[rz2k]

User interface design is a very important feature, as were other usability differences like Firewire for transferring tracks from your computer to your device quickly.

Specs like being able to play FLAC, and minor differences in capacity per dollar, and often higher quality DACs did not matter as much as the design that made it easier to use.

It is also worth remembering that competing devices addressed the problem of a large library with search, while the iPod instead used an active matrix LCD combined with a large scroll wheel to quickly navigate the hierarchy of artists <- albums <- tracks.

I had a Creative Nomad before the first generation iPod, and even though the Nomad had larger capacity, it immediately seemed like junk in comparison.

We get stats from phone companies that complain about how much more iPhone users use their data plans, and I suspect that if had similar data for iPod we would find that users simply used their devices to listen to music more than users of competing devices.

Stylish ads may have been a large part of publicizing them, but it was the complete change in interface design that made people actually use them regardless of whether they enjoy gadgets for their own sake.