Will the iPod ever die?

Even though this article has already been Dugg and Slashdotted, I think that it’s a worthy addition to our news.

Azhar Chougle from foronceandforall.com (I hope he’ll forgive the further increase of traffic on his servers) has written an excellent list of factors that made and still make the iPod the device of choice for most most music lovers. Here are the topics which the article talks about and small excerpts from them:

1. Its just too cool – “The iPod has become so much of a cool factor today that teens prefer it over any other MP3 player.”
2. Its known – “When we think of MP3 players we think Pod.”
3. Price – “Apple always has very competitive pricing for iPods, especially with the iPod shuffle.”
4. Competitors arenâ??t getting it. – “We want simply stuff, which looks good and works.”
5. Accessories in all directions – “We all love to personalize our stuff.”
6. We donâ??t like to change – “If the iPod was your first MP3 player, you will probably never change if itâ??s worked well for you.”
7. Getting better – “With smaller sizes, bigger drives, better functions etc.”
8. Personal Touch – “Mentally we are fixed that Microsoft is a big company with no taste and no â??coolnessâ??.”
9. Killing the PC – “As Apple converts even more people to Macs (and businesses) and as Macs get cheaper and more compatible with Windows, the iPod parade follows.”
10. Its just better – “The iPod is just one concept that will probably never die.”

I agree with all those points, although I think that #9 is a bit exaggerated, even though the iPod is helping to boost Apple’s sales it isn’t really killing Windows in an alarming rate. Apple is simply becoming the “popular alternative”, much like Firefox is in the web-browser world. But with the exception of that entry, I think that the others are pretty much head-on.

What do you think, will the iPod ever die?
I know mine will in a couple of years, when it’s battery becomes too addicted, but when that happens I’ll just buy a new one.