It just sounds cool to say “iPod” sometimes. It is probably the most ridiculous name for any product not intended for a toddler, but sometimes I just find myself saying, “Yeah, I got that song on my iPod,” or “I’m just listening to music on my iPod,” like it’s a privilege we iPod owners have to name-drop it.Normally when people refer to something they own by its product name, it’s just flat out creepy, as well as arrogant. If a friend told me he was watching “The Boondocks” specifically on his plasma TV, I think I’d have to tell him something like, “Dude, no need to brag, jerk.”But that’s the thing with iPods: everyone has one, so no one gets offended. To be seen with anything other than one is like buying a box of Cocoa Crispy Rice instead of the much more expensive Cocoa Krispies.Basically, they’re so popular now that they’ve achieved Rollerblade and Band-Aid status, which is every new product’s dream accomplishment. It’s when a product becomes so widespread that all things resembling it are referred to that particular company’s product name. People don’t go “inline skating” by the beach. Oh no, they go “Rollerblading.”When someone gets a cut in the kitchen, that person doesn’t ask for a “bandage,” but instead for a “Band-Aid.”And people don’t take their “MP3 players” to the gym anymore, oh heavens no, they take their “iPods.”But the more I hear about iPod alternatives that may actually be better than the almighty iPod, I can’t help but ask myself, “Why the hell did I buy one of these things?”I think most people would have a hard time explaining exactly why they purchased an iPod if required to give a reason other than its aesthetically appealing design and trendiness. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t invest in any electronic device that doesn’t first appeal to my superficial demands. The iPod, however, spends most of its time in my pocket, so I would be willing to part with some of its irresistible good looks – just a little bit – if it meant I could get some more features.Now, I admit when I first bought it, I overlooked its noticeable drawbacks because it seemed foolish to return such a sleek, stylish thing of beauty over stuff that seemed trivial. It would be like dumping a girl way out of my league because she snores every once and a while. Well, she’s not just snoring anymore; she’s eating my food now and texting me too much. My growing discontent with my iPod is due mainly to four reasons.-The insanely arduous task of converting regular movie files on my computer to iPod-compatible movie files has gotten so annoying that I barely even use the video player anymore. The fact that this process is even necessary is insulting.-Although I would probably only use an FM tuner sparingly, it would be nice to have one, as well as a built-in voice recorder. Keep in mind that these features are standard on most other MP3 players.-Also, would it be too much to ask that the iPod be designed so that I don’t need to buy hard plastic armor just to protect it from scratches that seem to appear out of nowhere?-Lastly, and most importantly, the fact that iPod is tied in exclusively to iTunes is pretty pathetic, considering Napster offers a music subscription service that costs $9.99 per month and includes unlimited song downloads, while iTunes charges that same price per album.Songs downloaded from the generous music library of Napster or any other subscription service are incompatible with iPods, due to file restrictions implemented by Apple, ensuring that all music downloaded legally onto an iPod must be through iTunes.But because I don’t have just any MP3 player, I have an iPod, I continue to get ripped off on iTunes.Getting ripped off seems to be the new trend with the iPod nowadays, although much less desirable. Apple recently launched a new line of iPods, the iPod Touch, that are even sexier than the old iPods, helping to disguise its reduced storage capacity and increased price. How Apple gets away with continually bombarding its customers with new features they do not need instead of updating the iPods with more practical updates is really quite amazing.The new iPod Shuffle, roughly the size of a button (1 in. x 1.6 in.), is designed so tiny that Apple actually felt obligated to include, “Do not eat the iPod Shuffle,” in the owner’s manual. The iPod Nano is a tad bigger than the Shuffle, though small enough to fit inside of the average palm, and now features video playback on a screen that can’t be much larger than a toenail.At first, I saw all the anti-iPod people as nonconformists trying too hard to be different, but after my little epiphany here, it is very understandable why someone would go out and purchase an MP3 player like the feature-rich Toshiba Gigabit ($199) or the acclaimed Creative Zen Vision ($230) among other iPod alternatives.Even though the iPod is the pioneer of portable MP3 devices, enough time has passed so that its competitors can offer a variety of digital audio players that may just be superior to Apple’s revolutionary product. Millions of songs are downloaded by countless people each day, and there is no reason why they should all be played on the same device when there are a good amount of “non-iPods” on the market.So, other than participating in the cool thing to do, I really can’t explain why I bought an iPod. But if it can sucker me in, with me generally representing all that is not cool, I guess it’s only natural for it to sucker in everyone else.
