iRiver

[B4BY 4NN]

So my sister purchased it for me this Christmas. She said it's just as expensive as an iPod. I dunno.

[YoungRemy]

who's paying you to seed the message boards?

[Funkyfreshgrape]

So my sister purchased it for me this Christmas. She said it's just as expensive as an iPod. I dunno.
I think who ever made that cody the iPod! :mad:

[Thundercracker]

who's paying you to seed the message boards?

DUH!
iRiver.

[B4BY 4NN]

I'm not endorsing the product by any means. I just want to know whether-or-not it's shit.

[Extra Cheese]

I just want to know whether-or-not it's shit.

you're the one who has it, Go find out

[B4BY 4NN]

you're the one who has it, Go find out

Stop treating me like a newb already, you tards.

[YoungRemy]

I'd Love This Product Even If I Weren't A Stealth Marketer

By Kyle Pafrath
December 14, 2005 | Issue 41•50
I'd Love This Product Even If I Weren't A Stealth Marketer

Like you, I'm bombarded every minute of every day with advertising. And having been misled more than a few times in my life, I'm immediately skeptical of any product I see on the side of a bus. That's why I was so surprised by the new Mountain Dew True Blue.

It truly lives up to the hype: Crisp and tangy, refreshing and energizing, it reminds my jaded taste buds how good a soda can be. Sure, I may be a stealth marketer employed by a national conglomerate to imperceptibly push the product in public, but this beverage is so unbelievably great, I'd subliminally market it to perfect strangers for free!

Honestly, this awesome beverage packs such a punch, you'd practically have to pay me not to pretend to talk about it on my cell phone when I'm in earshot of consumers in the coveted 17-34 demographic.

Even if I weren't required by my employer to pull a six-pack off the shelf at my local grocery store while emitting a quiet but distinct "All right!" under my breath just loud enough for the other customers to hear, I'd do it anyway—just for the pleasure of furtively turning people on to this amazing thirst quencher.

In stealth-marketing parlance, this is what is known as "roach baiting," but I prefer to call it "the least I can do."

Seriously, it's an honor to subtly plug something I actually believe in for once. I'm so in love with this one-of-a-kind soda, I want to shout its product name from the rooftops of a lower-to-middle-class neighborhood! Preferably one with an elementary school nearby, where consumers are still young enough that their brand loyalty is not yet fully established. I know it sounds crazy, maybe even a little scary, but honestly, True Blue is just that good.

Don't tell my bosses, but I enjoy True Blue so much, I sometimes stealth market it well outside PepsiCo's target demographic. Maybe it's wrong of me to sit in on the senior center's weekly square-dance classes while chugging True Blue, but the rush I get from inconspicuously getting the word out about this tremendous new product is nearly impossible to find anywhere else. Come to think of it, the only other time I experience pure exhilaration like that is when I twist open a 20-oz. bottle of True Blue.

Also, I get it from drinking Mountain Dew Code Red and Mountain Dew Pitch Black.

Sure, the task of registering for nearly 30 different newsgroup accounts using fake names and e-mail addresses just to generate the honest word-of-mouth buzz this product deserves may sound like a lot of work to you, one of the few Americans who hasn't been bowled over by the no-holds-barred flavor of True Blue.

Normally, if I were hired to viral market a new beverage I wasn't particularly passionate about—for example, that new Coca-Cola drink, whatever it's called—I would just subliminally insert favorable comments in two dozen or so high-traffic chat rooms and be done with it. Only a very special product could make me devote a week of evenings to surfing literally hundreds of chat rooms, gaining the confidence of unwitting users by establishing a base of common interests before casually mentioning how I recently tried the most hardcore, carbonated pick-me-up the world has ever seen.

But hey, don't let me influence you. Try True Blue for yourself!

[B4BY 4NN]

I miss Code Red.

[TurdBerglar]

ipods suck

[Funkyfreshgrape]

ipods suck
Why, I have a iPod nano?

[TurdBerglar]

i don't know. do you?

[Kid Presentable]

Personally, I always liked portable music. But everytime I see some ipod styled shit (like mine) I wonder about the person wearing (Not using) it. Did they listen to Wu-Tang Forever on the School Bus? Even if it was the only C.D they could carry?

Is it a bad thing that people are all of a sudden interested in portability? It's either the convenience of storage making it viable, or the fact that it's fashionable. Did these people wearing mp3 players also use discmans and walkmans to sate their hunger for music back in the day?

[TurdBerglar]

i got an mp3 player mainly for takeing it for my long (up to 6 hour) bike rides. i got sick of lugging around cd's and tapes. i actually reverted back to tapes before i got my mp3 player(s). the mix cd's would just take up to much space and were to fragile. but tapes sound like shit. so an mp3 player was perfect for me.

[Kid Presentable]

i got an mp3 player mainly for takeing it for my long (up to 6 hour) bike rides. i got sick of lugging around cd's and tapes. i actually reverted back to tapes before i got my mp3 player(s). the mix cd's would just take up to much space and were to fragile. but tapes sound like shit. so an mp3 player was perfect for me.

