Handheld Entertainment CEO not impressed with video iPod
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Oct 13, 2005 at 2:53pm
Jeff Oscodar, president and CEO of HandHeld Entertainment told Macsimum News that “we welcome Apple and Mr. Jobs to a market that we pioneered.” But he says he’s not impressed with Apple’s ]new video-capable iPod, which competes with this company’s product line.
He added: “Years ago, we knew that people wanted to watch video on handheld devices, and we have been satisfying that demand. Apple’s announcement about its plans to begin shipping an iPod video player validates our vision. Apple’s iPod product line is certainly in flux—or should I say it’s in a ‘Shuffle?’ I wonder how nano purchasers feel now. We at HandHeld Entertainment don’t treat our customers with such disregard. That’s why we are introducing a complete ZVUE family of portable video devices at CES this coming January. That way, consumers can be free to choose the product that’s best for them. And one more thing, our products are affordable. All of the products in the ZVUE product family will cost less than the cheapest iPod that supports video.”
He says that, at US$99, the current ZVUE is priced at one-third the price of the least expensive video iPod, while the next generation ZVUE (pre-announced on Monday) will be priced at $149, less than half the iPod video player price. Oscodar says that the next generation ZVUE will feature on-board flash memory, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and be compatible with Windows Media Video (WMV) and Windows Media Audio (WMA) through the use of Microsoft’s secure Digital Rights Management (DRM) software.
HandHeld Entertainment announced its first ZVUE in mid-2003 with a $99 price point and shipped its first units before Christmas 2003. Version 1.1 is currently available online and in more than 1,500 retailers throughout the U.S. including select Wal-Mart stores and Discovery Channel Store locations nationwide.
The next generation ZVUE will utilize a thinner housing than the original ZVUE and will be available in new colors. HandHeld will publicly unveil the next generation ZVUE in January at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company plans to have multiple ZVUE models available for purchase in 2006, including both the original and the next generation ZVUE models, Oscodar says.
You can download music and video from the ZVUE download Web site, and
other content sites. About the size of a pack of playing cards, the ZVUE plays videos, music and audio files.
Johnny Turner Says:
Just for information I went to their website to see what was available for downloading. Frankly I didn’t find much, and what I did find wasn’t what I would call first rate material.
Posted on October 13, 2005
digi9 Says:
I kinda agree on the ‘shuffle’ thing. Does anyone remember how old iTunes 5 was before 6 arrived? I know that would be a different thing but if look from one perspective, I wish Apple could at least ‘plan’ it properly…
Posted on October 13, 2005
HandHeld Who?? Says:
Gee, I didn’t know time travel was possible. This guy sounds like a sore loser from the future… or maybe from way in the past. Portable/handheld video has been around for a long time now. I remember getting a Sony WatchMan as a kid, when everyone was hoping handheld TV systems would take off. If anyone can make this stuff happen, I believe it to be Jobs & Co. The public will likely jump just because of his company’s savvy, not to mention the RDF he creates. Funny, some would say Bill Clinton was the same way.
Posted on October 13, 2005
Macaday Says:
Sounds a bit sad really. Apple is going SO far out ahead of everyone else now that these folk, in spite of all their hard work, really must feel quite disadvantaged.
Posted on October 13, 2005
MacManic Says:
WOW!!!
The ZVue comes with a massive 128mb of Ram, gee wiz, and I can buy an extra 512 mb!!!
Awesome.
I can see why Jef is so dismayed over the video iPod. Just becasuse the iPod has 240 times more storage at entry level and has the support of the entire music industry doesn’t make it good.
I’m gonna get 2.
But seriously....
I just bought a Nano over the larger iPod because I like the small size of the Nano.
I could get personal but I think he is already having a bad enough week.
----------------------------------------------------
MacManic
“In Jobs We Trust”
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Posted on October 13, 2005
Who carea if iTunes 6 came soon? Says:
Since iTunes 5 was FREE?
