If an iPod is a worse featured product with worse peripherals there are other options out there, that may suit your needs. When you buy a new computer an iPod is not forced onto you by the fact that it is there on your PC and there is no way to get a PC without one.
X, what are you suggesting here?
Ehm, I have a Samsung T809 and it has a proprietary headphone jack as well. I have to buy the one Samsung sells as no others will fit. Same goes for their chargers, the aftermarket chargers can't get the plug to fit properly, so I am forced to buy Samsung.
I did not know that about the headset. Regarding chargers, everyone has their own little thing so I didn't even bother to include that in the conversation.
The iPhone at least comes with a wired headset I can use with it. There is no need to buy additional components, whereas with my Samsung I definitely had to pay extra to get the extra wire with the right plug.
I did not know that about the Samsung. I am speaking, regarding the iPhone, about the experience my colleague had when she brought in her iPhone and was unable to connect it to her extensive sound-system at work.
That is the mistake of the manufacturer. How does this have anything to do with Apple having a monopoly?
This isn't the mistake of the manufacturer. It shows that the initial demand (i.e. the first day) is not duplicated because there is a sufficient quantity. The manufacturer also creates demand but in the case of other products such as the Wii and the PS3, in the initial days, there were huge lines and demand out-stripped supply. The Wii is still in short supply.
I did, I was referring to iPod and iPhone sales. People want them, they are not being forced down their throats when they buy a PC.
This was not insinuated.
Not so different? How are they not so different? Where has Apple strong-armed it's music store over any other? Where has it forced users to use their music store? How has it forced people to buy their media players? Do note that songs made with PlayForSure can not even be played on the Microsoft Zune. If I bought any PlayForSure songs, I am stuck with other players. The same thing applies with Apple not licensing Microsoft DRM. If I bought Microsoft DRM songs, it is understandable I can't play them on my iPod.
I've never used playforsure so I cannot comment. By the way, the file format used for most songs played on a Zune are the same as that on an iPod, I don't think you'll have an issue unless you are working on a proprietary Microsoft or Apple format.
There is huge groups of indie developers out there making money on applications they build. Amazon's music store sells DRM free MP3's which can be loaded onto the iPod and played. What are the essential aspects? A lot of money is made by selling extra's for iPod's for iPhones. Laptop cases, extra hard drives, printers and the like. And because Apple controls these essential aspects they are able to provide a better experience.
On the computer front, there is a significant control of products and significant lack of 3'rd party developers.
I don't agree. You or I were never forced to install iTunes, we were never forced to get an iPod (eventhough I doubt you have one), and we were not forced to download from the iTunes music store.
Had a nano for a few days, gave it to my parents, bought a Zune.
What market are they the only provider of a service?
The Apple computer market? I thought thats what this was about
They have an exclusive right to have the iPod, since they made it, but to what do they have the right to exclusive something? Everything Apple provides, has an alternative out there. For the longest time I was unable to get a standard PC without Windows bundled with it. You could say the same thing for Mac's, but one could argue one is paying for the hardware and the software is free. Whereas with Microsoft's OEM licensing I am definitely paying for a copy of the OS.
And you don't pay for yearly updates to Mac OSX?
On the PC platform, you can and have had alternative operating systems available since the earliest days. Whether you chose to use those operating systems or not was dependent on you.
On the Mac setup, you have 1 choice. You have bootcamp, sure, but you still have to have Mac OSX to run it.