Samsung goes Nano-hunting with T9
Sunday, March 25, 2007
APPLE'S iPod is a name synonymous with MP3 players. It's almost like the Indomee of instant noodles. But just how long will this domination last, especially when competitors are no longer playing catch-up when it comes to releasing similar devices that actually do better?
The answer is soon, especially with Microsoft releasing the Zune (it rhymes!) and even Korean bigwig Samsung is flexing their marketing muscle and technological expertise with the release of their new K5 and T9 MP3 players. Add on their seemingly bottomless marketing funds and it might be very soon indeed when people no longer associate MP3 players with Apple automatically.
A few weeks ago, we wrote about the Samsung K5 and how a little ingenuity turned it into a marketing phenomenon (try watching the Pussycat Dolls' and Fergie's music videos which featured the K5).
What Samsung did was just make an MP3 player, give it a marketing gimmick by adding sliding external speakers and finally make it look cool with a piano black finish. It was a hit.
Samsung also released another model around the same time called the T9.
It does not have the sliding speaker gimmick as it is clearly aimed at the more conservative but yet demanding user. The T9s has a slim body, which places it in direct competition with Apple's iPod Nano.
But the size is where the similarity ends as the T9 is far superior in many other areas.
Let's start off with music playback features. The T9 not only plays audio files but also comes with a built-in FM radio tuner. The earphones will act as the FM signal receiver when connected.
Meanwhile, Apple's Nano can only tune in to FM radio with an optional accessory that costs more money. To further rub salt into the wound, the FM radio broadcast can even be recorded in MP3 format on the T9.
On supported music file formats, the T9 supports MP3 and various WMA files while the Nano supports more formats like ACC, MP3, AIFF, WAV, Audible and Apple Lossless.
If this comparison was based solely on the number of file formats supported, the Nano would take the prize, but when is it really necessary for so many?
The more popular music file formats are MP3 and WMA these days anyway. Some may say better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
So this point is arguable but I'll declare it a stalemate between the two for both have their fair share of pros and cons. Music files can be directly copied over drag-and-drop style into the T9 and are playback-ready.
Playable music files on the Nano, however, have to be synchronised via Apples iTunes software. Both devices are to be connected to a USB port to facilitate file transfer.
Samsung takes another plus point for this and as for Apple, nobody likes to be forced, no matter how good you tell us your software is.
Just when it's starting to go all Samsung's way, the Koreans have omitted a very important point delivery. MP3 players allow us to indulge our sense of hearing and therefore it is imperative that a decent set of earphones accompany the device. The T9 only came with average sounding ones while Apple fares better with theirs.
Let's now look at the display. The T9 has a 176x208 pixel screen which can be used in both portrait and landscape mode. As for the Nano, it has a smaller 176x132 pixel screen. So as not to make this all about size comparison, let's take a look at their use.
Both devices allow the viewing of photos with the T9 only supporting JPEG file format.
The Nano, however, only allows the viewing of converted photos to what they call the nano-viewable photos. Additionally, the T9 plays MPEG-4 video files that have to be converted with the bundled Samsung Multimedia Software. While conversions are usually frowned upon, the Nano doesn't play videos at all. Another notch for the Koreans.
On the issue of user interface, both the T9 and Nano have very intuitive interface menus. It is really difficult to rate which one is better as it's a really subjective matter. The T9 interface menus are more graphical while the Nano works well with its text menus.
That said, however, when it comes to the interface buttons, Apple wins by a mile with its scroll wheel controller compared to the traditional interface buttons adopted by Samsung.
Now for other available features. The T9 comes with a built-in microphone for voice recording which can come in handy for little voice reminders.
It can also read and display a text file which is an obvious marketing ploy more than anything else. After all, due to the limited screen size, you can only have so much text on display at any one time. Reading an ebook with the T9 would be disastrous.
The Nano is also capable of reading text files but the same limitation about the limited screen size applies. For interactive entertainment, both the T9 and Nano come with games pre-installed and the games library can be expanded with downloads.
When it comes to buying choices, Apple has an upper hand in terms of accessorising the iPod. There are just so many iPod-ready items, from jackets to speakers, out there that it is almost insane.
Samsung will have to play catch up in this area as it'll take some time to convince third party manufacturers to make Samsung T9-ready accessories, if any.
In storage capacity, Apple has the Nano out in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB models while Samsung only has 2GB and 4GB models. That said however, the T9 has a B version which stands for Bluetooth and that allows use of Bluetooth headsets with the T9.
Rounding things up: feature-wise the T9 certainly has an upper hand as a portable media device. It definitely offers more features so its not just an MP3 player and its more accessible to everyone as there is almost no need to use proprietary software (except for videos) to get it up and running.