Posted on October 13, 2005
egsaxy Says:
head over to the handheld website http://www.hheld.com and see why their products cost so much less than an iPod. it uses flash and the player with a 512 MB ‘deal’ is 259.90 or the 299 for an iPod with 30 gb or 60x the storage space. The math doesn’t add up, the player isn’t as sleek, as small, or as attractive. HandHeld has a big problem on its hands.
Posted on October 13, 2005
richard Says:
adios zvue! ;)
iPod is going to kick your butt, its the software, not hw:))) although you obviously lack both:)) the weird blue player looks worse than a toy my little brother plays with;)
btw. what do you watch on 128MB ram ?:D hillarious company you are, I’ll give you that
Posted on October 13, 2005
mark Says:
It’s only 159.95 for the 512 MB deal, which holds 420 minutes of video. And it does have an SD slot so you could put in more!
But still, I’d rather pay the 299 for the iPod instead because it holds a lot more video (which gives me choice), I can use iTunes!, and I think iTMS will have better and more content into the future. And it doesn’t use AA batteries!
Posted on October 13, 2005
Puztled Says:
Why did D.S. run this pap without comment? Just reading the headline and the article gave the illusion that HandHeld was actually ... something. What good is a 512mB video player?
Posted on October 13, 2005
Are you kidding me? Says:
The new iPod blows the ZVUE player out of the proverbial water. Hell the first iPod smokes that thing..
Posted on October 13, 2005
sean Says:
what a bitter bitter bitter little man. Comparing Apple to ZVUE is like comparing Ferrari to Yugo. Apples and oranges. bitter because “Mr Job"s was able to do what your company could not? get used to it.
Posted on October 13, 2005
Robert Lo Bue Says:
Agree with most of the comments here.
Apple may not be first, but there’s no point throwing a player into the market without media it can play. Sure you can have illegal stuff on the “other” video players, but Apple recognizes there are honest people out there who are willing to pay (actually only $1.99 per episode) to watch their favourite shows the next day, or whenever.
We must also remember. We MUST remember - the iPod is FOREMOST a MUSIC player. Have you tried other players? None are as simple as the iPod. The 60gig iPod now has 20 hours playback on a thinner than before design. For me video is a bonus, music is a first. I think I’m going to sing my praises around the web now. Ciao.
Posted on October 13, 2005
lars Says:
he would have been better off with just a “no comment”
Posted on October 13, 2005
me Says:
Now that the video iPod is released the only “hand held” entertainment Jeff Oscodar is going to have is with his god given equipment. Not his electronic products.
Posted on October 13, 2005
steve Says:
Reminds me of the guy who laughed at the iPod shuffle. Make sure to get another comment when the new iPods outsell his offerings 20-1.
Anyway the real news is the downloadable tv shows. Legal content! If this catches on it will be another Apple coup, and the rest of the industry will spend years catching up, although they’ll be very busy still trying to catch up in music!
Posted on October 13, 2005
Dave Says:
ok so iPod has 30G this has… SD or MMC
iPod has MPEG4 with 480X480 at 30FPS this has 176X240 at 15fps
both have 2.5” screens
iPOD 30G weighs 4.8ounces this weighs in at 5!
iPOD uses USB 2.2 this uses 1.1!!!!
it’s cheap.. but.
Posted on October 13, 2005
Scott Saunders Says:
Math can be Fun…
I’m having flash backs to when the first iPod was introduced. It was considerably more expensive than the Rio players, but the iPod had tons more memory. I remember doing the math, if you purchased backpacks for the RIO it would have cost about 5,000 dollars to buy enough backpacks to equal the disk space of the iPod. In a previous post someone stated that the iPod had 60x times more memory than the ZVUE. ZVUE sells half Gig memory cards for about $80 each so doing the math… 160/Gig x 30Gigs= $4800. I don’t know about you but the iPod seems a little bit cheaper. Ohhhh, lets have some more fun… Let’s do the 60 Gig!!! 160/Gig x 60Gigs= $9600. Do you know how many iMacs I could by with $9600? 5.6.
