Yahoo and SanDisk One Up Zune

[Chris Gohlke]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.betanews.com/article/Yahoo_SanDisk_Team_Up_Against_iPod/1176136947' target='_blank'>http://www.betanews.com/article/Yahoo_SanDisk_Team_Up_Against_iPod/1176136947</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Yahoo is joining the ranks of Microsoft and others in attempting to unseat Apple's venerable iPod by teaming with SanDisk on a new Wi-Fi enabled Sansa MP3 player. The device will retail for $250, and includes a 2.2-inch color LCD screen and a capacity of 4GB. Although it's not the first portable music player to boast Wi-Fi connectivity, Yahoo and SanDisk are making the feature more useful. Unlike the Microsoft Zune, the Sansa Connect would be able to directly download songs from the Internet and stream Internet radio. In addition to the downloading of songs, a Sansa Connect user would be able to view their photos online from Flickr, and share music with users of Yahoo! Messenger even if they don't own the device. While sources insist that the Zune will eventually sport similar features, they have not yet appeared. However, in an increasingly competitive market, new entrants must define themselves quickly or risk being lost in the crowd."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/cgg-sansa-4907.jpg" /><br /><br />These are the features Zune should have had from the start. Even if Microsoft planned to have them from the start, now they'll just look like they copied them rather than innovated.

[Felix Torres]

"You can tell the pioneers by the arrows in their backs."

And Microsoft has taken more than its share of shots over Zune. Maybe piling up even more unproven tech would've spared them some of the arrows, maybe it would've attracted even *more* arrows, and maybe it would have produced a total winner/total loser of a product.
Don't known and to be honest, I don't care/mind how MS is developing Zune.

Cause I'm liking what I see: *three* strong competitors going at it, two of which are innovating on the business model *and* the tech. The only thing I'd like better would be if Archos would get off (just a little bit) off their techie groove and start dealing with content issues and mainstream user experience a bit more and maybe *market* their stuff enough to join the club.

The only thing better than three strong players would be four.
(I'd love Toshiba to make it five--I really love my Gigabeat S--but they have other battles to fight. Plus, the big japanese CE conglomerates just don't seem to get DAPs at *al*. 8O )

In other words: go for it Sansa.
I want choices, I want options out there.

[timmy]

Wow, seems to be a really nice product. Now we have the technology, please give us a business model to go with it.....

I am using Yahoo services for many things, but since I am living outside the US I can't sign up for Yahoo's subscription service. Why? Don't really know, but I am assuming it's the record companies that once again wants to divide the world into territories :x

Even though the US is a huge market, there are other places of the world that might like subscription services as well, so come on! I would get me a Sansa with Yahoo subscription any day!

/Timmy