who knows about Mp3 players?

[DesignFox]

So, I lost my Cd player when my Bf's house got robbed a few months back.

Insurance companies suck balls, so my shit isn't getting replaced by anyone but me.

So... I thought, I might as well upgrade...my last paycheck for the cellphone store was phenomenally better than I've been getting paid in the past...so I can probably splurge a little bit on a replacement. Although, I may wait and replace my camera first...I just haven't decided if I want my music back first, or my camera....Since I can't figure out if I want my film camera again or a digital...I guess music is coming first. <done babbling>

Anyway...I'm thinking of getting an MP3 player. I know nothing about these sorts of things.
What do you all recommend? I know I'm looking at between 100-300 bucks, so I'm thinking this through carefully, and I'd like to get the most for what I'll be spending (as I can't afford to make these types of purchases too often)

Any opinions on different brands? prices? capabilities?

[justZu]

I have an iPod as do my sons and daughter. For one thing, I hate how proprietary apple is. Secondly, both mine and my 19yr old's have frozen and needed to be restored to factory settings. Which means a complete start-over from scratch - blank as the day they came out of the box. It was so far beyind irritating I wanted to scream.

For an MP3 player, I have heard good things about Archos. Check out B&H Photo and Video(online), they have a large selection of different players, competitive prices and they're actually trustworthy. I've bought many things from them(including my digital camera and lenses) and I've always gotten perfect service.

As for a camera. It's cheaper in the long run to go digital. No more film to mess about with and digital memory has gotten very cheap. Just make sure it has good reviews.

[Luna]

Do you want pretty or do you want memory bang for your buck?

If you choose option 2 - get creative Zen Vision 60GB like I have. It's $269.99 on Amazon.com. It holds video, photos and music. 60GB!! An iPod having 60GB would cost your $500 last I checked. Sure it's a little slimmer and it's the name brand that's been shoved down our throats. But it's NOT quality IMO.

With my Zen, I subscribed to Napster to go. $14.99 a month with UNLIMITED downloads. With iPod, you can only download (legally) through iTunes - which will cost you 99 cents a song. Do you want to pay $15,000 for 15,000 songs for your iPod or $14.99 for your Zen.

The only downside with Napster is you don't keep the songs. You can buy them forever for 9 cents. But if I stop subscribing to Napster - I lose the rights to the songs I've downloaded and not purchased. I don't think that's a big deal.

Forgot to add - Creative has been rated and given awards - it's not just some unknown brand.
check out www.creative.com
www.cnet.com (for reviews)

I've had my Zen for a few months now. I have almost 2000 songs on it, and maybe 150 pics and I still have 53GB of space left.

[Mr. Rager!]

I have an iPod; I love my iPod.

You can get an 80GB Video for $350. Or a 30G for $199 or $249, I can't remember. Apple is going to be going DRM-free with a lot of the songs that you buy there. So that's pretty sweet. Otherwise, you can play any type of mp3 file on there and it works just fine.

I don't see the big problem with an iPod only synching to iTunes. I think iTunes software is absolutely delightful.

I've had to reset my iPod once, and it doesn't take a lot. I really do love my iPod.

I've heard good things about the creative Zen as well. But, I'll stick with my iPod.

[protege]

I can't go to the gym without my iPod. Right now, my (older) 20GB model only has about 2400 songs. More than enough for now :)

[ArenaBoy]

Go with an ipod for numerous reasons. Not only can they play music and videos on it and hold photos, it also doubles as a data storage device meaning you can store documents, powerpoint presentations, and other things. They no longer make the 60GB model ipod I believe. However a 30GB will set you back about $249 while an 80 GB (One I might get seeing as my music collection is always expanding) will set you back about $349. If you get an ipod solely for the purpose of playing videos, get an 80GB as video files take up a lot of space. If you're going for purely music and nothing else, get a 30 GB otherwise get an 80GB if you're collection is that big. I've had no gripes with itunes whatsoever and I like it a lot more than Media Player.

Good luck!

[Andara Bledin]

From what I understand, Apple is planning to open up the iPod so that you can play other formats on it. However, I can't remember when or where I read this, so it may be that I am remembering it incorrectly.

