'Tis the season for iPod killers

I've owned a 4th Gen 40Gig non-photo iPod since August of 2004. Since then I have bought tons of accessories, plenty of iTMS songs/albums, and have recommended the iPod to any and all friends who want to bring their music with them. However, I am no longer doing this. The reason - Apple's choice to remove the dynamic capabilities of the iPod's Smart Playlists. Since the 6/26/05 update, 4th Gen iPod SPL's no longer update on the fly. This feature, one of the iPod's best, for some reason DOES still work on the brand new iPods (Nano/5G). Check out this article: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301910 They also don't seem to have any plans of bringing the functionality BACK for the older iPods either! So, Apple's 'solution' is for me to spend ANOTHER $400 and upgrade again! Well how do I know that once the 6th Gen iPod comes out Apple won't disable my ability to skip songs or play videos?!? It may seem harsh, but Apple's lack of support for older products and unethical business practices here have forced me to get excited about products like the Archos and Creative Zen. So I've DOWNGRADED the iPod firmware and have placed Steve Jobs on my "10 Most Hated" list. I am NEVER buying another Apple product and I don't recommend iPods to anyone. What if you bought a brand new car and after the first tuneup your windows stop rolling down and the only solution was to buy a newer car? This is JUST as bad!

I think the Archos AV700 may impact on iPod sales with respect to portable video players. If you were considering a portable video player the AV700 could be seen to be a better choice than an iPod with video, though the iPod is much cooler. I agree though when it comes to music nothing will knock the iPod off the top.

I don't know about everyone else, but I don't even consider buying a non-Apple DAP because they don't support AAC. I'm not talking about iTunes Music Store DRM'd files, I'm talking about my own 4,000 songs ripped from my own CDs into AAC. How am I supposed to succumb to their offerings if I can't play or have to re-rip my music? And I wouldn't replace my iPod, I would take a new, cheaper DAP where I wouldn't want to risk my iPod.