Well, I gave in today. freeiPods.com made an option available at the beginning of September for customers to switch their iPod selection from the Apple model to the new HP-branded models. The switch allows the site to send you whichever happens to be available at the time. People have been switching like crazy & getting their iPods much faster this way. The only difference between the two models is the little "hp" logo on the back & that another company makes the hard drive inside. Actually supposed to be a bit more stable (the Apple's have reported a few problems) & actually has better customer support than the Apple. I held out because I knew there was a great rush to switch & I thought it might speed up me actually getting the Apple (b/c of the number of people switching waiting lists). Never surfaced, though, as it has been three weeks now & I'm only slightly closer to getting mine shipped. So, looks like I might get an iPod+hp sooner now - we'll have to wait and see.