All that needs doing is to swap the stock earphones with something better to start rocking. The Brunei Times
The answer is soon, especially with Microsoft releasing the Zune (it rhymes!) and even Korean bigwig Samsung is flexing their marketing muscle and technological expertise with the release of their new K5 and T9 MP3 players. Add on their seemingly bottomless marketing funds and it might be very soon indeed when people no longer associate MP3 players with Apple automatically.
A few weeks ago, we wrote about the Samsung K5 and how a little ingenuity turned it into a marketing phenomenon (try watching the Pussycat Dolls' and Fergie's music videos which featured the K5).
What Samsung did was just make an MP3 player, give it a marketing gimmick by adding sliding external speakers and finally make it look cool with a piano black finish. It was a hit.
Samsung also released another model around the same time called the T9.
It does not have the sliding speaker gimmick as it is clearly aimed at the more conservative but yet demanding user. The T9s has a slim body, which places it in direct competition with Apple's iPod Nano.
But the size is where the similarity ends as the T9 is far superior in many other areas.
Let's start off with music playback features. The T9 not only plays audio files but also comes with a built-in FM radio tuner. The earphones will act as the FM signal receiver when connected.
Meanwhile, Apple's Nano can only tune in to FM radio with an optional accessory that costs more money. To further rub salt into the wound, the FM radio broadcast can even be recorded in MP3 format on the T9.
On supported music file formats, the T9 supports MP3 and various WMA files while the Nano supports more formats like ACC, MP3, AIFF, WAV, Audible and Apple Lossless.
If this comparison was based solely on the number of file formats supported, the Nano would take the prize, but when is it really necessary for so many?
The more popular music file formats are MP3 and WMA these days anyway. Some may say better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
So this point is arguable but I'll declare it a stalemate between the two for both have their fair share of pros and cons. Music files can be directly copied over drag-and-drop style into the T9 and are playback-ready.
Playable music files on the Nano, however, have to be synchronised via Apples iTunes software. Both devices are to be connected to a USB port to facilitate file transfer.
Samsung takes another plus point for this and as for Apple, nobody likes to be forced, no matter how good you tell us your software is.
Just when it's starting to go all Samsung's way, the Koreans have omitted a very important point delivery. MP3 players allow us to indulge our sense of hearing and therefore it is imperative that a decent set of earphones accompany the device. The T9 only came with average sounding ones while Apple fares better with theirs.
Let's now look at the display. The T9 has a 176x208 pixel screen which can be used in both portrait and landscape mode. As for the Nano, it has a smaller 176x132 pixel screen. So as not to make this all about size comparison, let's take a look at their use.
Both devices allow the viewing of photos with the T9 only supporting JPEG file format.
The Nano, however, only allows the viewing of converted photos to what they call the nano-viewable photos. Additionally, the T9 plays MPEG-4 video files that have to be converted with the bundled Samsung Multimedia Software. While conversions are usually frowned upon, the Nano doesn't play videos at all. Another notch for the Koreans.
On the issue of user interface, both the T9 and Nano have very intuitive interface menus. It is really difficult to rate which one is better as it's a really subjective matter. The T9 interface menus are more graphical while the Nano works well with its text menus.
That said, however, when it comes to the interface buttons, Apple wins by a mile with its scroll wheel controller compared to the traditional interface buttons adopted by Samsung.
Now for other available features. The T9 comes with a built-in microphone for voice recording which can come in handy for little voice reminders.
It can also read and display a text file which is an obvious marketing ploy more than anything else. After all, due to the limited screen size, you can only have so much text on display at any one time. Reading an ebook with the T9 would be disastrous.
The Nano is also capable of reading text files but the same limitation about the limited screen size applies. For interactive entertainment, both the T9 and Nano come with games pre-installed and the games library can be expanded with downloads.
When it comes to buying choices, Apple has an upper hand in terms of accessorising the iPod. There are just so many iPod-ready items, from jackets to speakers, out there that it is almost insane.
Samsung will have to play catch up in this area as it'll take some time to convince third party manufacturers to make Samsung T9-ready accessories, if any.
In storage capacity, Apple has the Nano out in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB models while Samsung only has 2GB and 4GB models. That said however, the T9 has a B version which stands for Bluetooth and that allows use of Bluetooth headsets with the T9.
Rounding things up: feature-wise the T9 certainly has an upper hand as a portable media device. It definitely offers more features so its not just an MP3 player and its more accessible to everyone as there is almost no need to use proprietary software (except for videos) to get it up and running.
All that needs doing is to swap the stock earphones with something better to start rocking. The Brunei Times
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