Speaking of "undisputed kings," few people are going to deny that the iPod owns that title in the portable digital music space. It's the player that everybody wants, and (if "they" are correct, since we've often heard "them" say that the iPod recently captured 50% market share, though we've yet to find any numbers to back that up) it's the one that half the shoppers actually buy; as for its Deadly Sin Ratio, it inspires lust, envy, pride, and possibly gluttony among people who get just a little too taken by its utter scrumptiousness. So what, if anything, can possibly usurp the iPod from its throne?

Well, according to Mike Langberg of the San Jose Mercury News, it'll be one of the players made by Creative, because "products that are adequate and inexpensive often triumph over products that are better and cost more." (This, we know, comes as a major shock, especially to people who follow the Mac's market share numbers.) Mike agrees that the iPod is a best-of-breed product, but insists that when he finally buys a hard disk-based player, he's "not going to spend $300 or $400 or $500" because Creative's boat-sized $249 Nomad Jukebox 10 GB is good enough to "meet his needs." Apparently his needs don't include easy song management or a player he can actually carry around with him without a back brace and having special reinforced pockets sewn into all his clothes. Oh, wait, scratch that; even though it's about the size of three iPods glued together, it "fits in the palm of your hand"-- Creative says so, so it must be true. Way to save $50, Mike.

For the record, Mike is also betting that hard disk-based portable music players "will become very popular." Man, this guy's good. Somebody ask him for lottery numbers, quick!

No, we're not saying that his "cheap but mediocre often beats good but expensive" rule isn't valid, we're just saying that the iPod's accelerating sales figures (over 300,000 of the million units sold since launch were sold last quarter) seem to indicate that what's "good enough" for Mike isn't nearly good enough for many buyers, and they're quite willing to spend $300 or $400 or $500 for quality, elegance, and ease of use. That said, there is a player out there that really might be "good enough" for a lot more people; The Register reports that the iRiver iHP-100, currently only available in Japan, is coming to the UK, and may soon be landing here in the states.

Now, we're not really sure we'd agree with mp3players.co.uk that it "has to be the best looking hard drive-based player your money can buy," but at least it's not ugly enough to turn your hair white. Meanwhile, this is finally an iPod competitor that we can't immediately write off due to size; it's "a little taller but the same width and fractionally thinner than the 10 GB iPod" and about the same weight. Considering that it includes a built-in FM tuner and digital optical audio output and input (yes, it can record), that's quite a feat. It also comes with a remote with an LCD display. Assuming the iHP-100 works on the Mac in the first place, since it doesn't support AAC, you'd have to lose 30 IQ points and get your downloadable tunes through BuyMusic.com instead of the iTunes Music Store, but we imagine there are some people who would make the sacrifice.

Of course, since the iHP-100 costs $120 more than an iPod with the same storage capacity, it really isn't a candidate for the "cheap but adequate" end of the equation. Funny how somebody finally comes up with a player that's more expensive than the iPod, and it still apparently lags in crucial features like auto-synchronization of playlists. Does anybody know if this thing has put a dent in iPod sales in Japan? We almost hope it does ship soon in the U.S., just so the iPod can be the cheaper option for once.

Meanwhile, we wish Mike a speedy recovery from the hernia he'll get the first time he goes jogging with his Nomad. Get well soon, Mike!