Creative also makes a solid mp3 player.

The Microsoft player has some good features, but needs some work on both the hardware and software to be truly ready for the marketplace.

On the camera front, unless you need the speed available to a traditional film camera, there is little reason to not go for a digital instead. There are dozens of great digital cameras out there for a range of needs and price ranges.

As an aside, a 3mp camera is all you will ever need for most applications. From vacation shots to family lineups, unless you decide you want to start printing posters, you should be just fine. Different brands and models will give different results, so it would be a good idea to do test a few that are in your price range until you find one that gives the results you like best.

^-.-^

[DesignFox]

I would prefer a camera that behaves just like a film camera. My biggest beef with digital is that damn shutter delay. I also don't like that hyper realistic sharpness that digital gets. :o

On the other hand- I'm pretty sure shutter delay has been resolved in the higher end model cameras, and you can fix the sharpness issue with software...I dunno. I'm still sort of on the fence with it. If I ever want to get into it professionally I probably won't have any choice but to switch. I love the quality of film, though. I also need to do some saving because it probably will cost about a grand or so to replace all the lost equipment with digital. My original camera came as a body and lens kit and was about $350-$400 when I bought it- the store gave me the bag and comfy neck strap...I purchased the 100mm lens for a $150 or so later...then I bought a couple filters...plus I had a light meter that my professor from college gave me.

If I go digital, it'll cost me more just for the camera body. :( If I replace what I had, it's cheaper than what I originally purchased it for (a- it's film b- it's not even middle of the road anymore). I'll still be outdated...but I did love that camera. So, not that I won't be able to afford it with a few more pay days (I think I finally found a job that'll let me live!!!), it's just a tough decision...Of course, if the mid-ranged cameras are in that range...and have what I want....

Much deciding to do.

I appreciate everyone's advice so far. The Mp3 player is an easier decision, so that's why I'm thinking of doing that first. Thus far I've read lots of good things about the Creative Zen players. Ipods seem to be either you love it or hate it.
I'm leaning toward the creative zen, but not sure if I want the smaller one or the Widescreen video player. the W has a removable battery and comes with wall charger and a few other accessories. the "m" as they call the smaller one only comes with a USB cable and you can't swap the battery...so if the battery goes bad you have to dump the whole unit. mmm... gonna read some more reviews though.

I really appreciate all the opinions. It's helping me a lot!

[myswtghst]

I'll chime in to say that I love my iPod. I've got a 20gig, one of the old ones, and I adore it. I've dropped it, spilt on it, left it in my car on hot and cold days, and it still works just fine. I've got an insane amount of music and it's still only about 2/3 full, and I don't really want an mp3 player that does all kinds of crazy stuff--music is enough for me. I also have the Monster brand car adapter thing, which I like, since I don't have to burn cds just for the car anymore.

And maybe I'll have to come back here to look for camera recommendations--that's what I'm asking for since my bday is in 1 month, and my current camera hates me and likes to eat batteries more than it likes to take pictures. :p

[laurenjeannie]

I'm also really attached to my old school cameras. I have a Canon and a Pentax that have both served me well beyond belief. My digital is a Fugifilm that I mainly use for snapshot stuff and is small enough to carry around in my bag.

As for music players. I am never without one. I originally got a 30gb video ipod that is lovely and everything, but it was just too physicall big for my taste. Although I have an enormous music collection on my computer (10,000+ songs) I got a 1gb ipod shuffle back in January that I use a lot more. I load a playlist in the morning and go, carrying about 200 songs with me. I use my big one still for road trips, but it might save you a lot of money to go with a shuffle, I got mine for ~$70.

[DesignFox]

I think the only thing I don't like about the iPod is that you can only download music through iTunes. I've also heard that you can only transfer the files 10 times. After that, they are locked and you can't copy them to CD anymore.

I'll probably end up getting the creative zen vision player...if Andara is right ..and the iPod gets opened up so I can download from other sources that might be a different story. I think it's looking like the Zen, though.

As for camera advice...if you ask mswhtghst, I'll probably be reading right along! I do need to consider a camera. I feel...not quite whole..without one. ;)