[makeitdouble]

iPod was useless without iTunes, and I wouldn't call iTunes a curated, excellent UX. We can't only look at the beautiful light and ignore the angler fish behind it.

PS: if we include Sony's minidisk in the competion, the overall listening experience, especially the wired remote was just better. The digital walkman was still a better UX on the device side, except it has an even worse horrible PC experience and Sony barriers that made it a non starter.