MP3 Player - Which to get?

[merithyn]

My mom, per the norm, has given me $50 for Christmas. I'm going to use that and a bit more toward an 8 gig MP3 player. However, I've no idea which one to get since I'm completely NOT a tech geek on these things. (Budget is an issue, so that's a factor.)

I'm looking to get something that I can put books on tape on so that I can listen to them while I work. I'll be checking the books out at the library, putting them on my computer, and then transferring them onto the MP3 player. (Ignore the moral transgressions this may cause.)

I own a PC (not a Mac), am NOT technologically savvy, and would rather not have to run to Max or the kids whenever I need something uploaded/downloaded.

Given what I'm planning to use it primarily for, which do you think is the best bet for me?

[Barrister]

Seriously - get the iPod.  It's not the overwhelming market leader for nothing.

It is not something you need to be technologically savvy to use.  You just plug the iPod into the computer and it will set up iTunes.  Place CDs in your computer and it will immediately rip them into iTunes, then sync them onto your iPod.  In using the iPod itself the clickwheel is quite easy to figure out.

I've seen 8 year old kids use iPods, as well as my now 60 year old father.

Some people on this forum don't like the iPod because it forces you to use iTunes.  I guess I can understand why that'd be a pain if you are technologically savvy, but it really is designed to be easy to use for 'average people'.

[DontSayBanana]

If you don't mind iTunes taking over EVERY aspect of media playback on the computer, go with the iPod.  It's the easiest to use, with Zune running a close second (setup and import work almost identically to the iPod).  Sandisks I have no experience with, but I got my sister a Samsung 2GB for Christmas 3 years ago that she still uses daily without problem, so I'll vouch that Samsung MP3 players are tanks.

[Caliga]

I have a Sony Ericsson W760, which nicely doubles as my cell phone.

[LaCroix]

i bought an ipod nano two years ago and have had no problems with it. it's painfully easy adding songs to it via itunes, and its battery lasts for quite some time. i've dropped it a few times, yet it saw no damaged. all around, i've found that it's a great mp3 player

[Barrister]

If you don't mind iTunes taking over EVERY aspect of media playback on the computer, go with the iPod. 

iTunes didn't take over media playback on my computer...

[katmai]

If you don't mind iTunes taking over EVERY aspect of media playback on the computer, go with the iPod. 

iTunes didn't take over media playback on my computer...

Yeah Shame is full o Shit, iTunes isn't worse than WMP when it comes to trying to associate media files with it.

[DisturbedPervert]

If you don't mind iTunes taking over EVERY aspect of media playback on the computer, go with the iPod.

When did this start?  I don't remember having any problems with my old 3rd gen ipod, you could whatever you wanted with it.  Wouldn't mind getting another one of those.

[Lettow77]

 The, uh, Zu(m)e.

[Barrister]

If you don't mind iTunes taking over EVERY aspect of media playback on the computer, go with the iPod. 

iTunes didn't take over media playback on my computer...

Yeah Shame is full o Shit, iTunes isn't worse than WMP when it comes to trying to associate media files with it.

Ah.  I was actually trying for a joke (since iTunes ALREADY controlled every aspect of media playbook - on my Mac), but once again he Shame shows himself to be a poor analyst of Apple issues.

[garbon]

My nano is lovely.

[garbon]

Also, I just tried to get my first iPod to charge (thing hasn't worked in years) and it not only charged but started playing music. Magical little brick it is.

[Cerr]

I got a 8GB SanDisk Sansa Fuze a few months ago. Really like it. You can drag and drop music into it without having to use crappy software.
Plus if you want more space you can insert a memory card (micro SDHC) into it to expand it. I got a 16GB memory card, so my Fuze now has 24GB of memory.

[Grey Fox]

an iPod hands down.

The Itunes hater are just lazy nerds that cant unclick media association. I always wonder what those people use to playback media if not Itunes, everything else out there is crap, even Winamp jumped the shark.

[derspiess]

The, uh, Zu(m)e.

:facepalm:

Anyway Meri, I would suggest a larger capacity hard drive-based mp3 player; I only have a few audio books on my Zune, and they take up a decent chunk of space.  I would go at least 80gb.  So I would say: Zune (80gb or 120gb) or iPod (120gb or 160gb)