MP3 players..

This is a subject I have wanted to touch on for some time. Supposedly the Ipod has revolutionized digital music. Maybe in some way it has. It's cool. It's stylish. It's also an example of style over substance.
Let's face it. Apple has garnered HUGE attention with this thing, and rightly so. In a time when MP3 players are nothing more than a little box with a chip in them, Apple trots out the Ipod to much fanfare making everyone else in the industry stand up and take notice. I don't know what the current capacity is, but I've heard recent ads for 2 and 3 gigabyte models for Ovation, who have the coolest commercials. It is probably not widely known that the original Ipod had a built in battery that had a very limited life. To get it replaced you had to (I think) send the unit back, and it cost a small fortune. Fast forward ahead. Many companies trot into the field or improve their existing product. For some time I had a nice little RCA that held a few hours worth of music. After a year or two it started to crap out on me, so I decided it was time to upgrade. My personal choice was a Creative Zen Nomad with 30GB of musical storage goodness.
No, it doesn't have the Ipods flair or style. What it does have is the ability to handle WMV and mp3 files and the ability to work with most players, including real audio and windows media player. You can also transport files directly to and from it. I've probably had it over a year now, and I've not had a single problem. I almost went with a Dell, but decided on this instead. I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm glad. It's got a nice case and an easily replaceable battery to accompany the lovely blue glowing screen. All in all, I'm thrilled.
So for anyone who is considering a player in the future, shop carefully and look at what sorts of files you will use. If you see yourself buying a lot of music from Itunes, you may want to consider the Ipod as is handles the native AAC format. Everyone else has to burn the tracks to CD and then import them again. Not bad for the occasional file, but not something I'd want to do for hours on end.

Coming soon----Applied Communications "Uhh Sort Of" review