http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/ Engadget Comments for iPod is the Toyota Camry of MP3 players? http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
"Other brands are better, less expensive, have more capacity, are easier to use, and so on."???

better - how better?
less expensive - you get what you pay, that's what less expensive means...
more capacity - i don't believe i have seen any of them offer 60Gb portable mp3 player - and no laptop is not a portable mp3 player
easier to use - hmmm.. i am speechless.
so on - we already heard enough bs...

We are pro-democracy and diversity, but I support iPod dominance, and will support it until someone else comes up with a stunning idea like iPod was couple years ago...]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
iTunes support..

And no, I don't want to use my mp3 player like a harddrive and manually keep up with folders and whatever else on there..]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
Others are probably ok but more for power users, if they dont have the community support new customers look at them and wonder why everyone else is not buying them up.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
Hmmmmm.. last I checked it was the iPod
diehards that were brainwashed so your statement made me laugh.

I don't have an iPod. It's a nice device. But I have a 20GIG player that was much cheaper, has longer battery life, and it works just fine.

Sure the iPod is slick, and has a touchwheel and snazzy menu... but in the end the device I have works great, and plays longer.

And i'm not tied to just iTunes. I can use Napster, or Real, or MusicMatch, or Microsoft's store. Sure it's all the Microsoft DRM... but I can pick the store interface I like best.. and i've used iTunes and I don't like it so if I had an iPod i'd be hating life.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
*Display Photos/Present photos on TV
*Move/clear data off of memory cards for digital cameras
*Be a laser pointer/flashlight
*Remote control
*External hard drive
*Calendar/date book
*Address book
*To do list
*eBooks
*Audiobooks/periodicals (with special speed up/slowdown tech)
*Text adventure games/choose your own adventure
*Built in games
*News/weather/sports/movie times
*Offline email reading
*iTunes
*Podcast reception
*Radioshark/TIVO radio programs
*Digital voice recorder
*Pirate radio station

The list goes on. Not to mention the fact that due to the popularity of the iPod there are for more accessories and software out there for it then any other mp3 player (most of the items listed above require purchase of said accessories and/or engadget article to achieve said functionality [as is the case with the remote control])

Top off the kazillion and one uses with one of the best designed electronic devices in recent memory with great battery life and host computer software and you've got a winner.

Now. If I didn't get my iPod for free I would be hard pressed to spend that extra $100 for an iPod ... but now that I've spent 4 months with my 4G 20gb I'd DEFINITELY buy one if I had to. Everyone I know with one (dad, brother, coworkers) LOVES their iPod. I'm sure if the guy who wrote this article had one himself he'd feel differently/understand what the phenomenon is about.

Now. I realize there are mp3 players out there capable of playing VIDEO and many of the things I listed above. But can they do ALL of that/is there accessories out there to enable them to do all of that?]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
In response to Vladimir:

With an iPod you definitely do NOT get what you pay for. You pay a premium for Apple's ubiquitous iPod ads. iPods are overpriced for what they offer.

An iPod is a good choice if you are too lazy to research any other MP3 players, and decide to buy that one because that is the only one that the general public knows about.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
"an easier way to get your music on there"
How about drag-n-drop like any other external storage?

"What other mp3 player is easier to use?"
Honestly they're all about the same these days. you just like the clicky-wheel, admit it. =P

"better? how better?"
how about support for more media formats, better sound quality, and gapless playback? FM radio with direct recording? Voice recording?

"iTunes support..."
Not everyone wants it.


For some people, an iPod is the best way to go. but for %85? no. I don't buy it. it's just got the market appeal and the brandname. it's like Kleenex.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
Seems closer to a bmw to me though.

Everything else is a yugo.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
There have been numerous devices that have come out and been called "iPod Killer?" -- Fresh Gear will do a review of them and talk about the fact that they have a better battery, more space, video, etc. and still at the end of day say that the iPod is still the best MP3 player.

iPod has the easiest software to use on an MP3 player. Anyone can figure it out. It works great with iTunes (another product with less features, but SO much easier to use than the other MP3 programs).

For some reason, people really seem to connect with their iPods. It's not just a music player...it's more personal than that. The joy in using an iPod is something that you can't measure or quantify, or hardly even describe. Unless you have used one, there's no real way to describe why it is superior to the others. You just have to experience it. You can get other MP3 players, but it's just not the same.

There are a ton of forums and user comments about why they love their iPod..just google it up and do some reading. Before I got my first iPod, I had trouble justifying the price and couldn't imagine why everyone thought it was so great. But I did some reading, and I saw how people emotionally talked about their experience with the iPod. After I bought one and used it (and have given several away as gifts), I would never buy a different MP3 player.

The iPod is more like a Porsche -- there is no substitute.

Bhavesh

]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
geez, seperate the forest from the trees.

