I’m sure you’ve all seen the iPod imitators out there – the Dell DJ and so on. I guess they can’t be faulted for trying to come up with a variation of their own on such a successful design. However:
Shame on you, iZon! (it’s a radio, though, not an MP3 player).
Shame on you, Aboss!
Shame on you too, Micromaxx! You even duplicated the earphones!
Oh well. I guess some people have no sense of dignity and/or pride.
Tell me bout it.
the other day my friend was tellin me about the ‘trade your ipod for a creative zen micro’ program!!!
There were a few people who actually fell for it.
Heres a part of an article i read
CAN ZEALOUS ZEN TAKEOVER THE COOL iPOD?
Creative ran an iPod exchange programme that even saw 20 celebrities - exchange their iPods for the Zen Micro. Creative also ran a series of ‘iBetter’ ads that took a swipe at Apple.
The bottomline of this game is emotion rules, not reason. Consumers are buying into the style and the ‘culture’ that comes along with the device. It is not the price that matters, but the premium. It is this ‘cool’ factor that enables Apple to sell its product at a premium, without the need for a discount strategy.
So the zealous Zen may not overtake the cool iPod, but if Creative plays its cards right, it could still become the overall MP3 leader with its vast range of MP3 players, like Dell has in the overall global PC game.
Whats with the iBetter ads. screw it, i say.
ill always love the iPod.
Just shows you what idiots they are… copying those lousy ear phones.
i’m truly disgusted…but what is that quote?
“the greatest flattery is imitation?”
…i guess…
or i guess its just a business strategy of,
“if you can’t beat them imitate them…”
Hey Arclight,
Are most of those products only in foreign markets? The Aboss seems to have chinese or kanji on it, so I’m assuming it is Asian market? The Micromaxx has german, I think, on the ad. Is it Euro only?
I feel like I have seen more copy cats on foreign markets than in the US.
Apple would most likely destroy these imitations in court if they were sold within the USA. At least in Asia, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to go after someone knocking off your product.
The Creative Zen IS a superior product, but it doesn’t have a superior experience. (iTunes plays a big part.)
for anyone that was at CES last week…this was a majority of the stuff you saw…
Tons of knock offs from Chinese companies…there was a ton of new stuff as well…but I can’t help but notice multiple companies that were knocking off the Sony Erickkson phones left and right.
Anyone see the Creative ZEN girls at the show? Yummy…gets my vote over the ipod 
hehe
When you’ve got no good or unique features to sell, you sell price. And if that doesn’t work - if people appreciate or pay for quality over price - you sell sex.
Kind of sad, really.
Saw this in the store the other day…seems pretty blatant as well.
Well, they do have the battery life/replacement thing going for them.
Yeah, the Zen girls was meant as a joke…but then again, sex sells
could somebody explain what’s going on in this thread? it’s like a pjama party everybody showing off their boobs- for god sake.
pjama party!!!
i think its bout iPod imitations.
Well, talkin bout imitations, i came across this electronic appliance company by the name of Panosoanic. Its an imitation of Panasonic. Here are some other imtations which are interesting. There is one PolyStation. And Misushita. Misushita in Japanese means, ‘i made a mistake’. And i guess we agree with them.
There was also this pBop thing that was nicknamed the Virtual iPod. A british company Starbrite, created the look and feel of the iPod to run on a pocket pc for just 20 bucks. This pissed off Apple, and they wanted the name to be changed from pPod to PBop. Eventually Apple was successfull in stopping Starbrite from selling the pBop itself.
Apple should get a new tagline. iMitation is the best form of flattery, but we dont like to be flattered.
That makes no sense. How did you come to that conclusion?
don’t worry about her.
she’s a nobody.
Here we go again.
They even named it Zen Micro Photo.
So can we expect a Zen Micro Shuffle?
Pretty shameless stuff.
At least the Zen Micro is only iPod-esque, kind of like all the TT-esque stuff out a few years ago.
…but the motorola knock of the Sony, c’mon guys, your a major name with a great design team. Got to keep those marketing guys out of the studio! Can’t you update the v70 or something?
CES was fun, even with all the knock-offs.
Speaking of knock-offs, it’s a sad trend that you see in Asia quite often weather it’s in electronics, music, car parts, hand bags, or software. Piracy is out of control in Asia.
As for Zen, the design is “ok”, but the fit&finish felt below average, definately below Apple’s standards. I had high hopes since I’m not an Apple fanboy 