When the iPod first came out, it cost twice as much as the Creative ZEN. The ZEN, however, had terrible software. In spite of being able to get twice as much drive space for half as much money, people chose the iPod (which used a rebranded version of MusicMatch Jukebox) over the ZEN.

Other players have consistently had better pricing and better sound quality. But once iTMS came around with one of the easiest interfaces around, it was over. iTMS is the game to beat because the computer does all the work for you. Put in a CD and it rips it. Plug your iPod into your computer and it syncs it. Until Zune 3, no one could really promise that level of ease.

If all you can offer is a better price, keep walking. Software gets you the average buyer; formats get you the niche buyer. Price isn't a major factor.

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I've since bought a different MP3 player, and it doesn't handle video (but to be honest, watching video on the iPod was no treat) but being able to drag & drop 500 songs instantly, with no DRM concerns, is a big plus.

My two main concerns for any media player is format support and open drag & drop functionality. If I'm forced to use proprietary software then it's a no go. It took many hours, but eventually I managed to wrest control from iTunes and liberate my music, and then never looked back. The iPod was history after that, barely useful as a 30Gig external drive, being so slow and all.

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Sony needs one model and it needs to just call it a Walkman. That's it. You can tack on the 16GB or 32GB later but the rule for selling electronics is that they should have names.

The only product that sells with numbers is a car.

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