-"Make it idiot proof, and the world will make a better idiot."]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/I feel its the same class of people who surf these kinds of websites but there is so much difference in attitudes
]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
With iTunes and a legit collection, I let the ID3 tags do the work and organize themselves. Now all I do is setup playlists that I want and sync them up. And my decision to ditch Windows just helped solidify the decision.

But I guess if your collection consists of pirated music with missing ID3 tags, I can understand why you'd want to manually organize your music using ancient technology. (Hierarchy Databases)

I don't care much for FM, if I did why would I be getting an MP3 player? I hate mainstream music as it is.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
but please tell me why no one else had the idea of making a portable mp3 player like the iPod? I know Creative had their MASSIVE brick-of-a-thing, but unlike their name they weren't "creative" enough to see that the ppl want a truly portable device. Ya sure other mp3 players might have more features, but thats only because they have to put that in or else no one would even give them a second look.

and as for the reference to the camry...the camry doeesn't even have the kind of market share the iPod does.

]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
After playing around with the iPod for a while recently, I find myself even more disturbed by the "Cult of the iPod."

Basically, I think it comes down whether the buyer wants the best MP3 player they can get, or if they're concerned about the style of something that should spend most of its time in your pocket/bag and other non-music related features.

The iPod is turning into a bad PDA that has great music capabilities and a lot of people find "cool." But as a pure MP3 player, it doesn't stack up well to the competition.

I think jared nicely distilled some of the most prevalent, but problematic reasons for picking up an iPod: "It's stylish, youthful, more expensive than competition yet with less features on paper, and it's "different"." In one sentence, he said nearly the same nonsensical thing 3 times. It's "stylish", "youthful", and "different." Huh?

These comments, and similar ones, are all music to marketer's ears (pun not intended). It's the triumph of branding over functionality. Not only are iPod users willing to sacrifice functionality for "coolness", but their willing to pay more for it.

What makes this all the stranger is that, unlike a car or clothing, where style is, understandably, a big factor due to the fact that it is your "exterior self", an iPod is something that most people will never see (other than the ubiquitous white headphones). So, it seems strange to stress a stylistic features for essentially a utilitarian object. Imagine if someone told you they bought a washing machine that's sitting in their basement that was "stylish, youthful, more expensive than competition yet with less features on paper, and it's "different".

You'd tell them to get their head examined.
]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
If your wardrobe consists of jeans, t-shirts, and white sneakers and/or drive a Ford or Honda, you will not understand this argument.
]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/The flash players are jokes with confusing interfaces and way too many multi-function buttons. What's quite nice about the iPod is that all you have to do is connect the iPod to a computer and it auto-syncs (by default) no selecting of songs or drag-and-drop stuff. It seems to me that people who detract the iPod are people who use rare formats and unsorted mp3s and people who can't afford one. Yeah, they're expensive, but they're worth it IMHO.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
so i wanted to get an mp3 player. i did lots and lots of research. thats what i do. for a living. technical research. market research. etc.
so after about a year or more of looking into this stuff, waiting for what was coming out, etc, i got an mp3 player. an ipod.

i dont use itunes, cause it doesnt work the way a prog should. it runs services and slows my machine down. i use windows, btw. i use anapod, which integrates into windows explorer, so i have a brillian drag and drop interface, with great tag editing features, along with many others. as well, they have first class support.


no other media formats work on it? so what! any serious digital music collector doesnt store their music in a number of formats anyway. if you rip your mp3s to a high enough bitrate, theres no need to worry. as for space take up by the higher quality, with a 40GB i have no problem getting all the music i want on there.
i dont buy music from these online services either. i dont do DRM.

as for ease of use, it's the easiest, there's no way around it. i can do it without looking, upside down, drunk and any other way you want.
its the plainest, simplest interface. do i like the wheel? sure do. cause it works best.

as for any other features people talk about...

would an fm radio be nice? sure. but i dont listen that often, so who cares.

line in recording (iriver)? eh. from what i understand after many months of forum reading and asking questions, the quality is not good enough for serious recording and who needs it otherwise? same with voice recording. it'll be fun to play with for a little while, but in the end, i want a music player and i want an easy to use good music player. thats an ipod.
the battery not lasting? so what. i plug in a million things every night before i go to sleep. whats one more?

as for those headphones...please. never even took them out of the package. after having tried a friends, they weren't worth the energy.
got some real phones that give at least a semblance of decent sound. and they arent white.

anyway.
]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
It's fitting given the iPod's battery situation (both the lack of battery life, and the battery quality and lifespan).

For the average person, why get a BMW when you can get a comparable Toyota that is more reliable for half the price.

The average person isn't buying an iPod because it is "the best", they are buying the iPod because it has become a brand name everyone knows.

It was the first widely advertised, and it is the one people think of when you mention an mp3 player. ONLY because of Apple's advertising, and the media.

If you took the average person and showed them the iPod... and then showed them comparable models that are cheaper and do the same thing... they would go the cheaper route.

The average person is stupid and doesn't know about the other options. They don't visit sites like this.

