SanDisk CEO Eli Harari has admitted that Apple has won the digital media device war, telling CNN, "You can't out-iPod the iPod."

The company, inventor of the Flash memory used in the iPod and...pretty much every other digital media device, camera, and other gadget on the planet, and maker of the Sansa MP3 player, once tried to unseat Apple using Apple's patented "Lemmings" technique of advertising failure.

In 2006, SanDisk launched its "iDon't" campaign that attempted to cast iPod users as "iSheep swarming through our cities" who can't think for themselves. Similar to Apple's 1985 commercial "Lemmings," which cast PC users as the cliff-jumping rodents, a characterization said PC users didn't take kindly to.

"I don't" had a similar effect for SanDisk, with most people saying, "I don't care," or , "I don't buy the Sansa."

SanDisk's Sansa Fuze

The company's Sansa player does, however, remain the Runner Up digital media device in the market, ahead of the 1st Alternate, Microsoft's Zune line. In this case, however, being #2 isn't particularly meaningful as the iPod's market share is so overwhelming that the other players are doing little more than competing for table scraps.

CNN reported that Mr. Harari plans on remaining in the digital media device market. He said that he's found the Sansa product line gives the company credibility with potential business partners in the Flash memory realm.