iPod Rivals Behind In User Interface And Cool Factor

Forbes.com covers a recent research note from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who wrote that "comparable players could not compete with the iPod." Munster wrote, "While non-iPod devices often have similar, if not broader (for example: an FM tuner), feature sets than the iPod, none of these devices have shown that they can compete in two key areas: user interface and 'cool' factor."

Munster was impressed with the feature set of Creative's recently released Zen Vision: M, but noted it was "$30 more than the price of Apple's 30GB iPod." He believed pricing was important and "the massive relative shipment volume of the iPod prevents other MP3 player manufacturers from replicating the economies of scale achieved by Apple, allowing the company to continue sell iPods at the lowest prices in the market."