# I Am Displeased With iPod for Monopolising The MP3 Player Market **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 15, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082 "2009-07-15T04:09:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/101 "2009-07-22T20:30:34Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Seriously, I’ve explained this at least three times in this thread already. People want iPods because _that’s all that is really available on the market here in Australia_. And I quoted you saying something that completely contradicts this: > [@](#): > > Because that’s what the market who are interested in funky colours and having the same stuff as their friends want. You made the same point in your OP: > [@](#): > > Nearly all the major retailers have pretty much switched over to retailing iPods exclusively, basically because that’s what people want. > [@](#): > > And whilst that’s not a Monopoly, it’s pretty damn close. Retailers supplying what’s demanded is not “pretty damn close” to Apple having a monopoly. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/102 "2009-07-22T23:29:03Z")
Tell me, if I changed my OP to “I pit retailers for only stocking Apple products” would you agree with my views or just find something else to argue with me about? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/103 "2009-07-22T23:50:14Z")
I still wouldn’t agree with you as retailers would be doing the smart thing by utilizing their space to stock what people demand (by your own admission). And there still wouldn’t be a monopoly. I don’t know why you added “or just find something else to argue with me about?”. Was that just for me or everyone who disagreed with you? I know, I know- you added a smiley so I wasn’t supposed to comment on that last part. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/104 "2009-07-23T00:31:31Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > I don’t know why you added “or just find something else to argue with me about?”. Was that just for me or everyone who disagreed with you? I know, I know- you added a smiley so I wasn’t supposed to comment on that last part. It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to an impression I’ve formed where people seem to disagree with me for the hell of it, and if someone else posted the same thing then people would be falling over themselves to agree with them. It wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/105 "2009-07-23T01:08:24Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to an impression I’ve formed where people seem to disagree with me for the hell of it, and if someone else posted the same thing then people would be falling over themselves to agree with them. It wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular. It’s not you, it’s the pit. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/106 "2009-07-23T08:47:03Z")
What irritates me about the ipod dominance of the market is that they sound terrible. I mean their codecs, hardware, amplifier, etc. - garbage. There’s very little quality in the market. Then again, most ipod users seem only interested in listening on the shitty packaged earbuds at a volume that introduces massive distortion and couldn’t tell the difference between a 96Kbps mp3 and a cd. On the other hand, I own an ipod touch and it’s awesome. The actual sound is mediocre to decent (you have to leave the software equalizer off - it preamps the hell out of shit and is horrible), but overall as a gadget it’s incredible. All the apps, the awesome video, some great games. I love it. If I got an mp3 player purely for music though I’d probably go with a Cowan unit. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/107 "2009-07-23T13:22:03Z")
While I agree that (here in the UK) bricks and mortar retailers seem to stock only Apple MP3 players, I don’t get your objection to on-line purchasing. You get a very large range of non-Apple products at (in my experience) far better prices, and I like reading users’ opinions on the products I’m interested in. To address your main issue, I find it far easier to exchange or refund on line. For example, I bought an external hard drive from Amazon in February. Yesterday, it died on me. I phoned Amazon (on a toll free number) at 4.00pm. A very chirpy young lady told me that they couldn’t do an exchange, because they didn’t stock it any more. She emailed me a postage paid label, and will refund me on receipt. I bought another drive which turned up at 11.00am this morning. No arguments, no questions asked, no problems. I don’t find high street or out of town retailers to be that accommodating most of the time. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/108 "2009-07-23T14:22:17Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Interesting suggestion! I might look into something like that when I do go and get a new phone. I found that even the Sony Erricson models that are biased towards a better camera than MP3 player do a good job at playing music. When my MP3 player was nicked I didn’t bother replacing it. You can drag and drop files without worrying about any software to manage it for you too. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/109 "2009-07-23T14:38:43Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Tell me, if I changed my OP to “I pit retailers for only stocking Apple products” would you agree with my views or just find something else to argue with me about? It would certainly be more accurate than blaming Apple for it, that’s for damn sure. Your ultimate hatred should be directed against other consumers, though, since when retailers did stock the other brands, no one bought them. Shit, you could pit yourself for not buying one when they were available. > [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to an impression I’ve formed where people seem to disagree with me for the hell of it, and if someone else posted the same thing then people would be falling over themselves to agree with them. I know this is going to come as a huge blow to your ego, but **not everything is about you**. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > Then again, most ipod users seem only interested in listening on the shitty packaged earbuds That always makes me laugh. You drop several hundred dollars on an MP3 player… and use the low-quality earbuds that came with it? Seriously, dude? ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/110 "2009-07-24T01:17:19Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > But do you know what? Pretty much every major retailer has stopped dealing with windows-based MP3 players (except at the bottom end of the market in the sub-$50 1-2Gb shut-the-kids-up models), it seems. I have a [Cowon D2](http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/cowon/d2/) (two actually, bought the second 1 when the first one’s battery started losing charge a little more quickly). I did have to buy them online, but it’s a totally awesome player. Granted, I listen to spoken audio (podcasts and audio books) rather than music, so I can’t swear it will handle music like you want. I’m one of those annoying people that doesn’t want an iPod because _everybody_ has an iPod. Feel free to jeer. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/111 "2009-07-24T03:39:48Z")
> [@Archergal](#): > > I have a [Cowon D2](http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/cowon/d2/) (two actually, bought the second 1 when the first one’s battery started losing charge a little more quickly). I did have to buy them online, but it’s a totally awesome player. > > Granted, I listen to spoken audio (podcasts and audio books) rather than music, so I can’t swear it will handle music like you want. > > I’m one of those annoying people that doesn’t want an iPod because _everybody_ has an iPod. Feel free to jeer. That looks pretty freaken sweet for a dedicated mp3/media player. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/112 "2009-07-24T03:44:12Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > That looks pretty freaken sweet for a dedicated mp3/media player. Oh yeah. I wear mine on a lanyard around my neck while I’m going around town/shopping/walking dogs and listen. I fall asleep listening to it. I love the touch screen. I can show people pictures of my dogs on it. I’ve have one for a couple of years now. I just got done loading about 10 audiobooks onto it for vacation. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/113 "2009-07-24T03:55:20Z")
> [@Archergal](#): > > Oh yeah. I wear mine on a lanyard around my neck while I’m going around town/shopping/walking dogs and listen. I fall asleep listening to it. I love the touch screen. I can show people pictures of my dogs on it. > > I’ve have one for a couple of years now. I just got done loading about 10 audiobooks onto it for vacation. 🆒 I like the tv hookups, and flashcard bay. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082/114 "2009-07-24T13:10:00Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > I like the tv hookups, and flashcard bay. I haven’t used the tv hookup, so I can’t speak to that, but I use the SD card slot continuously. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-displeased-with-ipod-for-monopolising-the-mp3-player-market/503082.md?page=5)