[Last Visible Dog]

The Ipod has no real competitor yet. So far all the offerings from other manufacturers are inferior products.

More Apple-Fantasyland.

I own a Creative Labs Nomad Zen Xtra 40GB. You can buy an ipod with half the disk space for twice the price (the standard Apple pricing model). While the ipod has a better user interface the ipod is an expensive disposable toy - when the battery goes you get to throw it away (word on the street is that is about 18 months). The Nomad has a replaceable battery and it supports all formats - my computer music library is in multi-formats so the ipod is not really an option. The ipod is a vehicle to support Apple's on-line music sales scheme - the ipod is good device but very expensive and limited (the standard Apple model)

[Petronski]

...when the battery goes you get to throw it away...

The iPod's battery is replaceable. About fifty bucks for a new one.

[longtermmemmory]

I found the Ipod too limited.

It is just easier and cheeper to buy a memory chip for my PDA just for music.

It is still a fact of life that if you want to do business you have to use a machine that runs windows applications. The only potential exception is linus for servers.

[Melas]

Myth. The only files you can't send to your Ipod are WMA files with digital rights enabled. That's it, the sole exception.

As for Apple fantasy land, it's the only Apple product I own, and I purchased it only after comparing first hand the competing products. I was actually sort of biased towards the Creative, since my flash player is a Muvo, but the Zen's just hold up to my first hand listening tests.

[Swordmaker]

While the ipod has a better user interface the ipod is an expensive disposable toy - when the battery goes you get to throw it away (word on the street is that is about 18 months).

False... again, rumors and old news. When the iPod battery dies after whatever period... you replace it... takes about 5 minutes and $30.