I, too, have rejected the iPOD and iTunes because of the format. My primary device for playing music is my PDA (an HP iPAQ 5455) with a 1GB SD card for storage. I simply don't see the utility of carrying around a separate device to play music when my iPAQ plays music and does so much more--videos, games, ebooks, Quicken, photos, contacts, calendar, Internet, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, notes, etc. With the 1GB SD card, I have plenty of room for music that would keep me entertained on long plane rides. Besides, you can't play games on an iPOD while you're listening to music at the same time.
IPAQ!!!! Now THAT is something I DO LOVE!