Flashback: Android makers tried to emulate the iPod touch, failed

16 April 2023
Several companies made Android portable media players or "PMPs", but they didn't really catch on.

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  • AnonD-1056488
  • 8rD
  • 16 Apr 2023

They just have to add SIM slot and undoubtedly I will go for it

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • LEP
    • 16 Apr 2023

    they did not failed.
    they are now on higher end market than the ipod too.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • IbF
      • 16 Apr 2023

      Still has a better EQ than the Pixel phones.

        I don't recall most of those Android PMPs except the Sony Walkmans. I do remember Archos, Creative, and Cowon devices. I used to visit AnythingbutiPod during the mid-00s. I thought Cowon (Korean) had awesome PMPs. The one that stood out to me that was an iPod competitor was the Microsoft Zune HD in 2009. The Metro UI looked better on that than on Windows Phone.

        I'm getting back into gaming though. Handhelds ages better in value than old mp3 players, pmps, and smartphones. Video games collecting is a big hobby than collecting old phones nobody will ever use. On YouTube, it's more lucrative to be like a MetalJesusRocks than a Simple Alpaca. You can always sell off that gaming collection for hundreds of thousands of dollars than an iPod or iPhone collection.

          Rkm, 16 Apr 2023Personally, when buying a DAP, I would like to buy a non An... moreHidizs AP80 Pro is also a great one. Very small and compact.

            My parents once bought me a fake iPod Touch from some crappy brand called Sylvania. It was so crappy they had to return it and after bought me an actual iPod Touch lol. That thing didn't even run android.

            Anyway, to address to last question, there is definitely still a market for them, except now that market has shifted towards affluent audio enthusiasts. FiiO X5 III comes to mind as one of the most successful Android DAPs.

            iBasso and Astell&Kern also makes some pretty damn fancy (and equally damn expensive) Android-based players.

              Anonymous, 16 Apr 2023Up until 2010, Android was a lot worse than iOS. The Androi... more4.4 to be Exact, after project butter and change from dalvik to ART

                Anonimo, 16 Apr 2023You really need to be an audiophile nerd to go around with ... moreFunny thing is that I became an audiophile long ago and I'm still in my mid-20s 🤣

                  • F
                  • AnonF-1006353
                  • JBi
                  • 16 Apr 2023

                  What about Cowon or FiiO? Cowon released its first touchscreen player (Cowon D2, 2006) even before the first iPhone came out (2007). It took some time but in 2010 they had their first Android player released. The brand and its design is way underrated, unfortunately. Also they were and still are serious about audio quality and a variety of high quality codec support, which isn't always the case with some of the more popular brands...

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 3Q1
                    • 16 Apr 2023

                    Anonymous, 16 Apr 2023Up until 2010, Android was a lot worse than iOS. The Androi... moreIt was because of the early Android philosophy of "pack in more features". Android 2.2 introduced Flash support, which was laggy as hell, but "people use Flash". Android 4.1 introduced Project Butter, which made the UI experience finally acceptable.
                    And since Android was packing way too many features than it could handle, hardware needed to be top-notch. Otherwise your experience wasn't good at all.
                    I'd say it was around Snapdragon 700 series launch that mid-range devices became "good enough". Now even the low-end is decent for basic uses.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • PZs
                      • 16 Apr 2023

                      Anonimo, 16 Apr 2023You really need to be an audiophile nerd to go around with ... moreyou wrong !!!
                      you know nothing about audiophile !!!
                      audiophile people can differentiate loss vs lossless, easily, they have their own tracks to test, down to the minutes and seconds each track

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • rJ7
                        • 16 Apr 2023

                        i get ipod. he get ipod mini great success

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • 3SI
                          • 16 Apr 2023

                          Up until 2010, Android was a lot worse than iOS. The Android Market, predecessor of the play store, was a far cry from the App Store in terms of usability, app selection and usefulness. It was only with Android 4 when Android really took off, and was able to pull ahead of the various alternatives like WebOS and the several offerings from Samsung. Before Android 4, many Android phones that were not high end were barely better than a touchscreen feature phone.

                          At least that’s how I remember it, but it was a long time ago so maybe I don’t remember it 100% correctly. What I do remember is that my first smartphone running Android 2.1 was indeed not much better than a feature phone. Only apps it was capable of running were the most simple games and WhatsApp. No Chrome, no Google apps really, just pre-installed manufacturer apps. I remember people I knew who had very early Samsung Android phone who said the same thing.

                          And that’s why the iPod touch had such a huge appeal, it had iOS and the App Store. Many people, instead of buying a $700 iPhone, bought a $150 Android phone and a $250 iPod touch.

                            It's important to remember that, as almost always, Apple did not get there first.

                            In this case, it was Creative Technologies from Singapore, who made more out of their multi million dollar infringement lawsuit against Apple (which Creative won), than the company did in profits from actual sales of their Zen line of products - good if tech writers could have a full view of the annals of innovation.

                              • R
                              • Rkm
                              • ypc
                              • 16 Apr 2023

                              Personally, when buying a DAP, I would like to buy a non Android one without any distraction like dethonray dtr1, questyle qp1/2r or even something like lotoo paw. They are also superior in terms of SQ at that price because all the r&d money went to sound quality related stuff.

                              But who knows, maybe it will come back. People are realising that digital cameras take vastly pleasing photos in good light when compared to phones (the whole fuji x100 series demand). Similarly wired audio and daps (least likely) will make a comeback.

                                Hemedans, 16 Apr 2023This article just praise Apple, Sony had walkman way before... moreWhy the hell are you here anyway?

                                  Anonimo, 16 Apr 2023You really need to be an audiophile nerd to go around with ... moreBcs they're the ones with the most money to spend lmao. No one's rly buying a music player that costs the same as a premium smartphone.

                                    the ipod competition vanished as soon as the iphone came out. because it now wasn't a matter of who can make the best mp3 player, it was who can make the best touchscreen smartphone.

                                      • B
                                      • Ben
                                      • nGU
                                      • 16 Apr 2023

                                      Anonimo, 16 Apr 2023You really need to be an audiophile nerd to go around with ... moreYou'd be surprised how obvious it is with a half decent pair of headphones.
                                      This is from somebody who bought an old iPod modded it (broke it) then bought a FIIO just for a music player where I'm not getting notifications every few minutes.

                                        • B
                                        • Ben
                                        • nGU
                                        • 16 Apr 2023

                                        Yes. FIIO has a full range of them.
                                        People want to be able to listen to music without being interrupted and with at minimum a straight 3.5mm jack not a jack to a dongle

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