Info on MP3 players

Started this thread so I could get a little input into MP3 players. My last one recently crapped out and very shortly I'm going to be in the market to buy a new one, and as of now I figure I'm probably going to buy a classic Ipod, the bulky 160 gig that doesn't do anything besides play music/movies/pictures. Is there anyone here who's owned an Ipod and would like to talk about their experience with it?

In my lifetime I've owned a Sensa (2 gig, first one I ever bought), then I upgraded to a 30 gig Zune about 5 years ago (I believe I started a thread here when I was having issues with it way back in the day), and when that was stolen I eventually bought a Creative Zen 32 gig. Now the Zen won't even turn on anymore (I think the last drop broke it, because immediately after I dropped it it started having issues, first with being "on" yet the screen not functioning, and now I can't even get it to turn on anymore, so I think it's done). It was having multiple issues before that anyways, so it's not suprising.

I was planning on upgrading from the Zen soon anyways, because it was getting too small to hold all my music, so I'm not too upset that it won't work anymore. Anyways, my ideal needs in an mp3 player are size (I want it to be able to hold all my music, which will probably be about 10,000 songs when I'm done rebuilding my library), and able to withstand heavy use (I use it in the car everywhere I go, plus every day at work). I don't need an Ipod Touch or anything like that, just want something small enough I can fit in my pocket comfortably yet hold a lot of music/movies/pictures too. I figure the classic Ipod will be able to do that just fine, and I'd rather buy something like an Ipod because Apple's tech support will probably be better than a no-name mp3 player, just in case issues arise down the road.

I thought I'd hold out until the price dropped, since according to Mac Rumors: Apple Mac iOS Rumors and News You Care About (http://www.macrumors.com) the classic line hasn't been updated since Sep. 2009, but I don't think they're planning any updates on it in the future or a price drop either so there's no point in waiting, especially since using my iphone to play pandora constantly is f'ing up my battery charging routine.

Anyways, opinions/ideas welcome. Also, if anyone knows where to buy a new classic Ipod for under $250 bucks please do share. That seems to be the average going rate for one everywhere I look nowadays.

I really haven't bought an MP3 player in a while since I pretty much use my phone as an mp3 player. However, here's a link to buy.com and their iPod touch section. I think this should give you an idea on prices. It looks like they have the iPod classic (160 GB) for less than 250 bucks.

Buy.com - iPods (http://www.buy.com/specialty_store_6/58972.html)

I don't know how much music (and videos) you have but for me personally the I-Pod Classic has to be one of the best items I've ever purchased. The only time I've ever had to delete stuff to make room was when I deleted movies (many seasons of Law and Order SVU). As far as music goes, it holds an absurd amount and it's easy to use. I mean touch screen is cool and all but it's still not nearly as responsive as physical buttons.

Also if you use it in the car with an Aux plug it's a little safer in regards to skipping and pausing songs due to the buttons, provided you're not switching playlist while driving. Thats how it was for me for a while before I switched to a USB plugin.

Now as for price.

You can buy it here new for $225 plus $4 shipping. Returns are accepted and the seller is top rated.
Apple iPod classic 7th Generation Black 160 GB Latest Model 0885909365180 | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Apple-iPod-classic-7th-Generation-Black-160-GB-Latest-Model-/85890740?_refkw=ipod+classic&_pcatid=39&_pcategid=293&_from=R40&_dmpt=Other_MP3_Players)

They also have refurbished and new 80gb and 120 gb models for under $190. I bought a refurbished phone off E-Bay and I was surprised at how new it looked so getting refurbished to save money might not be a bad deal.
ipod classic | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=ipod+classic&_sacat=See-All-Categories)

Right now I have about 5500 songs, but I'm still in the process of rebuilding my library from when my old hard drive got wiped out. When I'm done I'll probably be back up to 10k songs, which should easily fit on a 160 gig hard drive. I'll probably put about 30 gig of video/pics on there, but again I should have plenty of space. The big thing for me is just carrying my library wherever I go. And I do use an aux jack in my car that I'm about to replace soon (it has a shoddy connection) so I should be good to go on that end. Like I said I'm probably set on the 160 gig classic, I just wanted to make sure before I went ahead and made the investment. I'm all about functionality instead of bells & whistles in an mp3 player and this looks like the one that would fit that need best for me.

Also, thanks for the links guys. I've only been looking at major retailers and hadn't seen anything outside of the normal price.

apple has pretty good price control, as is, you go below this price, you'll never be able to get our product again.

i'd be aware that refurbs might have old batteries that drain fast.

that said, the ipod is a safe buy. I just use my phone now (it holds as much as the sd card i throw in it, and i have better EQ etc options), but if you want an ipod, there's nothing wrong with them.

I've had an iPod Touch for three years now. It still works like the day we bought it. I have since switched to my phone for more mp3 listening but occasionally use the iPod. It was a good purchase and has gotten a lot of use, especially last year when I started running. I'm with That Guy regarding buying a used one due to battery life.

Oh I'm not going to buy a refurbished one, I never trust refurbished electronics anyway. I was on Amazon last night and saw that Apple is having a sale on the Ipod Classic for $229 so I went ahead and bought one, and used the money I saved to purchase a leather case for it too.

I will say this. It has great battery life. It easily lasted through 8 hour shifts, even with movies playing. Of course I turned the brightness all the way down on the movies but never the less it can easily run for a while. Advertising claims 36 hours with music alone. Personally that wouldn't surprise me.

6 hours of video might be an odd under and overstatement. When I "listened" to videos with the brightness turned down it lasted over 8 hours. With the brightness turned up it lasted about 4 or 5 hours.

I am curious. When you say 5500+ songs, are those songs you bought/downloaded individually, or by albums. And do you actually have them sorted effectively or just let random select the play order.

Just curious, I am not a music buff, and in fact doubt I could come up with a couple hundred (unless I just took all the songs from each artist/group I might enjoy) so when I saw the number 5500+ I was just a bit amazed how anyone would have that many.

I am curious. When you say 5500+ songs, are those songs you bought/downloaded individually, or by albums. And do you actually have them sorted effectively or just let random select the play order.

Just curious, I am not a music buff, and in fact doubt I could come up with a couple hundred (unless I just took all the songs from each artist/group I might enjoy) so when I saw the number 5500+ I was just a bit amazed how anyone would have that many.

Well, I tend to be anal (insert joke here) in regards to the order of my music, I like everything to be properly labeled and I can't stand having duplicates or not knowing where my music is. In regards to your question though, I do a little bit of both, I buy music from artists I support and occasionally I'll d/l music on my computer and then if it turns out I really like that music I go ahead and buy it off Itunes or in cd form from a retailer. It all depends on the music though, there's artists whose entire cd's I have and then there's artists who have a couple singles I like. Very rarely do I d/l songs individually.

I didn't get all of that music all at once though, I started buying c.d.'s right around 2000, and I've been doing it since. My hard drive got wiped out a couple years ago though and I've been rebuilding it since then. Now I just backup all my music on my external hard drive.