Faster Talk: Apple in Their Eyes

By: Jennifer VilagaWed Dec 19, 2007 at 7:54 AM

Digital-audio players weren't exactly virgin territory when Apple entered the fray in 2001. But the iPod -- with its sublime design, intuitive usability, and unparalleled cool quotient -- set a new standard by which all other MP3 players would be judged. Expanding on the feature that ran in the magazine, six rivals talk about designing their answer to an icon.

We got into the MP3 business in 1999, with our first hard-drive player, the Jukebox 6000. That was a year and a half before the first iPod. When Apple hit it big in 2003, we were no longer interested in the music-only category. For the past five years, we've been focusing on what's coming next: the portable audio-video player. Our 20-gigabyte Gmini 400, which we released last September, has been very successful. It's the size of an iPod, costs the same as an iPod mini, but comes with 20 gigabytes and a larger LCD screen to play back video. And this video can be any type of video, from your computer or from TiVo. We think that the first source of media content is still TV. What we've done is make that content portable.

The way we design products is very much driven by the technology inside, whether it be combining video, audio, and music, or making our products wireless. Archos wants to continuously ride the wave of technology, so that means we tend to go away from the low end of the mass market. That's why we no longer make flash players. In order to do it now, you simply buy a reference design for the technology and then build a new interface. You can argue that you can differentiate with the design of the interface, but it's all the same, including Apple's. Archos is not competing in the same arena. Creative, Rio, iRiver... certainly those companies fight against Apple, because they want to reach the same target. But we are after something different. Apple may have won a battle when it comes to music, but it remains to be seen whether it will win the war against Microsoft.

Henri Crohas, 54, founded Archos in 1988. The Gmini 400, launched last September, has outsold the Apple iPod in the 20-GB category in Europe.

Outcool the Competition

Sim Wong Hoo

Founder and CEO, Creative Technology Ltd.
Singapore

When all anyone could talk about was the iPod, we were already thinking about how to outcool it. That was the design charter for the Zen Micro, which we released late last year, and we wanted to win in every aspect. We started off with the name, looking into the whole concept of Zen, then decided that it was a good direction and made it the basis for the design. It's not about the religion but the lifestyle: Zen is something simple yet powerful. Our player, the Zen Micro, is cool and clean, and we have it in 10 contrasting, electrified colors, so we can catch people's eye. Its curve fits into your hand, it has a mesmerizing blue glow, and there's top-injection molding. All of these are very Zen-like and give people a very warm and good feeling.

I am very passionate about design. Even though I can't design myself, I think I have a good eye for details. As the CEO, my job involves a lot of artist coaching, showing designers the right direction, how to look at the market, and what to go after. I have to keep them fresh, energized, and motivated. But at the same time, I can't let them run wild. If I did, I'd be left with crazy designs that only appeal to niche markets. I learned that lesson with the second-generation Nomad, which I let my designers talk me into releasing even though I personally didn't like it.

Of course, Creative's main competitor is Apple. It's always good to focus on the toughest guy, the top-tier guy out there. That way, we can at least be a strong number two. But I think the main reason why Apple is so popular is because of its blanket marketing. They've got billions of dollars I don't have. The market is exploding right now, and it's a crucial one we have to capture. So I have dedicated around $100 million in marketing this year. It's still a lot smaller compared to what Apple has spent, but I think it's especially important to give our MP3 players our number-one attention.

Unlike Apple, however, we are not going to spend our money trying to convince people that we are good. We are going to spend our money telling people what we offer. At Creative, more is better. Our products are packed with more features -- an FM tuner and voice recorder, for example -- and we're able to deliver this at a lower price. That's where we can win.

Sim Wong Hoo, 49, an engineer by training, founded Creative in 1981. It comes second only to Apple in total market share for MP3 players.