a hell of a lot more stuff. It’s also got a wider array of codecs and more content partnerships. And it’s got real buttons as well as the touchscreen. But pretty much everything but the 30GB are perks that don’t compare to the Touch’s great interface and browser, plus you have to pay $20 to get Archos’ Opera-based browser on the 605. It’s a tough decision: better interface with tiny capacity, or more cluttered interface with room to spare? |
| $300-$350 | Apple iPod Classic $349, 160GB HDD |
Archos 605 Wifi $349, 80GB HDD |
Same as the cheaper iPod Classic but with twice the space. | Against the Classic, the 605 Wifi looks a lot better. The interface is still fussy but it also has Wifi, a browser, and built-in connections to video and music stores. It’s also got 80GB less than the Classic, though. Basically, you’re looking at the same conundrum as above, only with the tables turned (and minus the UI issues). |
| $350-$400 | Apple iPod Touch $399, 16GB flash |
Archos 605 Wifi $399, 160GB HDD |
See the Touch vs. 605 comparison above, then add in the fact that you’re now getting ten times the capacity from Archos. The decision just got a lot harder again. | |
| Apple iPhone $399, 8GB flash |
It’s also worth noting that the iPhone 8GB dropped in price today. (Rumour has it the 4GB is also available for $299, but it wasn’t announced so it’s hard to say for sure.) At $599 plu a two-year AT&T contract it was a tough sell; at $399 it’s quite a bit easier to swallow. The Nokia N95 still does a lot more, but it’s no longer price-competitive at $600 unless you consider that the N95 comes unlocked (and even then, that point might be considered moot once the free iPhone unlock comes out, fingers crossed). | |||
This table was sort of generated on the fly; I don’t have any vast respositories of MP3 player knowledge or anything. So if there are any errors or things I’ve left out (specs or players) let me know in the comments.
Nice chart. My wife just upgraded from a 1st gen Nano to a 30GB iPod (needed the ability to record), dammit.
I’m also proud to say that my site is #3 when you google “I hate itunes”.
Comment by Victor — September 5, 2007 @ 4:51 pm
I expected you to make some sort of comment with the new iPod roll-out, but not like this. It is a nice chart though. But you’ve used up your nerd-quotient for the week.
Comment by Calvin — September 6, 2007 @ 6:57 pm
The nano-like Sansas are pretty good. Not much difference between the iPod in price — though they are on sale now at BB and there’s quite the difference — but it’s a nice little player. Apart from some minor stability issues (I had mine freeze up a couple of times) it does everything the iPod does plus FM radio, voice and radio record and some other small things. The best part: you don’t need any software to transfer files into it. It acts just as an external drive when it’s connected via USB. You can just drag and drop at that point. This is my favourite feature.
Comment by nowak — September 8, 2007 @ 7:14 am
The Best Buy “sale” actually looks like the new retail price on those Sansa e280s—the Sandisk site lists the 8GB at $149.99 USD, so the new Canadian MSRP shouldn’t be much higher.
Comment by Wesley — September 8, 2007 @ 12:01 pm