Why do 90% of the people use iPod/iPhone as their portable player?

for non audiophiles, its just because of the branding "Apple". Same thing for people who wear Beats while strolling in the mall with their family/friends (WTF?)

Ooh, I can feel the animosity oozing from the OP. The ipod/phone has quite possibly the best overall package of apps, web browser, intuitive UI, and sound quality. A jack of all trades, master of maybe some. Have you tried, like, actually reading the portable source forum? Here's one thread discussing the iphone's SQ: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/499008/iphone-4-sound-quality

Fairly positive from what I could tell, I also owned one, acceptable sound to say the very least. 

First, let me say that I love my Mac computers.  That said, I thought about buying an iPod until I experienced the awesomeness of my daughter's Zune.  Now, I have to wonder if Apple took a page from Bose's marketing book...?

^ I had a Zune HD, and damn did MS screw us. They pretty much used it as a beta test for their Zune service/software, and left the device to mull except for the few bleh app and video support updates here and there. The damn thing didn't even have VPN support for ages, meaning you couldn't use the only somewhat competent browser with college/work wi-fi... seriously? The sound quality was good, but if you were looking for a pure audio player, there was arguably better in the form Cowon's offerings.  

A few reasons:

Absolute SQ is not a major factor for most buyers.
iTunes makes music (demo, acquire, sync) tasks easy.
Lock in from when Apple had a UI/UX advantage.

Lock in from being part of the Mac ecosystem.

Lock in from being part of the iOS ecosystem.

Superior distribution channels.

Superior advertising.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia 

^ I had a Zune HD, and damn did MS screw us

Yep, the Zune was really only worthwhile if you're willing to use Zune Pass for your music fix.

Why? Because they don't know any better.

Why?  Because the iphone does a million other things on top of providing a good quality portable audio source with the best UI I've seen.  The iphone 3gs and 4g have a very low noise floor (ie great for IEMs) and a reasonably good cirrus logic codec.

This is one of those discussions that can really go into a black hole, but personally if I need something to entertain me for a few hours and the choice is between a clunky device that does nothing other than play mp3s and a miniature computer with 3g (iphone) that's a pretty easy choice.

iTunes.

People forget, but the 1st gen iPod was a failure.  Sound quality was poor.  It didn't support drag-and-drop.  You had to use proprietary software that was Mac-only.  The player's design was not groundbreaking; it looked like a white Diamond Rio.  It only had a firewire port for syncing and charging.  Some users, when they unplugged the player, accidentally ripped the jack out!

The 2nd gen iPod had a dock connector instead of firewire, full Windows support and iTunes.  For the first time, consumers had an easy and legal way of getting music onto an mp3 player but the only supported player was the iPod.  This all-in-one solution has strong appeal for the non-geeky masses, causing the iPod to become the dominant mp3 player.  Other companies have tried to duplicate the Apple model but have been unable to secure agreements with the entertainment companies that are needed for a full-featured online store.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPGWiZaRD 

Well it still lacks EQ capabilities which is a big no-no for me at least.

False, they are at least two quality eq apps out right now

Well you're question has already been answered in the thread, I believe. To reiterate: Entering the market when it was still fairly young + advertising + very good product/service. And the ipod/iphone DOES have good to great sound quality, it's not like people are compromising audio for other things. You seem be more venting about your dislike for the products than actually inquiring anything, we know, because we've seen it (hell done it) before.