While Taihua Holdings was celebrating, Masao Kameda and Heitaro Nakajima were sitting together to discuss how to deal with this new enemy.
The Fruit Company had also entered the portable music player industry. Today, they had just launched a music player called the iPod.
This music player is using a new music format. That means it will not play the traditional MP3 format, and this music format can be used to burn CDs.
This music format is not developed by Apple. It was developed by two other programmers and was acquired by Apple. This was the first time Apple used it on their PC.
Heitaro Nakajima and the rest did not care about this new music format. What's so special about it? Music formats are still evolving, and it will take up less storage space. This music format is not much better.
But Heitaro Nakajima and the rest did not expect Apple to produce a music player, and the design of this music player is simple and beautiful.
Also, Apple is one of the biggest brands in the electronics industry. Although they do not specialize in music players, like Sony, they have many loyal fans.
Also, Apple's products use their own operating system, and this operating system has many users.
Heitaro Nakajima and the rest were surprised to see Apple's iPod has 5 GB of internal storage. This is much more than Aiwa's iPod. Even the LCD screen is bigger than Aiwa's iPod.
Heitaro Nakajima and the rest realized how fast hard disk MP3 players are developing. Last year, Apple's iPod was bigger than a palm. How long has it been? Now, it is only half the size of a palm.
In this way, it could definitely be called a portable music player.
Also, Apple had launched an audio download website, and it is cheaper than Aiwa's website. This website is also supported by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Heitaro Nakajima wanted to curse those Americans. This is protectionism! We are also a legitimate download website, and you all came to sue us. Now, you all are supporting Apple's website? This discrimination is too obvious.
On Aiwa's English website, a single MP3 song is priced at 99 USD. This price is much cheaper than a CD, which costs around 20 USD.
But the Fruit Company's MP3 download price is only 79 cents. Don't they want to make money? Including the monthly unlimited downloads, the price of a normal MP3 song is less than 50 cents, and the price they have to pay the record company is more than 30 cents.
What about the operating fees of the website? The cost was not a small amount.
Only AIWA's website can barely make profits. How can the Fruit Company make profits with this price? Could it be that they could accept losing money? This was absolutely impossible!
Then, there is only one possibility. Those record companies sold the copyright to Fruit Company at a lower price!
"Hmph! We are going to sue those record companies. What right do they have to charge us a higher price?" Heitaro Nakajima replied furiously.
Masao Kameda was also very helpless, but he still tried to persuade him, "How? On what basis? How much they sold it for was their own business. Anyway, no matter how much they sold, they would still make a profit. As long as the seller didn't sell at a loss, it wasn't illegal. When we signed the contract, we had not thought of this. Their music format is a type of MP3, but our laws cannot restrict them if they change the name. "
When they signed the contract, they had requested that no matter which company they sell the copyright to, they can charge different prices, but the difference must be within a certain range.
But the Fruit Company's music format is not called MP3, and they can't do anything about it!
"Find out the iPod's shortcomings, and we will use this as our main direction of marketing. I don't believe they can be as good as us after entering the MP3 industry. Even Sony can't do it, let alone the Fruit Company! "Heitaro Nakajima gritted his teeth.
The Fruit Company had never used portable music players in the past, and this is the first time. It's impossible for them to overtake them so quickly.
For example, noise, battery life, compatibility with the PC system, and so on. There must be a weakness in this.
Soon, the US branch company sent the iPod's evaluation report to Heitaro Nakajima. He was relieved when he saw the report.
Although the iPod is using a 5GB hard drive, the noise is louder than Aiwa's MP3 players. That means the sound quality is worse.
Even the earphones' technologies are not as good as Aiwa's. This way, Aiwa can promote their product's sound quality. In the past, Lenovo was able to beat Sony in the Walkman market because of Lenovo's superior sound quality. Lenovo had given its users a better experience.
Apple's iPod is using a mechanical hard drive, and the screen is bigger. That's why the battery consumption is higher, and it can only last for 5 hours. AWIA's iPod can last for at least 8 hours.
Aiwa is developing an internal lithium battery, and it can be charged directly. The iPod's battery life will be more than 10 hours!
Another important point is the iPod does not support Microsoft's Win operating system. Many users will not be able to use it. After all, more PC users are using Microsoft operating system than Apple's MP3 players.
Also, the Fruit Company had tested and found out the iPod lacks a popular feature compared to Aiwa's MP3 players. Random playback.
That means Apple's iPod can only play music in the order of a list. Many old users will feel bored listening to Apple's iPod.
When Feng Yu heard about this, he immediately called Heitaro Nakajima.
"Don't worry, Boss. Our Aiwa will surely suppress the iPod and maintain our sales lead." Heitaro Nakajima promised Feng Yu.
Feng Yu laughed. "Actually, you all don't need to worry. Although the iPod has some advantages, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Don't worry, just follow the path we have set. Their selling price is also 100 USD higher than ours, and this will severely limit their sales. "
The iPod's selling price is 299 USD, and Aiwa's latest MP3 player is only selling for 199 USD. But the price is not Aiwa's biggest advantage. Aiwa's biggest advantage is its support for the traditional MP3 format.
Although Aiwa provides legitimate download websites and encourages its users to download, some pirated MP3 players are still being shared on other websites. This is Aiwa's biggest advantage.
Many people had bought MP3 players because they can download MP3 songs for free. This is Aiwa's biggest advantage.
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