Introducing myself...
I bought a 20gb 4G non-color iPod a couple weeks ago...been eyeing DAPs for some time and finally decided to spring for one...my commute is a couple hours everyday...decided that I needed to listen to something besides a bunch of baboons babbling on the radio.
I don't think I've ever been this happy with a purchase before...stopped by Best Buy and Circuit City a couple of times to check out my options...there were a lot of DAPs with a lot more features than the iPod, but I really didn't need any of them:
1) Color LCDs for photos...while nice, but useless for me. I don't care about album covers or carrying around pictures.
2) USB hosting...nope, don't need it.
3) Ogg, FLAC...I'm no audiophile...mp3s are A-Ok.
4) FM receiver and recording...this would be nice, but there is nothing but crappy radio programming around here.
5) Unholy long battery life...I don't know about you guys, but I'm close a power outlet or computer at least 80% of the day...I'm not worried about some long vacation I might take down the road.
The simplicity of the iPod just got me...it was amazing that every other DAP had 5 gazillion buttons, while the iPod just has a wheel...it is like the Mac/PC thing...the Mac still works well with one mouse button, while most PC mice have 2 buttons, and a clickable wheel. Its easy to figure out how to navigate everything...no remembering of what to press and when...
The sound quality didn't wow me at first...so I plugged in my regular Sennheisers...much better. I'm not a big fan of iTunes, but its pretty stupid-proof (at least for me). It didn't hurt that the white and chrome just looks awesome.
For an average joe like me, who just wants to listen to some music and podcasts, and doesn't need it to interface with 5 million other things, the iPod kicks butt.