iPod loses again... 39

A note: there was an error in the comparison chart note: the note reads "lower S-N ratios are better." The correct statement would be "Higher S-N ratios are better." the note correctly identifies the iPod as having the best S-N, however all of the players tested are essentially equal w.r.t. audible differences.

The iPod is second because of its price. It does photo; the Creative does FM - I don't care about either. The iPod has the better design (according to them, I agree) and 4 times the capacity of the Creative. Personally, I would prefer the Li-Ion battery to the AAA - but either will work. Both are tied to proprietary software; the iPod is the only one of the two which will work on both platforms however.

No doubt the iPods are pricy - but they are best of breed for what they do. Once someone else sells 50,000,000 and defines the species, we'll talk. "iPod" is pretty much becoming the generic term for these sort of players - just as "Xerox" was for copiers many years ago.

Ken