[Swordmaker]

...the word Zune was not in the article anywhere.

It doesn't need to be... but when you go into any store selling MP3 players (Except an Apple Store) there will be two featured players... the iPod and the Zune. Now, not knowing anything about them except what you've just read in an article spreading FUD about the iPod... which do you buy???

It's FUD.

[Echo Talon]

Despite the beefs, consumers' love affair with the iPod shows no sign of going sour. In spite of determined competitors in the portable-player market like Microsoft Corp. and SanDisk Corp., Apple's share of the market for 2006 will likely end up roughly where it was last year, between 73 percent and 75 percent, says Stephen Baker, an analyst at retail sales tracker NPD Group Inc.

In an online survey of more than 6,400 consumers that NPD conducted earlier this year, the firm found that 82 percent of iPod owners were completely or very satisfied with the device, compared with 76 percent for rival music devices.

Yep, just a bunch of FUD.