Posted on October 13, 2005
shrimp Says:
Jeff Oscodar sounds like a whiny kindergardener .. “But I was here first!”
Posted on October 13, 2005
lokie Says:
anyone notice that the video ipod with a tv connecter is accually a 300 dollar dvd2 player sweet. As long as jobs is around computers get more fun. Never thought I’d say this but he has proved himself over and over. Man’s a genious.
Posted on October 13, 2005
sean Says:
i think the thing i am most impressed with is how on earth Apple is able to keep this stuff (new products) secret with overseas vendors involved, etc. so you know when there is an announced event, everybody listens…
Posted on October 13, 2005
Bill Says:
Hi ZVUE. iPod’s here to beat you up and take your lunch money.
Hungry and sore.. Get used to it.
Posted on October 13, 2005
Kirke Says:
Notice their player is 12-15 fps compared to 30 for the new iPod. And USB 1.1. Ew. Wake me up when my “movie” is loaded.
Posted on October 13, 2005
Capt. Kurk Says:
Gee, I always thought I was a pretty high-tech guy—but I’ve never even heard of ZVUE. No wonder the CEO of Handheld is so worried. He’s had no presence in the marketplace, and now Apple is going to bury him.
Posted on October 13, 2005
little elf girl Says:
hell, i’d rather have a shuffle than that crap lmao~
Posted on October 13, 2005
Mort Blort Says:
How do you expect the guy to react? His company’s staring death in the face.
Posted on October 13, 2005
MacItAll Says:
I thought Handheld Entertainment was what I guy did when he couldn;t find a date.
Posted on October 13, 2005
bandmassa Says:
I reckon Jeff Oscodarhasn’t even seen an iPod. He clearly doesn’t know about the 128Mb/512Mb versus 30Gb/60Gb, how else could he say iPod video is unimpressive compared to his product and still sleep at night?
I think that CEOs of these sort of pissy little companies must not care about the tech stuff enough to learn it. They’re in it for the bucks only.
Posted on October 13, 2005
freeassociate Says:
Someone commented that it’s the software, not the hardware ... I’d say it’s both. Most other players look and feel like ... well, ever seen the alarm clock aisle at a Kmart or Walmart? Garish and cheap is putting it mildly. All sorts of products fall in to this range ... seen the design on cordless phones lately? Ugly. Overly complex. Hardware is an interface as well, Apple strips it down to the necessities and makes it dependable (added bonus - we don’t feel stupid trying to operate their products, whether we’re tech savvy or not).
Posted on October 13, 2005
sean Says:
yes, totally agree with the above comment. this is one reason i was so dissappointed when the Motorola phone was unveilied. clearly Apple had nothing to do with that and it will fail in its current form. i hope (and expect) Apple to unveil an Apple branded phone (iFon). simple, stylish, useful. i’d buy it in a heartbeat.
Posted on October 14, 2005
RustyB Says:
There is some bad information on here.
ZVUE
$99
1GB SD card can go for like $50 now a days.
iPod with video $300
30 GB (it wins here, but)
ZVUE
8hrs video play
ipod
2 hours of video play
you can get 3 hours with the 60GB, which Apple says will hold 150 hours of video.
that means you have to charge the thing 50 times 50! to play all that video. At four hours a charge, that makes the 60GB for Video argument useless. Nobody is going to carry 150 hours of video on their player because there is no use for it. Hence, its a music player first because its video practicality still sucks.
Posted on October 17, 2005
Bozo Says:
Jeff, you are no Jobs or you would be much richer and have products people want. Not shit that gives you more margin. Sell before the bank locks the door and buy a 60 gig iPOD like eveyone else. Face it you lost.
Posted on October 26, 2005
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Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
J. Scott Anderson Says:
First, I am not knocking the technical capability of the ZVUE product line. I know little about it. However, I am having flashbacks regarding Mr. Oscodar’s comments. it seems to me that CEOs at various MP3 player makers were making similar comments about the original iPod. You’ll recall that iPod did not pioneer that market either.
Posted on October 13, 2005