Dell’s “iPod killer” (I believe it was the original “iPod killer”) has been layed to rest. We hardly knew ye. Thankfully. I love reading old articles about its release. Here’s my favorite:
Apple Computer’s tenuous hold on the portable audio-player market might soon fall thanks to a predictable foe, Dell, whose Dell Digital Jukebox (Dell DJ) is off to a strong start. The Dell unit is a bit bigger than Apple’s elegant iPod, but it features a more intuitive scrolling navigation wheel and support for Microsoft’s ubiquitous Windows Media Audio (WMA) format, which all online music services except Apple use (even staunch Microsoft competitor RealNetworks, which has its own audio and video formats, uses WMA—a telling decision). The Dell DJ, which I previewed at COMDEX last week and will review soon for Connected Home EXPRESS, also features dramatically better battery life than the iPod, lower prices, a built-in audio recorder, and—gasp—a simpler interface than the iPod. As the owner of two iPods, I’ve long expected the PC world to catch up with—and surpass—Apple’s entry. My only surprise is that it’s taken this long.
Ha ha ha ha… hold on… heave. I need to catch my breath. I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time. Maybe being wrong so many times will teach the media to stop calling every new MP3 player the “iPod killer”. Or maybe not.
Wow now that sounds impressive where do I get one... oh damn left it too late again, I wish these iPod killers would last a little longer. I wonder if that writer had to repay his bung, sorry I mean fee, for that little gem.