The iPod technological blessings bestowed upon the public have been numerous.

Upgrade frenzy hasn't really died down just yet for this particular brand of portable digital audio player.

Of course, as evidenced by the Windows Mobile Team Blog, upgrade strategies adopted by corporations may be contingent on that pesky cost factor.

My Windows Mobile 5 upgrade article sheds some light on upgrade trends and how consumer base plays no small part in the upgrade equation as theoretically applied to Apple.

If we take a look at iPod versus PDA technological evolution, the former is proceeding at a blistering, heart-palpitating rate for consumers.

This trauma doesn't just concern these audio digital devices, either, as iPod and other rapid upgrade curves outlined in a recent TechNewsWorld article.

The next incarnation is unfortunately not far away, no matter when you purchase your Latest, Shiniest Innovative Technology.

Maybe the lustre will last longer than it did for users purchasing one of those awesome, limited edition Harry Potter fourth-generation iPod with the laser engraved Hogwarts crest in September 2005.

I could only imagine the expletive-filled, foaming at the mouth rants when Apple announced its fifth-generation model one month later, along with plans to discontinue the already absurdly priced Harry Potter model.

In a heinous marketing manuever, the Harry Potter audiobooks were announced simultaneously, making sale of the limited edition model dependent on purchase of the entire set of the former.

Consumers were belted in their collective bread baskets to the tune of $650.00 CDN for the collection.

Now the video iPod capable of avarice-inducing MPEG-4 playback at 480 x 480 is producing green-eyed envy from fourth-generation iPod owners at a hefty $473.64 CDN if you decide to spring for the 60 glorious gigabytes of storage.

If you're trying to determine how well your devices stack up with each other, video playback capability versus non-MPEG capable is really a no-contest type of wager.

As Pocket PC owners, our own technological evolution has taken meandering and admittedly frustrating paths sometimes.

I recently referenced the HP hw6515 smartphone in another article, with Hewlett Packard deciding to play it safe with a WM 2003 OS release.

I guess such Windows Mobile 5 innovations like oodles more flash ROM capability and more efficient energy usage, will elude a few of our newer devices.

These just happen to be factors that are near and dear to Pocket PC gamers' hearts.

Still, the Pocket PC market hasn't shown itself to be as upgrade-traumatized as the iPod crowd.

The majority of us are still on WM 2003 or WM 2003 SE, and inexplicably, PDA game quality is improving by the looks of some recent high-resolution, audio-licious Pocket PC game downloads.

Still, better a meandering PDA upgrade path than a feverish iPod one in my opinion. I'd rather not lose my wallet trying to keep up with the Joneses.

It looks like EBay will be prospering for some time to come.

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Damian Julien is a Pocket PC gaming authority and long time general gaming hobbyist and reviewer.

He is an IT specialist by trade and has posted numerous articles on Pocket PC emulators, gaming and trends in the industry.

http://www.pdagameguide.com/