Perhaps you could post a Tag Heuer rant when you are through with your iPod rant.
No, I don't need to post any Tag Heuer rant. I've had batteries in watches replaced. It takes all of 10 minutes at a jeweler's and costs the price of the battery, and maybe $10 for the labor.
I don't have to buy some $99 replacement plan, I don't have to send my watch off somewhere just to get the battery changed, etc. Your comparison is really not valid. An iPod is NOT a "truly fine watch", it's a glorified Walkman. If you want to drop $1,000 or more on a watch, then presumably you don't mind having to pay "a tidy sum" to have the battery replaced, as you have purchased a high-end item (since you could easily get a watch that does exactly what your "high-end" model does for $20 or less).
So, are you trying to tell me that an iPod is a high-end item, owned primarily by those wealthy enough not to be bothered by the cost or inconvenience of the battery replacement, and who choose to spend 50 times more for something than they really need to? If the other MP3 players on the market were all around $200-$400, and the iPod was the Tag Heuer of MP3 players and cost something like $2,000, then I could see your point.
The bottom line is that it is a stupid design. Are any of you Mac cultists capable of admitting it?
LOL!
I'm no cultist. Check my profile. They all look alike to me.
Sorry if you can't grasp the concept of people spending their money how ever they feel like it without advice from the likes of you.