The truth is that despite listening to dozens of MP3 players there is still little competition for the iPod range to beat.  The gap has closed but across the range Apples iPod is well and truly dominant.  For me sound quality comes first and much as I ‘d like to able to talk about the sound quality of competing rivals Apple wins out every time.  When it comes to functionality Apple wins out every time.  When it comes to ease of use Apple wins out every time.

What’s more, this is not just my opinion.  You can search online all you like and read many magazines featuring MP3 reviews and rarely, if ever, will you see the ubiquitous iPod being usurped.

So what about the rest?  What can they offer that Apple can’t?  Well some rival units do come supplied with decent ear buds compared to the Apple offerings but that’s hardly justification for purchasing a rival model.  No, the one area that the competition beats the iPod into the ground is access to music.

The iPod is tied to the iTunes music store which I personally despise.  I will never, as long as I’m alive, buy one of their crappy mp3 files.  Much better to buy the cd and rip it yourself.  However iPod challengers can make use of the alternative Napster Music Service
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You may not be aware that Napster relaunched as a paid for service a couple of years back and it is now possible for just £14.95 per month to have access to a virtually unlimited supply of music.  Think about that.  It might sound expensive but rather than buying a couple of cds a month you can have unlimited access to the virtually every new release.  You’d certainly be the envy of all your mates.

This is a massive advantage and one that should make any music lover seriously consider an iPod alternative.  Many of the more recent Samsung, Sony releases plus the Zune produce pretty decent sound and with access to more than 5,000,000 tracks, and rising, for just £14.95 per month maybe the iPod has more competition than we think.