iPod/MP3 buying help

I know this has been asked before (I think), but what the hell ... I'm thinking of buying my wife an iPod or MP3 player for her birthday.

I know iPod has the name ... but is it better? In terms of quality, ease of download/burn, ability to buy a dock to play the music around the house, etc.

Any help is appreciated. Want to make sure I spend the two bills (or so) on the "right" product. Thanks.

 

Two bills? For a 30GB iPod, you're much, much closer to three Benjamins, if not over.

I'd say iPod is the way to go, if only because the aftermarket accessories all seem geared toward them.

 

You're not going to get a big iPod for 200.

If you want to, get her a nice one, then spurge on an iTrip and DEFINITELY get applecare.

 

I went to Circuit City, so I got their accident protection plan -- I think it was a tad more than Applecare, but it was worth it. No need to ship to Apple if I end up messing up something.

 

Yeah, not sure the cost ... but was figuring maybe a Nano. I should say that video would hold no appeal; this would be used for music only.

 

If she's just into the music and could care less about putting music videos on her iPod, Nano is the best bet. My girlfriend thought it was "so cute" when she bought it.

Plus, they're cheaper than the full-size iPods.

 

Lantaur, I'll give you one option if you want to step away from the iPod network.
A close friend gave me a Phillips GoGear for my birthday. I believe it cost in the same neighborhood as the Nanos (I have bought two of those as gifts). The $200 Nanos have a 2G hard drive, I believe. The Phillips offers a 6G hard drive for the same price. The battery has held up well -- I use it daily at the gym for like an hour and a half. It loads music off Windows Media Player.
Yeah, I'd like to have an iPod like all the cool kids, but this was a great gift and I've found that it works beautifully for what I need. If you want more info, just PM me.

 

Take her to a nice dinner (Sizzler gives you free meals on your b'day) and give her a voucher for when the rrrrrreally badass mp3 players (iPod and regular) come out in September for xmas.

 

I bought an RCA Lyra and promptly got an Ipod Nano less than a month later. If you are used to using Itunes on your computer, it is definately the way to go. Very easy uploading of songs from Istore at 99 cents a clip and also very easy transferring of songs from a CD to Itunes to Ipod. Easy to use, durable and just very nice.

 

Non ipod fan...

I have a 1G Sandisk MP3 player that cost less than $100, runs on a single AA battery (that lasts about 24 hours of play) and works seemlessly with Windows Media Player. NOt the wow factor of the Apple's but virually indestructable and has plenty of capacity for music, books and podcasts.

 

Same one I have. Simple, cheap, and does its job fine.

 

For about $225, I got Creative Media Player's Nomad Jukebox last year, with 40 gigs of space, and I like it a lot. Tons of space, easy to use, fairly easy to create lists and download files from computer, etc. I have a home adapter for it that cost perhaps $10 -- I plug it into the headphone jack, then into an accessory outlet on my home stereo system, which allows it to play through that. And I bought the car tuner adapter for $30, which allows me to take all this music on the road and play it through the car stereo.

Granted, the Ipod can do all that, as well, but at a much steeper price for that much storage. I got mine from Best Buy, and if you buy their protection plan, if it gets screwed up, they just replace it. Creative Media also has several smaller MP3 players that cost less.