Sad iPod

Apple calls this the sad iPod screen.

I call it the sad iPod customer screen.

The iPod is a wonderful device and it has changed my life in many ways.

But these things crash way too easily.

Fortunately Apple is happy to take them back and send another iPod that works.

While my sad iPod has been in the replacement process, which usually lasts about four to six days in total, I have been using my Treo and Pocket Tunes as a replacement.

The good news is that the Treo can be a decent music player.  The bad news is you are limited to what the flash memory can store and the experience is far from "plug and play".

But I believe that there is a sliver of an opening in the iPod monopoly based around four issues;

1) The mean time to failure of the iPod is about six months (based on my experience)

2) The planned obsolescence of each new iPod format after about six months (ie photo iPod then video iPod).

3) The insistence on a proprietary music format and now video format that locks the customer into the iTunes music store.

4) The consumer’s desire to play music on their phones.

I don’t see anyone rushing in to supplant the iPod yet, but it sure feels like the monopoly is getting a bit tired.