[Billy]

I want to know what people use and what their experience has been with it.

I have a 20 gig Archos Gmini 400, and I think it is "The shit"™. Not only does it play MP3's, but it will view pictures, it will play games (pretty shitty games, the kind you can get for a cell phone) and it will play videos (as long as they use a divx codec). It will hook up to a TV, so you can do picture slideshows, or watch a movie. So far I think this thing is awesome.

http://www.archos.com/products/overview/gmini_400.html

[Lizard King]

Sounds cool Billy, I just have the standard 6GB iPod mini. Its all I need especially for work (Im a letter-carrier) I put it on and walk and rock all day long, it makes working sooo much better. Maybe in a couple years Ill upgrade to something more "loaded" if the prices will ever come down.

I love my iPod... :thumb:

[Billy]

Sounds cool Billy, I just have the standard 6GB iPod mini. Its all I need especially for work (Im a letter-carrier) I put it on and walk and rock all day long, it makes working sooo much better. Maybe in a couple years Ill upgrade to something more "loaded" if the prices will ever come down.

I love my iPod... :thumb:

I got mine for $349 because it was an open box model at Futureshop. If the truth really be told, I upgraded for nothing.

3 years ago I bought a Creative Nomad Jukebox (10 gig) and I paid the extra $50 for the extended 3 year warranty. The reason I did is the salesdude told me if in 3 years anything went wrong, just bring it back and we'll exchange it for something equivalent. As luck would have it, the headphone lineout started doing funny things a few months ago, so I took it back and they gave me a $350 credit to use in the store. I spent $80 and got another 3 year warranty on it.

I hope something screws up in 3 years!

[cferneyh]

I've got a 3rd generation 20gb iPod and a 512mb iPod shuffle.

Way back in the olden days ('99), I bought a Nike/Rio MP3 player that I would use for jogging. I think it held about 15 songs!

Then I got one of the first generation Creative Nomad Jukebox deals (6 gb if I remember correctly) in 2001 that I thought was pretty sweet, but being 1st generation and all it had its issues.

Then I got one of those 256mb iRiver deals (iFP or something like that) that was pretty sweet feature wise but I got annoyed with having to put new songs on all the time.

So that brought me to my iPod. Man, I still remember the first time I held an iPod at Best Buy. The size, weight, and user friendliness of it knocked me on my ass. Hell, I've enjoyed my iPod (and iTunes) so much that two weeks ago I bought an iMac - and I was a lifelong Windows user.

Billy, you are the first person I've heard with a positive "extended warranty" story. That's awesome! Every person I've ever talked to who has tried to use it has been met with "oh, that issue isn't covered".

[habsfan19]

I'm sticking with my CD player for now

[joshwayy]

MUVO slim- your basic mcdonalds intro mp3 player... 512. Holds 17 hours or so. Works good, but I see a major upgrade happening at xmas (right after the new x360)

[scottitude]

That Archos Gmini is a super cool multimedia player. After extensive research I bought a Creative ZEN Micro. It's "only" 5 GB but I have no need for anything larger. I rip all my MP3s at 192 kbs and even with my relatively inexpensive Sony EX71s, the audio quality can't be beat.

It has a replaceable battery, came with a USB cable, AC adapter, cradle, desk stand, belt-clip, carrying pouch, basic Creative earbuds and a spare battery! I immediately installed a firmware upgrade and can easily get 12 hours on a charge. And it's got this awesome trim that throbs with blue light while it charges.

I've had absolutely no problems with any of the issues that seem to plague every brand and I love it so much I had to splurge and buy a custom handcrafted Vaja leather case embossed with my name.

While it isn't as sweet as the Gmini, it's a cool as hell DAP with about the best sound you can buy.

Did someone say pics?

Here's one to guage the size



And a few more in the sweet-ass Vaja case with the Sony 'buds & Vreative wired remote attached



I also have these Creative TravelSound 200 portable speakers that rock the hell out of any hotel room



Rock on...I damn sure do! :thumb:

[chris]

I bought a 20Gb iPod and have used it without issue for the last 2+ years. The battery life is starting to wane, but I'll gladly spend the $100 to get it replaced when it finally dies.

[mrlayance]

I have a Creative Zen Xtra 30 gig (When I get to use it... LYNETTE). Anyway, I won it from AMD. Not a bad player, the software is garbage! I found a good open source alternative called NomadSync.

[LaminarFlow]

I started out with a 10G 1st generation iPod, now I have a 40G iPod and I take it everywhere (radio sucks). My girlfriend has 1G iPod Shuffle that I won when I went to buy the latest OS from the Apple store back in April. She really likes it - especially when she hooks it up to her speakers that came with her crap-ass Dell laptop... The speakers are the only thing decent that Dell ever made. The computer itself is in the closet somewhere.
I can't wait for the iPod w/ video playback to come out, but I'm perfectly happy with just a music player for now.

[ShannonW]

I recently jumped on the iPod bandwagon as well, and I love it. Never have to think about Cds again, except where to store them. It's my best purchase of the year.

[Corby]

I got an Ipod mini few months ago, and its great. it holds all the music i listen to and its super-sleek. plus the apple support is superb. i'm a little apprehensive about what i've heard about battery life, but the warranty covers everything. the one con(especially for fans of live shows) is the lack of gapless tracks, but that seems to be a problem inherent to all mp3 players.

[fingernailsonhull]

I've got the Creative Muvo 512 MB. Cost me $160 or so. Nothing special, but it's great for listening to at work and the software is understandable. The menus on the player are easy to navigate as well.

[sherpahigh]

I've had a 40GB iPod for about 5 months now. Well I should clarify as I don't actually have it at the moment. I had to send it in for repairs. Though I'm extremly happy with the Apple customer service I've recieved so far. I'll reseve judgment until I've got my iPod back in working order.

Though this problem came up. I'm still a big fan of iPods. My life has not been the same since I got one. Actually the iPod being gone for the last week has shown me that it's really iTunes that I love so much. The program is fantastic. The smart playlist feature is the best thing to happen to music since radio tried to kill it.

So in summary, the reason I love my 40GB iPod so much is that it enables me to carry around every one of my 400+ cds in my pocket. Not only that, it's easy to use and with iTunes backing it up I can listen to my music in ways not possible without it. The possibilites are endless. "My Radio" is the best playlist ever made. I can send you a rough outline of what makes it so great for any other playlist nerds out there.

[aaronck]

Got a 4g 20 gig IPOD with airmiles....can't imagine how I ever lived without it! For walking the dogs, cooking dinner, travelling, it's the shit!

ALmost bought an adapter for my car, but instead got a deck that plays MP3 disks. 700 MB of MP3s is almost as good, but I don't have to worry about getting my Pod ripped off...