There's this obsession with the iPod like it was the first mp3 player in the world. It wasn't even the best. I had an MP3 player before I heard about the iPod,

There's this obsession with the iPod like it was the first mp3 player in the world. It wasn't even the best. I had an MP3 player before I heard about the iPod, moved on to PDAs with MMC cards for music (because why have two separate devices), had smartphones before the iPhone was even released, had an MP3 player with a high quality DAC/preamp (big difference with good headphones). Apple is just good at marketing and Americans are good at buying (hence, the initial and continued success of many American companies). You'll have a harder time getting most Europeans to buy your new revolutionary/life-changing/world-saving stuff, imo. Probably the same for Japan.