creative zen vison M 60gb

or

ipod classic 80gb

zen has radio, voice recorder ect...

have been told ipods unreliable, but not sure any of you had experiences with either?

MP3's are so Millenium..........

MP4's now which include video.

iPods are OK but you have to work through iTunes and it's hard to get any new free stuff on them unless you borrow the CDs off someone who's already bought them.

ok ok, but both models mentioned are mp4, just that it's wanted for music not carrying around porn clips to show in the playground......I think, might have to check on that one....

I prefer Creative but I've had a bit of trouble getting video onto it, had to download a few codecs etc. Working fine now. It's easier to transfer music onto it than the ipod. (my daughters got one).

You do not have to go through itunes to get music on the ipod, you can use other sites, however you have to convert all mp3, wma files etc to the ipod format.

If you're bothered about how the mp3 player actually sounds think very carefully before buying an iPod variant. My wife an I both have mp3 players - and hers is an iPod. If we listen to the exact same track on both players the difference in sound quality is quite staggering. Again, this is the exact same file played using the charger and using the same headphones.

The marketing of the iPod is great, and there is a lot of accessorising to be had....but ultimately if you want the mp3 to sound as good as possible (and don't get me started on how bad mp3's can sound!) steer clear on an iPod.

My player (old and bricklike now) was an iRiver. Might be worth a look.

i_pod every time. Nothing could be easier to use, nothing is better to look at and nothing I have heard sounds better (we are dealing with a fundamentally flawed source from the off and only Vinyl really approaches the sound and feel of real music for me).

I also reckon the easy availability of various speakers/docks/cases and the rest puts i-Pod out front BUT but they are considered to be 'devices' which means they are disposable rather than life time/repairable purchases.

How is it for transportability?

iPod every time.............i have the 80 gig video one and it sounds really good........sounds even better through THIS fella!!

I've always used an iPod so can't comment on other players but I have found them to be excellent. A mate has those Bose speakers and the sound through them is fantastic.

Mine is a Dansette. Trouble is, 4000 songs don't half get heavy after a bit.

I've had a Creative Zen for a year and a bit and found it no bother, great sound quality and decent battery life. No fuss to get music off PC and onto it and a decent build quality.

Oh, and I detest Ipods/Imacs/Iphones/Ilooksreallyprettyanddesignedbyageniusbutoverpricedandflakey

I've got an iPod, and I've been impressed in the year I've had it. The main reason I chose it over for example a Creative Zen was that I wanted it to play back audiobooks from Audible.co.uk and at the time Creative hadn't got their act together on that front (they're copy protected and the Zen wouldn't do them). Add-on bits tend to be more readily (and cheaply) available than for other players too.... for example for under £15 I got an FM Transmitter for the car that will also charge it from the cigarette lighter.

As the right honourable Leeds fan says, as soon as you go for a lossy format (MP3, Apple's format, whatever) you're compromising on audio quality in any case so extreme audiophiles would probably sneer at any of them other than for the times they can't have a proper hifi setup... I've had no complaints with the sound quality on mine and the interface is very slick.

If I was buying now though I'd have a serious look at the Creative, partly for the built in extras like FM Radio and Voice Recording that Apple doesn't do. I suspect if it's for playground cachet then it will have to be the iPod, for a bit more security choose non-Apple to make little-un less of a target - or at least change the phones for a non-white pair....