Sooner or later this will change and Apple's dominance will begin to fade.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
If you are a Mac user, the iPod makes the most sense and I wouldn't recommend anything else. It fits a Powerbook like a glove.

If you are a Windows user, however, the decision is not that simple. I would go with a player that supports the Microsoft DRM. You have more options in doing so, especially for purchasing music online (Napster, MusicMatch, Real, Microsoft, etc.)... you can get by just fine with saving money and buying elsewhere.

I'm not sure where the stigma of non-iPods being hard to use comes from, my mp3 player is simple to use. It's not true. Like anything else, some suck and some don't. You would have to be dumb as a rock to not be able to navigate the mp3 player I own.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
There can be no better choices, come on, how can any other device beat all these great features?

Yea alot of people say there are ipod killers out there, such as the Archos Gmini 400, or rio, and iriver.....

Just for example How can the Gmini 400 be better than the ipod.....It can only do everything the ipod can and more. Also it has video and can view photos on a more clearer screen and more colors than the Ipod Photo, And has a CF slot to easily get photos on rather than use a computer like the amazing ipod photo. The gmini can also have a video out too, and is compatable with itunes and windows media player, but who cares the ipod photo still owns since us gay hippies care so much about fasion and other girly stuff......

Yay ipod flame war, Damn Ipod fanboys!!!!!!
Stop Humping your ipods and take a look around..... there are many more choices of superior DAPs out there than you think(the ipod is not the grail of all music players anymore) Many other companies are releasing better products in the market and seems like Apple is starting to fall behind the times just like they did with the Mac many years ealier...... Only time will tell how much longer ipod craze will last(nothing last forever)

]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
The iPod is successful for a whole bunch of reasons like the user interface, build quality [you wouldn't believe how many broken Zens and Karmas I've seen], design [don't act like that doesn't matter], simplicity and so on. The fact of the matter is that as more competitors have entered the market the iPod has *gained* market share. Obviously its competitors haven't figured out what people want more yet.]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
Also, I think the person who said a "serious" music collector would not store their music in more than one format. The opposite is actually true. Asformats have evolved a "serious" collector would store their music in whichever the best one available was at the time (which is of course up to debate). Personally, all my music (which I ripped myself except for some game music) spans 320mp3s, 500oggs, and lossless flac. Does that make me any less of a music collector? And does it hurt that my m3 can coincidentally play all of those types of files and more...?

The m3 also has a user setable equalizer for customization as well as presets, mad extra setting for you to play with your sound if you so choose (3d sound which is awesome, bass boost, clarity enhancer, pan), and the base unit has about 16 hours battery life. Sure, I own and pimp out my player like it's the best one ever created. Thing is I secretly yearn for the ipod. Everytime I see one I wanna get one, beautiful thing... Problem is that the feature set is so crappy that even when doing a side-by-side comparison of my m3 and a 4g (same song, bit rate), I would be listening to the m3 while playing with the user interface of the ipod (yes, the click wheel does rule all guys, admit it...)

For people who know nothing about computers, yes, the ipod is probably the best right now, but i hope apple enjoys it while they can because things like wmp10 are starting to provide the same functions as itunes, so they're gonna need to step it up on the hardware side or disgruntled people are going to start showing with their wallets what they are thinking. And btw guys, isn't it the hardcore users that computer illiterate friends turn to for help with things like this. As soon as there is a player that has sweet hardware with the usability of the ipod, the ipod's marketshare will drop like a stone, not a prediction made out of spite for the ipod, but just a fact that it was luck that apple hit the ease-of-use formula first, but that they cannot keep it to themselves forever...

Btw, just as a side note, I hate itunes, with a passion. My collection is pristine, so drag and drop is a buttload faster with the folder system. And the id3 tag browsing is ok, but I prefer a good file structure, though adding an id3 database would be useful for people out there who don't like that type of structure, and with the updates to the m3, it should happen sometime soon (maybe around the time the color m5 is set to be released.

Also, look up iAudio, they are a company that cares about their customers to no end and have put out firmware updates so frequently that it's amazing. And we're not talking bug fixes alone, we're talking the ability to play new file formats, button shortcuts, and the shortening of gap length between songs (hopefully leading to gapless soon).

Lastly, for those people who WOULD like to compare MANY different players, there's a great site named DAPreview.net, take a look at it, you'll definitely have your world rocked concerning mp3 players in general, lates guys...]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/http://www.engadget.com/2004/12/03/ipod-is-the-toyota-camry-of-mp3-players/
Even so, after all this when I decided to get an MP3 player of my own I went with a 20 gig 4G iPod. I just like the way it feels, the UI, and the accessories available.

I've done extensive research and I just like the overall "gestalt" of the iPod better than any other player out there today. Not all iPod users are uninformed consumers riding the wave of consumer trendiness. Some people simply like them better than anything else out there. :)]]>Dec 19th 2005 12:07AM