Quick overview for anyone who doesn't know the lingo...
[IMG]http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b121/sabreydoo/df4924a0.jpg[/IMG]
The thing on the bottom is a digipak. Big cardboardy thing which just flops open. The things on the top are jewel cases.
Personally, I really hate them. They're just irritating imo - they wear around the edges very quickly, and unlike with jewel cases you can't replace the casing. So any finger prints or cracks in the CD trays or other wear and tear are there to stay. Previously there was also a problem with any double CD digipacks not fitting in my rack (therefore, I had two Therion albums, a Devin Townsend album, and about four Porcupine Trees sitting on top of my CD rack), but I've since replaced my racks with undivided shelving.
Some like the package though, which I can kinda understand. As for me though, they're the bane of my CD collection. I'm actually considering getting the old version of Stupid Dream instead of the forthcoming reissue purely because although the reissue will have a 5.1 mix, it's a digipack.
****ing annoying. If I can obtain a digipak album in a jewel case, that is what I will do. I was a cheap bastard, so I bought the Russian reissue of Ayreon's Into The Electric Castle (on Irond records), and it came in a half-digipak, half-jewel case hybrid. I went out and bought a normal double jewel and tore the album art out of the original case, and now it looks as good as new.
Main reason I despise them is because they won't fit in any of my racks. I have a few sitting on top of my larger rack (along with singles and boxes, which I equally loathe).
The digipak cases are neat, if somewhat annoying. I don't own any digipak music cds, and don't see myself owning many in the future. Jewel cases are fine by me.
Well, with digipacks, the album art looks nicer and since digipacks are usually "special, limited, etc. edition", they usually have additional content, which is always nice. When the latter is not the case, I'd rather not own a digipack. The cardboard is too easily damaged, and when it is, you can't go out and buy a replacement like you can with jewel case. Well, you can, you'd just sacrifice album art. Another downside to digipacks is that they can make a collection look less uniform when everything around it is jewel case.
Really though, it isn't a big deal either way, but I prefer to own jewel case unless every album released by that particular artist is digipack (Burzum and Darkthrone rereleases for instance). But that's just me being anal about the look of my cds.
As long as my CD itself is labeled and has good music recorded on it, I couldn't care less about what kind of package it's in.
What peeves me is not being able to find the artist's name nor the name of the album anywhere on the actual CD itself.
Wait, why are they annoying? I only quite a few digipacks and haven't had a problem with them once. Other than trying to get to the booklet out the small opening, I actually really like them. Like Shin said, the artwork is usually much nicer and it allows for more content. Plus, I rarely even handle the cases, so I don't have to worry about cracks or wear.
Really, the only thing that would annoy me is the fact that I just bought the album three months ago for twenty-five bucks, now the band comes out with a new digipack offering more songs or addition content... for more than the original album. Of course I don't have to buy it, but I am a fan of the band and would like to own it. So it seems a little unfair. But whatever.
I like them apart from the fact that:
They damage easier
You sometimes have to import them in order to get them in Australia
And what Vampiro said. The "dedicated" fan will buy an album as soon as it's released, but it's really not fair when albums are later rereleased at cheaper prices with more material... unless they're reissues, which is okay.
I personally enjoy digipacks. They please me.