[jrockway]

They make cool gizmos.

Not anymore, really. The iPod product line is really stagnant; the only feature that iPods have over the competition is that they come with an Apple logo. They only play proprietary music formats. They don't have a digital output. They require the proprietary database.

All in all it's not that great if you want your music player to play music, rather than be a fashion accessory.

The laptops do have beautiful cases, but inside they are exactly the same as what Dell will sell you.

[GHFigs]

You heard it here first, folks: the iPod is not that great if you want your music player to play music. Sure, plenty of people enjoy it for just that, it plays the most common music formats, and has excellent integration with the largest music retailer including (in new models) the ability to purchase music from the device itself, but really, as a music player, it's half-baked. What it really needs is digital output, because when you're on the go, analog headphones just don't cut it. And they should ditch the database, because having a computer automatically manage your music is an unreasonable compromise of the absolute control the user must have over everything, always.

Sheesh, just say "I don't like it" next time instead of trumping up this pretentious garbage. You are not superior to anyone just because they had the gall to buy something that meets their needs instead of yours. If the functionality of the iPod is so unappealing to you that you see it as little more than a fashion accessory then chances are good that you're part of a niche market. Get over it instead of casting aspersions on everyone that isn't as picky as you. In other words: stop acting like a fanboy.

[rbanffy]

Let me guess: You don't own an iPod.

iPods play MP3 files just fine. Most iPods also play nice with non-Apple tools (I used one with Linux for a long time). It's incorrect to say they play only proprietary formats - while they won't play certain open formats, they do play common formats. Also, AAC is not closed, so, any computer can play it. And many standalone music players do.

As for the laptops, they have astonishingly beautiful cases - Apple pretty much dictates what Sony will be building the next year. You really can't compare the feel of a unibody Macbook with that of a Dell, regardless of what's inside. One is solid, well built and impressive. The other is... well... "inexpensive" could describe it.

A Volkswagen may have four wheels and an engine, but it's no Maybach. There is a world of difference, even if not everyone can tell before experiencing it.

The fact their hardware-software combination cripples their stuff for a great many users (me included, don't get me wrong) do not imply their gadgets are not cool. They are.

[axod]

What?? I've never played anything but mp3 files on my iPod. You think the iPod touch is "stagnant"? Have you actually used one?