Applemania sweeps the 's

 

<-saving for powerbook aka giant ipod mini

 

iPod mini? You're joking right?

$249 for a 4 GB mp3 player with no capability for WMA or OGG, no FM tuner, and lousy battery life?

Apple = Hype.

 

Over 4 million units sold in 2 years....no competitor even CLOSE in sales....some hype

 

Hype sells, Mike. There are better products for lower cost. The Rio Carbon offers an extra gig of storage over the Mini, more than twice the battery life, a lower weight and smaller size, all for the same price. iRiver's HP line (20 gig/40 gig) offers tons more features (including WMA support), less weight, more battery life, all at a lower cost. But it's not 'chic' like the iPod, just better. People like chic I guess.

 

Have you compared the interfaces on the 2 units , size of the display (how easy they are to see, in different lighting situations, ease of use, the GUI, most peeps who have used both will tell you there really is no comparison.

 

Most of the reviews of the iRiver setups start off with "this it the mp3 player the iPod should have been". Other than the interface (more features = more complexity; if you want simple it comes at the expense of capability) it's better. Except for being chic.

 

Well honestly you are preaching to the Choir ... this is the guy who still thinks Betamax was a way better format than VHS...... I dont own an iPod and dont like Apples AAC format...I cant make Mp3's easy from it for my cars Mp3 changers with it...I do like to support Apple as you know

 

Rio Carbon eh??

I will check this out later today...

 

Please give us an assessment Rio vs iPod...... Price, Feature set, east of use, form factor, etc