I use a cassette player myself but I checked out the apple iPod out of curiosity.
The 10 gig $300 unit holds 10,000 minutes which is 111 90 minute cassette tapes. I only use 20. Carry 5 in a fanny pack and swap them periodically. Since it should be backed up in case of head crash why would anyone buy the $400 or $500 units. Use DVDs to change the music in the 10 gig.
Dal Timgar
a file is about 4MB so a 512 MB can hold 128 songs. If you format your files in mp3pro format you can get twice as many (256 songs) on a 512 MB MP3 player.
Do you think he’d be comfortable with a 512 or does he need a 20 GB type model? a 20 GB with mp3pro format is about 10000 MP3s.
I don’t know about the Zen, but the iPod has an accessory which one can affix to it which allows it to use regular batteries. It also has an adapter to plug in to cigarette lighters with no problems. The first option could work for everyday use as well, but makes the iPod significantly bulkier. C’est la vie.
I currently use an 10GB old model iPod and don’t regret my purchase at all. I’ve had to return the thing twice for replacement, but that was due to my own stupidity and extreme rough handling. Both times the Best Buy involved simply swapped me a totally new one on the spot with maybe 10 minutes of fuss and paperwork. Easy peasy :). What will I get this Christmas? Still up in the air now that more options are available, but I doubt purchasing a new iPod would be regrettable.
Something to note witht he various technologies. A solid state player has no moving parts and is inherently much more durable and resistant to the enviroment than a hdd or CD based device. This is important if you plan on using the device during excercise and if you are a general klutz (both apply to me)
I have been using the Mpio DMK, a solid state player, for over 2 years now. I’ve destroyed the headphones that came with it, lost the battery cover (the battery is now held in place with masking tape) and have run hundreds of Kms with it(imagine the shock and impact ofbeing bounced and jolted around with each), through weather ranging from +35 to -20 C without any insulation. I also liked to wear it under my shirt so it did not flop around (untill the included necklace headphones broke) so it was often drenched with salty corrosive sweat as well as light rain and snow. ANd did i mention my little backpacking trip around europe? Now, as long as i kept the battery leads free of rust the thing just keeps ticking, lcd screen and all. I have never had ANY portable music player last anywhere near as long. The reliability is on par with the toyota corolla an AK-47.
It was $300 when i bought it, but you can get it now for under $100. Very well made, with great fit and polish and lots of protection for the lcd screen.
The only complaint i have is the outdated method of transfering files to and from computer. You must use a special program and sometimes have to install special drivers, a pain in the ass at public computers and internet cafes.
IMHO, the whole point of the iPod is to carry your entire music collection. You transfer the whole collection once, and you have all your music in your pocket without ever having to connect the device to your PC. It’s far less convenient if you can carry only half of your collection.
Besides, I think it’ll take more than an hour to transfer 10 gigs from DVD to an iPod.
Nah, you can transfer 10 gigs of data to a Firewire drive in about 20 minutes or so; can’t imagine the iPod being much slower than that.
I don’t own one myself, but I know lots of folks who go exercising, jogging, and skiing with their iPods, which sorta punctures your theory. 
For me, I will always remember my Packard Bell Pulse MP3 player as the “best” MP3 player that I have used.
It’s nice and simple, and gets the task done. There’s a backlight, which I’ve switched off, and a basic voice recorder, but apart from that, it just plays my MP3’s - and does a good job of it.
Very loud too, in terms of playback volume - the loudest MP3 player that I have ever used and probably the loudest MP3 player I will ever use, now there are EU restrictions on maximum volume. Oh, and I also got very close to the rated battery life, which is 10 hours on a single AAA cell.
Only downside is that it only has 512MB of storage, but apart from that, a solid little player.
I have tried other players, but they weren’t as good, and one in particular (a cheap Logik MP3 player) wouldn’t work on my laptop, as it can’t find the drivers.
Thread was 13 years ago. Looking back, I’m surprised you could get a 20GB mp3 player back then, but they had them. They went up to 40GB back then. They cost $500 though.
What is this “MP3 Player” thing of which you speak?
Ahh, the long-ago days of 2003. 
I still have my Creative Zen Jukebox. It has a 40 GB hard drive and works directly with Windows Explorer, no proprietary software needed. Just drag and drop. You can even move tracks from the player back onto the computer. Comes in handy if you get a new PC.The battery doesn’t last as long as it used to, and I heard replacement batteries don’t precisely fit well, but at least you can change the battery yourself. IIRC, it cost me about $275, maybe half the cost of an iPod back then.
It’s been superseded by a pair of iPhones, and now I listen to mp3s on an LG Sunset smartphone. I have a 32 GB SD card for media storage. It holds a few hundred videos and thousands of tunes. About $99 for the phone and $18 for the SD card.
My firstMP3 player I got for Christmas of 2003. It cost $100 (on sale) and had 128MB of storage. That is two whole CDs of music (which at the time was exciting to me). I kindof wanted a 20GB player, but they were several hundred dollars.
Anyway, I currently have a smartphone with a 128GB microsd card. I can almost put my entire music collection on there if I wanted, but I prefer to put videos on there.
Weird thread revival.
I still use my 4th Gen iPod. But it’s getting less and less use. The next time the drive or battery needs replacing, I’ll let it go.
Verizon early in the year was selling some smartphones for $15 or less*. Locked into their network of course, but you skip the signup screen and you have an Android device for cheap. Plays mp3s, of course. If you want a cheap non-phone portable device, look for a deal like that.
I did the sums a bit yesterday and found out that, at 128kbps bitrate, you’re likely to get just over 2 hours of playback on a 128MB MP3 player.so yeah, I’ll agree with that, 2 CDs is just about feasible.
I’m surprised that they even did 20GB players in 2003, they must have cost a fortune! The only one I can think of, off the top of my head, is an iPod?
Nowadays, I use a Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone, which has 16GB storage. I’ve also got a 16GB card in it, which could be upgraded if required. The 512MB Packard Bell MP3 hardly gets any use now. Though it has done me well; about 4 years ago, it got plenty of use and has held up nicely.
