I wouldn't discount the Neo purely on looks, because compared to the Mark 1 the Neo surely looks cleaner and better at least from the outside. At it's price point, it has the potential to kick some ass all over the place. The Neo plays MP3s and so does the empeg. If you don't think a nearly equivalent yet inferior product priced at a fraction of a superior product can sell like crazy, eventually driving the superior product out of the market -- think again. This has happened many many times in any market.

Calvin