I disagree, if you're heavy into iTunes, which is by far the best online music and video store integrated with a system music and portable MP3 player - going anything but iPod makes very little sense.
You can grab refurbished iPods on Apple's site for pretty cheap, but call first and see if they can do anything. I worry about my iPod, since I got it back in Christmas of '04 (3G 20GB), but it's held up like a pro and I doubt I'll upgrade until there's a better video iPod (gimme a bigger screen, you bastards!).
That said, competition is good, because Apple seems to announce counterpoint options when ever Creative comes out with something and with Microsoft in the market, it'll only force them to keep up their game.
If either Creative or Microsoft can create a true iTunes alternative and possibly threaten Apple, they're going to have to open up iTunes to more than just the iPod in terms of supported players. iTunes is their future, because eventually they're going to saturate the MP3 player market.
