Funny, I'm actually getting the feeling it's just about over for Apple. (LOL, am I the only one on the planet?) DRM is on the way out, touchscreens are coming from all kinds of manufacturers like Nokia, ...what's the big plus for Apple in this scenario? (please no flames or odes to all things rounded! It's just my opinion... )

Personally, DRM and a proprietary software client killed the iPod for me a long time ago. (iTunes is a 3 mb TSR!?! Is this really 2007? Did I just say TSR?!?)

I'd also suggest actually trying things out before making a buy decision on anything that plays music these days, and do a "blind" listening test. I was surprised when I found the iPod audio was poor compared to much cheaper players such as from from Creative. $29 for a 2 gig Creative stone 2 beats the crap out of everything else if you ask me. I can afford to lose and abuse a player at that price, and it even sounds better than most. (and nobody will mug me for it) And no, I don't want to watch videos,...it's impossible to really watch anything while bumping around on a commute.

Of course I'm ignoring the whole "making a statement" angle...no one is too impressed by the Stone...if they even can see you have one.

One thing's for sure, Apple is fun to watch, and we owe them a lot for kickstarting everyone else.

And sadly, doom is indeed approaching for the N800, as it will quickly for most any device these days. I do use mine still every day, as there's just no beating it for certain things. I actually look forward to it phasing out though, as it can only mean I've found something better! And the way things are looking, it will likely be a Nokia that meets the need, not Apple. Check out the new stuff Nokia has coming out...