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Ever since the early part of the 21st century, the iPod has become synonymous both with a modern version of coolness (which is too introverted to draw unnecessary attention to itself but noticeable enough to carry a sort of silent swagger) and the entire industry of downloadable music. When you combine it with Apple’s iTunes, you pretty much have the ultimate one-two combo of keeping the audiophiles of the world happy and entertained. But you also need to consider the fact that the iPod costs several times as much to buy as the latest in generic, extremely similar audio and video hardware. In an environment where you can pretty much get the same thing for a much lower price (and still find plenty of files to put on it), why would you bother?
On the one hand, Apple has found a way to inspire a lot of loyalty in the people who buy from them. Their designs are almost universally top notch, and they do have the market cornered on the notion of a “digital music player,” in much the same way as Kleenex has the market cornered on the notion of “facial tissue.” While associations such as these seriously aggravate the accountants and attorneys of the world, they do wonders for a company’s marketing effort on the whole. But marketing is no reason why you should spend your hard earned money for something.
If you have ever tried generic cereal, you may have noticed that it tastes extremely similar to the stuff you pay 40 percent more for. In much the same way as this, the iPod costs several times as much as many of its generic competitors do. And since these competitors offer essentially the same product (with some aesthetic, lawsuit dodging differences about them), there seems to be very little need to end up spending more. While having an iPod is definitely cool, it is just not worth the expense.
