Yesterday I broke down and bought an iPod.  One of the new 40GB models with the Click Wheel.  This was a very tough decision for me to make, as I work for Microsoft and I inherently want to support the company as much as possible – especially knowing some of the very cool stuff that is coming in the near term.

What drove me to the iPod?  Well, there were a couple of factors that played into my decision:

1.      I wanted a device big enough to hold my entire music collection; my wife and I are tired of the eye sore that is our collection of CDs, so I’m making a concerted effort to move all of that music over to the PC

2.      I wanted a device that I could use in the car; this – more than any other factor – is the reason why I bought the iPod.  Yeah, I know you can use FM transmitters or the line in on a lot of car stereos to enable any media player to work with a car, but I want tight integration with the car’s stero controls.  Since I own a 2004 BMW 325i, the whole “iPod Your BMW” pulled me in.  I considered PhatNoise – and with their support for Windows Media 9, it is a very tempting offer – but in the end it is $400-$500 more expensive for PhatNoise and it’s not very portable.

3.      I wanted a device that was stylish and felt like it was well engineered; Apple has a unique knack for making nice devices with better feeling quality for a premium price; most WMA-based players, on the other hand, provide commodity pricing and commodity feel.  Personally, I believe this is about to change – especially with the introduction of Creative’s Zen Touch

4.      I wanted it and I wanted it now; I’m an instant gratification kind of guy and, once I get a bug for something – a media player, in this case – I begin to argue very hard why I shouldn’t knowing all the time I will, so I’ve just started giving myself over rather than wasting time and energy worrying about the “right” decision

Through all of this, I’m taking some crap from my Microsoft friends.  Dan and Rob, in particular right now.  Rob had the excellent idea of working with Creative to come up with a similar, more widespread solution for connecting the likes of the Zen Touch to any car stereo, similar to what PhatNoise does.  I think I’ll take him up on that idea and reach out to Creative.  I’ll blog a bit more about the experience in another post.