Hey Guys, I'm having a bit of a dilemna and I was hoping all you tech-experts could help me out. So here's my situation. I have had 3 iPods in total. First was the 20GB iPod (3rd Gen), then the iPod Video 30GB (5th Gen) and I currently have a 8GB Nano (3rd Gen). The first two had harddrive failures about a week after the warranty expired (yep, thats my luck). So I chose a flash player (the Nano) thinking it would be all good. Now, I simply don't have enough room for all the music I like. So now I'm searching yet again for another MP3 with enough room (20GB+), and durability. I have been suggested to buy the iPod Classic 80GB, the Zune 80GB, or one of those fancy Archos things. Knowing my luck the iPod will simply die out after a year and send me back to the drawing board yet again. The Zune sounds good from the reviews I've read but some people that have them say that it's really glitchy, the video quality is bad and the wifi is next to useless. Is this true? The Archos is a bit out of my price range and size-limit for my needs ($550 for something I use about an hour a day? Gimme a break). Ah yes, and my final parameter is I'm running Mac. I do run VMWare though which allows me to run Windows programs, and I suppose if I absolutely had to, I'd use it to load music onto an MP3 player that's worth the trouble (a Zune?). I was thinking of maybe going back to buying a new Zune 30GB off eBay for $150ish. Anybody know of any Zune HD failures? Any issues with Zunes, in general? Any good suggestions for another MP3 player 20GB+? Thanks for reading and I'd appreciate any help. Nick
There are good dicsussions for your topic if you ga back far enough. If you have used an ipod you will probably not be able to tollerate the Zune software from hell. The device is propriatary so your operating system can't ever see the device. That means you will be locked into years of hell. It is the only mp3 device that does not allow 3rd party software. If you intend to load your music on to the Zune once and never update your music, the Zune is a good choice. I see where you are comming from. The Zune probably still uses first rate parts obviously Apple is obviously 'milking it'. I like the flash drives. I prefer to have 10-12hrs of battery and 100 hrs of music than a years worth of music and 2 hrs of battery. Because there is no RF generating HD the music quality is always better. They last for ever. Mine is 2 years old and has always been in a case. It looks and acts like new. I only have a 4 G system. I keep 2 G of music comprised of 1 areobic play list and one mellow play list. I swap out the other 2 G when I feel like it so I do not wear out the music. That is usually ever month or 2. With 8 G I would only need to swap out music a few times a year. Do you really NEED 30 G of music on your mp3 player?