Say, are you sick to death of the phrase "iPod-killer"? Because frankly, if we had to live the rest of our miserable little lives without ever hearing that term again, we'd probably be okay with that. (Although if we had to choose just one word or phrase to banish from the vernacular for all eternity, we'd probably have to go with "carb.") Ever since the iPod grabbed the world by the ears and dragged it yowling into a new era of portable digital music, competitors have tried to unseat it from the top sales spot by offering less expensive players with better on-paper specs and more features. And it's a sound strategy, right? After all, who wouldn't rather spend $50 less and get everything the iPod offers, plus MP3 recording, more storage space, and twice the battery life? Hence, the flood of "iPod-killers" over the past couple of years.

Much to our surprise, though, consumers aren't taking the bait. Apparently they're far less likely to be tricked into buying cheaper and "better" but poorly-designed MP3 players than cheaper and "better" but poorly-designed personal computers. Go figure. The result? The forty-odd "iPod-killers" that have surfaced in the past two and a half years have generally wound up being iPod-killees, instead, or at best, just bland faces in the crowd. And since the iPod remains so firmly entrenched in the top spot after all this time, we think we see light at the end of the tunnel, and we firmly hope that the media will finally drop the "iPod-killer" misnomer once and for all.

Unfortunately, now we have to contend with a new phrase: "iPod mini-killer." Great.

Yes, MacNN reports that the just-announced Rio Carbon may be the first player to assume the "iPod mini-killer" title, since its spec sheet out-minis the mini in so many ways. The mini has a 4 GB drive; the Carbon has a 5 GB one. The mini has an 8-hour battery; the Carbon's allegedly runs for 20. According to The Register, the Carbon is roughly 10% lighter than the mini and even supports built-in voice recording-- all for the same $249 price tag. Why, with specs like that, of course it's an iPod mini-killer! Especially if Rio can actually make them fast enough for people to actually buy.

Except that Rio, of course, forgot just one crucial feature: the Carbon isn't available in pink. Ooooh, so close! But that single critical error (well, okay, that and maybe the lack of a scroll wheel; we're supposed to navigate through thousands of songs with a directional pad? Trust us, it's bad enough doing it on a TiVo; it's one thing while on the couch, but we're not about to inflict that sort of mental anguish on ourselves while out walking around) will likely be enough to relegate the Carbon to whatever silicon afterlife houses the spirits of failed would-be iPod-killers that died of loneliness on store shelves. Suppose they've got a little Thanksgiving-style kiddie table for the mini-sized casualties?