If you're a current iPod owner, it's tough to make any one compelling argument that will make you want to switch... particularly if you're heavily invested in purchased music from the iTunes store. But it's for that reason why I never really considered owning an iPod in the first place. It feels all too often that Apple want's piggy banks instead of customers, and I just don't like being squeezed that hard for every penny I earn. I like freedom of choice, and iTunes, iTunes, or iTunes just isn't enough options for me. With Sansa, you can buy from any Plays for Sure compatible store, which is a much bigger list. Why buy a song from iTunes for 99 cents when I can buy it from Wal-Mart for 88 cents? 

Dare I also say that Apple is innovating much less than they used to? The newer iPods aren't much different in functionality from the ones that were released years ago. They may have added a color screen and video support, but the overall interface hasn't changed much. Sansa's Connect player has a slick UI, new unbefore seen features that make using one quite interesting, and Micro SD slot to add capacity... try doing that with a Nano.

Apple owners can be happy as long as they keep giving Apple money. Sansa owners can come and go into new stores and products without being locked down or having to give up everything they've purchased. That kind of freedom is important to me. Is it to you?

Mind Over Matt'er - Technology musings, opinion, and more straight from TechLore's head geek.

dkaz said:

Matt Whitlock said:The newer iPods aren't much different in functionality from the ones that were released years ago.

other than iPod Touch now...of course

Well sure. But to be fair, that was posted before the Touch even came out. Though why not talk about Touch? Is stripping the phone functionaly from the iPhone and calling it a digital media player innovative? From a hardware perspective... absolutely. Kudos to Apple on that one.

Does the new functionality added to the Touch make it a better portable media player? That's a harder sell to me. It does a lot more than the other iPods, but much of the new stuff revolves around web access, scheduling, and other things that have nothing to do with digital media. It's a PDA with intergrated iPod functionality. I won't lie, there was some good innovations in the iPod side of it. Coverflow is nice, the user interface is way better from the input perspective (but I don't think the UI is laid out much differently), and the ability to purchase music and videos on the go is convenient... but more so for Apple's huge mattress stuffed with money than for you. It's still locked to iTunes and now they can start charging you for updates (as they already have done once). Yippee?

Mind Over Matt'er - Technology musings, opinion, and more straight from TechLore's head geek.