$500 iPods? Where are you paying that kind of money? iPods now run from $99 to $299.
ok an MP3CD player can now cost 10 to 30 $ too, still 10 to 1 difference.
I just think the hype is over the top, there are other mp3 players just as good. I will admit I am biased since i feel the same way about the macs.
Maybe when the price goes down, by 3 and the reliability down goes up by another factor of 3 , paying extra for something that adds smaller size and more songs would be worth it to me. But I agree, our kids wont settle for anything less, but maybe cause they never had to walk three miles to school barefoot in the snow!