> it was effectively the same product as many other media players that came before and after, other products even had more features sometimes
For me, at the time, the iPod (Classic) was a worst-in-class product (required iTunes, pretended it didn't know what a file was, annoying to navigate, etc.) The iPod Touch was that but also not attractive.
I think one of the things was the iPod wasn't "for" most of us who were face down in our piles of MP3s and managing them and etc.... at least not at first.
One of those cases where the first in the market consumers / enthusiasts weren't the best folks to take your hints from as far as the future of that tech.
Arguably they've long been left behind by streaming services and etc. My piles of files are certainly just ... sitting there now.
Nah, it was absurdly heavy marketing. I don't remember any other mp3 player being marketed at all. The click wheel was also cool, although pragmatically it sucked and nobody ever used it on on anything again.
Also, buying an mp3 player was a bit of a minefield back then, because you couldn't tell if it behaved as a drive or through some elaborate software DRM/obfuscation dance that might even be specific to Windows ("playsforsure," maybe? Talk about an Orwellian name.) At least people knew that the iPod would work.
edit: I mean, it was on every billboard and the side of every bus in solid dayglo colors. Comedy shows like SNL did sketches about the ads. This went on for years.
For me, at the time, the iPod (Classic) was a worst-in-class product (required iTunes, pretended it didn't know what a file was, annoying to navigate, etc.) The iPod Touch was that but also not attractive.