I wonder if it'll be Mac compatible :D

Yep seen em. Not impressed.

The certain death of any of these MP3 players will be the fact that more and more cell phones are going to include them. Right now the storage capacity of the ones in cell phones is rather small compared to the stand-alone MP3 players, but that will change in the near future. Just like the cameras in cell phones continue to improve, so will the MP3 players. Better hold onto your cameras and MP3 players -- they will soon go the way of personal organizers and cassette/CD walkmans.

I think that's still a long ways to go.
My cell phone is strictly a cell phone no matter what I can do with it because of the following.
My cell phone is better at talking.
My iPod is better for mp3s / portable harddrive.
My iPaq or Palm or whatever is better at being a PDA.
My casio zxgabazillion or sony supermegadupercam is better at taking pictures.

Until they can incorporate a decent lens into a phone, I'm still keeping my camera seperate. Until they can't incoporate better input ability (qwerty keyboard and/or handwriting recognition) I'm keeping my PDA (okay i'm lying, i dont have one anymore, i returned the ipaq and gave my sister the palm m515). Until they can incorporate massive storage abilities (ie: 20gb or more, which is soon :D) I'm keeping my iPod.

It's just a matter of time though, I agree, it's just a long long time, and as Keynesian said, in the long run we're dead.

It will be sooner than you think.....

Nokia just released a phone a couple of months ago with a built in 4 GB hard drive, and Samsung is releasing one with a 8 GB hard drive in another month or so.

As far as cameras, there are now a number of 3.2 megapixel camera phones available. If you don't think they take good quality pictures, take a look here: http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=786808

I know the phones are coming with bigger hdds. I'm very happy for that :D I can't wait until I can keep my phone and mp3 player in one... uhh, you know object :)

As for the camera, mp isn't everything, it's the quality of the lens as well as a few other things. Look in those pictures the amount of noise on unfocused objects. Small things like that. :(
Perhaps I'm being way too critical, I just don't like wasting money on things that dont' perform.

At $350, the iPod HiFi is even more expensive than the Bose SoundDock which goes for $299.99.


http://www.bose.com/images/home_ente...nddock_l_w.jpg

The best alternative is the Klipsch iGroove at $224.99 at Costco.com. Cnet.com rated the Klipsch ahead of both the Apple and Bose systems and it is available at a better price.

http://www.klipsch.com/media/Photos/iGroove_large.jpg

The best separate piece system is the Klipsch iFi which apparently is discontinued but is still available on-line from Amazon.com at $249.99 (was $199.99 at Costco, but sold out). This system utilizes two Klipsch bookshelf stereo speakers (value of $130 each), an 8" sub, and a remote control. Sonically, this is a good stereo system, with or without the iPod connectivity and controls.

http://www.klipsch.com/media/Photos/newifi3_large.jpg

Ipod killers have been supposedly coming out for the last 4 years, first it was creative labs who were supposed to blast Ipod with the MP3 player that can support all music formats, and then there was Sony w/ the NW series of MP3 players who was suppose to play music for like a billion hours. I hate to admit it but apple’s Ipod is the best all around MP3 player hands down.

More on Zune.
It appears that Zune has bigger screen than IPod for video. ;) Microsoft did get a market share with Xbox, will they be able to do with Zune?

Specs:
WMA, MP3, AAC, JPEG,WMV, MPEG-4, H.264 media playback
Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) connectivity
30 GB Hard Drive
3 inch video LCD 320x240
White, Black, and Brown Colors
FM Radio
TV output connectivity 640x480
Dedicated song download site
Podcast playback
Updateable Firmware
Estimated 12 hr battery life for audio, 3.5 hr video
3 day playback of Wi-Fi transfered songs from friends
XBOX streaming
XBOX (Microsoft) points compatability
Preloaded music videos
Over a dozen accessories at launch
5.6 ounces in weight, 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.58 inches size
Metric: 158 g, 112 x 61 x 14.7 mm size
Custom background images
WiFi transfer of photographs
Tag based storage system (Will not appear as drive)
PC Compatability (no Mac client at launch)
Zune tag enabled
Horizontal and vertical video orientation

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/p...age022_low.jpg

Who knows. http://www.xoutpost.com/lounge/20177-...highlight=Zune