Blue, Blue. What are we going to do with you?
Again you compare Apples to Oranges as though the comparison has some kind of meaning. Comparing a $40 512K Flash based MP3 player to an over $200 30GB player is bad enough but then you ignore that Apple also offered a lower end iPod more comparable to the Sandisk Companion, the iPod Shuffle. The Sandisk plsyer is not the same thing as a $200 iPod at all, not comparable except that they both will play MP3s... and certainly not comparable in price. You are being disingenuous again.
Ok accusing me of being disingenuous? Let me pick apart your errors here. First, the Apple iPod wasn't initially a 40 gb player it was only 5gb and it was a bit higher than $200, more like $399 (I was rounding down initially as I wanted to go easy on you), but I am sure you will say I am being disingenuous again since I am going to 2001 prices. You seem to like to cherry pick data to your benefit, which seems to be a great strategy some of our Dim-witted Democrat friends use.
Second point you were wrong on was that I ignored the lower priced Ipod shuffle. I bought my Companion in 2005. The shuffle wasn't available until a year later and the freaking thing has no screen (what the hell were they thinking???) so I wouldn't want something like that, and I can't imagine people would but hey Apple customers would buy a lump of coal if it had the Apple logo on it and it came in 5 shades of black. Back to the pricing point, $79 for the Shuffle in fall of 2006 wasn't all that cheap considering the thing has no screen and other 1gb flash based MP3 players from that time were cheaper and HAD DISPLAYS!!! Lastly, it was fun reading the blinking lights of death on the ipod shuffle wiki page. Sounds like a design flaw, I hope all of those 10 million first generation and second generation Ipod shuffles were offered a recall or free replacement from Apple.... Not very likely huh?
ps. That was a nice touch citing that bad review on the MP3 Companion. What can I say, I am happy with mine.