Gateway Announces MP3 Photo Jukebox Aimed at iPod
by , 3:15 PM EDT, October 28th, 2004
Two days after Apple announced the iPod Photo, Gateway has announced its own music player and photo viewer device called the Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox. The device offers 4GB of storage, a 1.6" (128 x 128 resolution) color LCD display. This compares to iPod Photo's 1.8" (220 x 176 resolution) color LCD. Gateway said the unit will ship in mid-November, and is priced at US$249.
The MP3 Photo Jukebox supports JPEG and BMP image files, and MP3, WMA, and AAC music files (iTunes Music Store downloads are not supported). This is one of the few devices that supports the AAC format outside of Apple's iPod product line.
In Gateway's press release, the company said "The new Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox will make anyone currently on a waiting list for other mini-digital music players think twice," clearly positioning the new device against the iPod. Apple has heretofore found it difficult to meet demand for the iPod, particularly the iPod mini, and Gateway wants to position its product to take advantage of that.
Gateway's MP3 Photo Jukebox
Gateway has partnered with Napster's Napster To Go music download service, and is giving away one free month of the service to customers who buy the MP3 Photo Jukebox. The device will support other WMA-based music download services as well.
You can find more information on the MP3 Photo Jukebox at Gateway's Web site.
Observer Comments
"The new Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox will make anyone currently on a waiting list for other mini-digital music players think twice,"
That has to be one of the worst marketing ploys I've heard of.
"You may want to consider jumping to us because we can foist our inferior prodct on you faster"
Thu Oct 28, 2004 3:43 pm Subject: Re: Poor marketing strategy
QuoteAnonymous wrote:
"The new Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox will make anyone currently on a waiting list for other mini-digital music players think twice,"
That has to be one of the worst marketing ploys I've heard of.
"You may want to consider jumping to us because we can foist our inferior prodct on you faster"
Heh heh...yeah, if I was one of these companies I would be SCREAMING about Windows Media Player and how I could sync with it. There have to be plenty of people out there who had huge music libraries in WMP before iTunes came out on the PC and they don't feel like switching programs.
JUMP on those people and you'll have plenty of business! Even if it's a small percentage of PC users it's still a huge market.
Thu Oct 28, 2004 3:54 pm Subject: So Close...
ya, iPod is better, BUT am I the only one who thinks that the $599 price is just CRAZY!!!!! I mean, this is $350 less than Apples!!!! I thought the iPod was too much at first, still do actually, but it sells. No matter what, I do not thing the $599 iPod will sell at all!!! WAY TO MUCH!!!!
Thu Oct 28, 2004 4:23 pm Subject: Re: What a Joke
QuoteAnonymous wrote:
The very idea of Gateway doing consumer electronics is such a joke. I have to LOL!!!!!
I'm sure the Gateway Jukebox will be a big hit right after their TVs, you see them everywhere right?
Well hey, I don't think this is fair. Their TVs didn't go anywhere because they tried to sell something before it was cheap enough to be popular.
To me, this is the same as the Apple Cube. The would have sold MUCH better if they were cheaper, but at the time that's as cheap as they could make them.
It was just too early in both cases.
I don't make fun of the cube for failing, do you?
Thu Oct 28, 2004 4:25 pm Subject: Re: price,
QuoteAnonymous wrote:
ya, iPod is better, BUT am I the only one who thinks that the $599 price is just CRAZY!!!!! I mean, this is $350 less than Apples!!!! I thought the iPod was too much at first, still do actually, but it sells. No matter what, I do not thing the $599 iPod will sell at all!!! WAY TO MUCH!!!!
Well, for starters, this one is 4 GB and the iPod is 60 GB. I mean, I think Apple has to charge for those extra 56 GBs, you know.
Thu Oct 28, 2004 4:58 pm Subject: It has ONE advantage over iPod photo
From the info page:
"Love photos? With its camera-connect capabilities, the MP3 Photo Jukebox can also store your favorite digital pictures. Just plug in your camera to download images to the player. It even features a 1.6" color screen, perfect for sharing pictures with family and friends."