Yeah, I'm the same. Barring the long rides. I need convenience, I've got a lot of music and a low boredom threshold.

I can't help but wonder every time I see someone wearing an mp3 player though. I guess it's just me.

[TurdBerglar]

most people show off mp3 players like cellphones when they first came out

[Kid Presentable]

most people show off mp3 players like cellphones when they first came out

Yeah I'm wondering if it is indeed the mass-storage capabilities finally meeting their needs or if it's a crucial accessory.

I never thought people's needs were so hard to meet, and I still wonder how many of these types carried around music in the past.

[TurdBerglar]

i've noticed a lot of people that only have like 25 songs on their mp3 players. you can fit about that much on a cd. these people don't need $100-$250 players.

[B4BY 4NN]

i got an mp3 player mainly for takeing it for my long (up to 6 hour) bike rides. i got sick of lugging around cd's and tapes. i actually reverted back to tapes before i got my mp3 player(s). the mix cd's would just take up to much space and were to fragile. but tapes sound like shit. so an mp3 player was perfect for me.

vv3rd.

I walk to work, most days. And when it's cold, by the time I have reached whatever destination, my hands are frozen. Gloves or no gloves.


I'd like the iPod for stylee puposes. This iRiver one is very small, but quite ugly. Great sound, though. Mucho features. I think I'll keep it.

[Kid Presentable]

vv3rd.

I walk to work, most days. And when it's cold, by the time I have reached whatever destination, my hands are frozen. Gloves or no gloves.


I'd like the iPod for stylee puposes. This iRiver one very small, but actually quite ugly. Great sound, though. Mucho features. I think I'll keep it.

I've heard good things about the iRiver.

I hear the whole walking to work thing. I use mine walking to the front door.

[TurdBerglar]

ipods are not the best but decent. they just cost way too much for what they are. you're basically paying for style and not function. there's other players out there with much better audio quality that cost much less then ipods. they just don't look as "cool".

[Kid Presentable]

ipods are not the best but decent. they just cost way too much for what they are. you're basically paying for style and not function. there's other players out there with much better audio quality that cost much less then ipods. they just don't look as "cool".

Do you use Creative? I was so happy for Tzar when I saw it weren't an apple.

[TurdBerglar]

i have had three creative labs mp3 players

[Documad]

I had a transistor radio. I had a boombox. I had one of the first walkmans made. I had a discman. I got the first generation ipod. I've always been about portable music.

[QueenAdrock]

So my sister purchased it for me this Christmas. She said it's just as expensive as an iPod. I dunno.

If it's just as expensive, why not just buy the iPod? The whole reason why I got my Creative Zen Micro is because it was 75% the price of the iPod mini, with 2 more Gigabytes of storage. If it was the same price and same storage as the iPod, I probably would have gone for the iPod just because it would be easier to buy accessories for.

Unlesss the iRiver's fuckin' amazing or something.

[B4BY 4NN]

If it's just as expensive, why not just buy the iPod? The whole reason why I got my Creative Zen Micro is because it was 75% the price of the iPod mini, with 2 more Gigabytes of storage. If it was the same price and same storage as the iPod, I probably would have gone for the iPod just because it would be easier to buy accessories for.

Unlesss the iRiver's fuckin' amazing or something.

Because the guy at the store said it was better, supposedly.

[Rancid_Beasties]

I dunno about in the united states or wherever, but here in Australia irivers are more expensive than ipods. Creatives are about the same cost, except they dont play videos. 60 gb ipods, once you take into account the 10% student discount, come out 20 bucks cheaper than a 40 gb iriver.

[Otis Driftwood]

I got an older iRiver (H320) and I'm pretty satisfied. It was about 60 bucks cheaper than a 20GB iPod and I'm smiling inside everytime some f**k on the subway looks at the bright and colorful display and can not name my gadget! Why the new models with 5 (6?) or 10 GB are almost as expensive I do not get, however... :confused:

[Freedom Toast]

I never thought people's needs were so hard to meet, and I still wonder how many of these types carried around music in the past.

I wish I had an iPod....it's waaay better than the MiniDisc player I've been using for the past 6 years. I'll never quit using my portable GP-3 turntable though....

[miss_bhaven]

ipods are not the best but decent. they just cost way too much for what they are. you're basically paying for style and not function. there's other players out there with much better audio quality that cost much less then ipods. they just don't look as "cool".

Agreed dude...I have an iPod Mini...Well, did - it's a piece of worthless shit now...I must've got a bad patch, cuz I've had trouble with the battery since I first got it :mad: They look awesome but they're actually a piece of shit!

[insertnamehere]

i have a tiny little samsung 1g. i forget what model it is, its not much bigger than a usb flash drive. i think it sounds amazing, and its soooo small. and its got a reall good clip. over break ive always been sitting around inside so i havnt had use for it yet but im sure im gonna be totally satisfied.

only complaint is the software that comes with it. i cant figure it out. then again i accidentaly threw away the book. so i have to transfer files without the software casue im dumb.

[marsdaddy]

I'm considering the iPod, now that I have the iMac. I just need an iMinute to go to the iStore.