Maybe for the 12-25 crowd. the iPod brought it to the rest of the world. Bill Wyman (the Rolling Stones) was just on Bob & Tom talking about converting his cd collection for his iPod. Do you really think someone in his age group could have given a damn about MP3's before the iPod? I doubt it.

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head there. I sell iPods at work and I'd say about 70% of customers who want an iPod don't know what MP3 is and don't know how these things actually work. They've just seen someone else using one and want the same thing.

Some common questions are:

'So where do I plug in my hi-fi so I can record music to it?'
'MP3?? But I don't have an internet connection.'
'So what does this thing actually do?'

Seriously, to make people want to buy something (and come to buy in droves)they know nothing about is quite an achievement, and probably borderline mass mind control. Ok, that last one was sarcasm. But people who come to our store and ask for an MP3 player want something different from the guy who asks for an iPod. They've created the perception of something that totally stands out from the rest of the market.

I too am not very keen on the whole Apple Assimilation Bandwagon, and don't own one and never will, but damned if Apple didn't strike a goldmine and make the most owned and talked about gadget in the last decade.

Well, since the fact that I do makes the rest of your ideas invalid, I'll move on.

^ One person does not make a demographic.

I don't get all the backlash for the iPod. Apple makes a high quality product everyone wants to own, and it is a bandwagon? How about that 95% bandwagon that Bill Gates created for himself with a half assed OS? That is something I will never understand.

But back on topic. Despite a small market share, what Apple does, generally is watched by the entire PC world. They are considered innovators and are quickly "ripped off" by the mass market PC world. Just look at that iPod shuffle wannabe(hell, all the iPod wannabes). Look at how laptops from PC makers DRASTICALLY changed once the Titanium came out. Whether one wants to believe it or not, having Apple on your side is a good thing in this format war.

I'll agree that it's a high quality product in terms of construction, but it's just not flexible enough in terms of features, which I believe is a ploy so people will have to spend big bucks on the expensive extras. For the money you pay for one of these suckas you should be getting a car charger kit, belt-clip case, skin cover, AND those high quality ear canal headphones.

I'd say people buy Windows mainly because it's nessesary for compatibility and it's come so far that it's basically an industry standard now. If Linux was half the price of Windows and promised compatibility with Windows files, programs and devices, then people would buy that instead. If people have no other easy option then what can they do?

I might be wrong here, but I don't have time to check dates and stuff, but I'm sure that Hard Drive based MP3 players from other manufacturers were available before the iPod, and I'm almost certain Sony's Z range of laptops came out before Apples titanium.

Apples recent success has been down to it's design and marketing. Not because of new ideas or technologies.

Also, check out this link to an amusing forum thread about another new Apple product that has been rumoured.