"No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame."

The things that Slashdot users thought about the original iPod are worth reading: https://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/Apple-releases-i...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_NOMAD

The seeming tension between vertical integration and open systems is an interesting question. I think the ideal is to have both tight software-hardware integration and maximum freedom and openness. I really don't see a reason why these two concepts must always be viewed as opposites, especially if you are able to question the underlying legal and economic assumptions that most people start with.