I've owned a 4gb Nano for about a year, and don't use it nearly enough to justify the price. They are somewhat of a headache to use, especially on a Windoze system. Perhaps other people have different opinions, but it's User Interface isn't designed the way I'd do it... on top of that, you're forced to use iTunes, which severely limits the flexibility of your files, and is just downright annoying when it comes to organizing your files, and can frequently result in duplicate files if you're not careful! If you're going to get a player, make sure its a more open one that won't enslave you to any particular line of products.

On top of all this, I see many people that are just glued to their headphones, and can't seem to live without them. I prefer the real world to being stuck in an electronic environment 24/7. All a matter of preference, I suppose.

Suffice to say, I won't be using iTunes Music site to get music for it, it won't work with dial up. I bought a $15 card, but had to have someone else download the music, burn it to a CD just to be able to play the songs I bought. What I do want to listen to, is Audio Books while walking.

microsoft just came out with a new player called Zune(or zoon sp?) that looks like it could wipe the floor with ipod - not that i would buy a piece of crap DRM-locked machine, but i'm sure lots of people will when they hear that A. you don't need a cable to download music onto it B. you can share music wirelessly

I have a 60gb Ipod....I don't use it much. I don't use Itunes either. to transfer songs i use a program called Anapod

I have a 20gig iPod that I usse every day in my office. I have one of those iHome clock radios here that I play my iPod on when I am working - It is great! Well worth the money. I also use iTunes because of its organizational features. I am not a big advocate of music sharing (kinda like piracy if you ask me) so the wireless thingy on the new Microstoft one isn't a draw for me.

topher if you read this article you'll see that it's not true filesharing, but more of a promotional gimmick since the songs expire after three shares.

p.s. sharing information good, locking it away for 100+ years bad

iTunes handler, on windows, is nice. It heps me keep my music better organized. The curent amount is near 6 Gb in size. Better keeping it here than on disks to be scratched. Now to decide on the size I want. Thanks for the feedback.

iPods are overpriced. Compare the feature list on an iPod Nano with, say, the Sandisk Sansa e200 series. The latter features an expansion card slot, user-replaceable rechargeable battery, voice recording, FM radio, pictures, video playback, and the ability to transfer and play music without any special software or proprietary file formats. And it costs less. Just about the only thing going for the iPod is that it uses solid-state controls instead of buttons, which is hardly enough to justify the higher price vs. less features, no expandability, and lack of means for the user to perform basic maintenance (replacing worn-out battery, cleaning out dust and dirt, etc) without voiding the warranty.

I'm not sure how other brands stack up; several of my friends have iPods and extoll their many virtues, but my 4GB e260 is just about all I'll ever need and more.

NukeIt-

You make an excellent point. The Apple website clearly states that after iPod batteries wear out, they must be returned to the factory for 'servicing' at which time they send you a replacement that may or may not be new, and does not have any of your music on it!

While iTunes may allow for some organization in a library, it does little else than make confusion out of your hard drive as it creates new copies of files in different places in the Apple proprietary format to make them iPod compatable. On top of that, when 'importing' songs from a CD, iTunes has a nasty habit of placing ten tracks under one category, and two more in another, even when they are from the same album and by the same artist! From my experience, no amount of editing the song's information can fix this in some cases. I suppose my problem with iPods is not so much the device as the interface.

i use a psp. Simple, just hook it up, then put the files on the memory stick.

Proof of the value of having a battery you can replace yourself- I accidentally shorted my player today by allowing a steel keychain to contact the exposed cable port. The screen froze and the buttons all refused to function, power button included. Not sure of what that meant for my mp3 player, I did the only thing that came to mind- that is, I unscrewed the back cover and popped the battery out. A few seconds later, I slapped the battery back in.

Guess what? It worked again. Perfectly. No muss, no fuss, no damage.

bah, modern rubbish. I still have my Dansette portable record player that plays 33 and 45rpms. In fact, my proper record player plays 78s still. who needs this evil iPod nonsense burning acid into your ears?

(akshuly I need to get the eldest sprog a new mp3 player cos the one I got her <free> is a bit on the small size for storage - any recommendations for around the 20gb region, apart from the iPod?)

i have a 30gb cretive zev video, and i like it. The creative software is quite gd easy to use and flexable, and the acual players i think are better than ipods

A variant of the same question, is anyone here using them for audio books?