Creative, maker of the Zen music player, aren"t happy with podcasts. Why? Think iPod.
So rather than going with the flow, Creative are planning on revising the "cast" market with
ZENcasts. According to Creative, podcasts are actually
Personal
On
Demand broad
Cast, and are, in fact, nothing to do with a company called Apple. Creative, in true Web 2.0 fashion, have created a bit of a mash-up. Take a traditional podcast directory, and then mash it up with Creative marketing material, and a few adverts liberally splattered about the place for your product. You"ve got yourself Zencast.com.
ZENcast will also play host to a new generation of video content, that Creative expects will be coming soon. Coupled with ZENcast Organizer, the "ultimate" tool for managing and creating podcasts, could this site give the Zen players the exposure it so badly craves? We think not.
Creative, despite having many good products, the patents and similar ideas, continues to play under-dog to Apple in the Mp3 player market. And they don"t seem to be changing status any time soon. We can"t, however, fault Creative for one thing. They"ve got one of the best podcasts on the web in the directory, so it can"t be all bad.