It does have this one advantage: It can hook up to your digital camera directly. Why Apple left this off the iPod Photo I don't know, but they left an achilles heal. Of course, also in this quote is the reason this Gateway thing is a total failure: You can't show your photos on a TV.
this seems to be better suited for competetion with the miniPod
i think this may be the first product to take on part of the iPod lineup directly, and it would be the gateway photo and iPod mini
gateway
advantages
color screen, photo viewer
disadvantages
inconvienent location for specs-- hard to find (and discern to the lay person)
miniPod
advantages
actual information, easy UI, brand name quality (instead of shutting down stores, new ones are opening)
disadvantages
production issues
there are goods and bads to both-- i may have to actually walk into a best buy and look at one of these to see UI, battery life info, and such-- as $249 is tempting
TRO
First off, it's not an iPod. But it is much better looking than that Dell DJ.
Secondly, it has a removable battery!!. Very Cool, and it looks like a standard Motorola V80 phone battery to boot.
Plus it does play AAC.
This has to be one of the best alternatives to the iPod.
Will I get one? Nope... already have my iPod.
Apple can do all of these fancy handstands, but if they don't have product people get dissapointed and alternatives.
Apple's slipping market share could be attributed in part to the lousy supply chain Apple employs. Our office waited six months to get an X Serv. We ordered them as soon as they came out at the first of the year. Our IT department had a fit we were bringing one in, and a bigger fit that they had to keep an open spot for 6 months. Twice we almost lost the spot to a cheaper, more readily available server they were going to "buy for us" in place of the one Apple couldn't produce. Needless to say it was an embarrassing 6 months, especicially after Apple cancelled our order several times due to supply issues.
I see the same thing at our local CompUSA, bad enough you have to buy it from them, good luck if they can get it from Apple. People bought the display models for the new iMacs the first day because that was all Apple sent out. The local Apple rep had ordered a ton of product only to have Apple refuse to ship it due to supply issues. He's pretty much convinced his Christmas order isn't coming either.
We've tried to convince our IT department to try a few desktops just to see if they might not diversfy the load of what they have to do. The biggest argument to not try Apple is based on the XServe wait and similar stories they have heard from other IT departments about a lack of expensive product.
I'm not a big Gateway fan, but if they have product, people will come.
But does it sync with my photo library? Or do I have to manage the Gateway MP3 player library separately from the my computer-based library?
Does it copy my photos as is or does it reduce the resolution (and file size) to what is needed on the player?
And how easy will it be to pick music to accompany my photos?
There's certainly much more that Gateway has not yet revealed about their product.
QuoteGuest wrote:
ya, iPod is better, BUT am I the only one who thinks that the $599 price is just CRAZY!!!!! I mean, this is $350 less than Apples!!!! I thought the iPod was too much at first, still do actually, but it sells. No matter what, I do not thing the $599 iPod will sell at all!!! WAY TO MUCH!!!!
Well, I just got my 60 gb iPod Photo - I called the local Apple Store, and they had just gotten their shipment in. When I picked it up, I asked how many they had sold - the manager wouldn't give me an exact figure, but one of the salesguys who I've bought from before told me 10 were sold in the last 3 hours, and half were the 60 gb version. And this is on a Thursday night in a fairly quite mall.
As far as price points - let's look at the numbers: $249 for 4 gb - that's $62.25 a gb. The 60 gb iPod Photo is $10 a gb. Seems to me that it's the Gateway is the one way, way overpriced. I guess Gateway is looking to horn into the Mini's market.
I have always been an early adopter - I bought an iPod when they first came out - paid $400 for 5 gb. I resisted upgrading because I didn't like the 4 button version - and by time the 4th gen was released, I really needed a large iPod and there were always rumors about the 60 gb Hitachi drives. Frankly, manually loading and unloading paylists on the 1st gen got so old that I stopped using it except when travelling. Never had problems with the battery - I was able to get more than 8 hours of playtime - put on the music when I took off from JFK and didn't stop the music until the captain announced we were about to land in Paris - usual request to shut off all electronic devices. I think I could have gotten another 2 hours out of it.
Anyway - I wish Gateway the best of luck - they are going to need it. The iPod Photo is another triumph of design and engineering. And I can't wait to show it off!
QuoteGuest wrote:
Apple can do all of these fancy handstands, but if they don't have product people get dissapointed and alternatives.
Well - in the case of the iPod Photo - they are available right now. I just got mine from my local Apple Store, which is expecting 2 shipments a week from Apple for all flavors of iPod, through the Christmas season. If you've been paying any attention to the tech news - you'd know that Apple's been stocking up on the Hitachi drives.
The iPod Photo is a thing of beauty - works like a dream. I couldn't be happier.
Another triumph for Apple - long may Steve's RDF reign!
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