I meant to imply that mp3 players were too expensive "at the time", compared to a cd player.

I was not saying other mp3 players were more expensive than ipods. I could have been more clear there. Mp3 Players were more expensive than CD Players thus adoption was slow in the beginning, but the popularity of the ipod changed the mindset surrounding digital media players in general.

Once the ipod exploded in popularity many more mp3 players were sold to those who couldn't afford apple prices.

The previous poster was saying that EVERY kid had an mp3 player before ipods blew up where the opposite is true.