<p>I'm debating on which one to get? What's the big difference besides having a lot more songs on the Ipod and a color screen?</p>
<p>I have a Shuffle, mostly because I'm too cheap to buy a real iPod, but I have to say, I love it. Although it doesn't hold a ton of songs (I have 300ish, mostly long), there's something to be said for knowing for a fact that any song that comes on is one that you love (due to the necessary prioritization).</p>
<p>IF you want the IPOD brand becuase you just HAVE to be cool like that and join the mac craze and pay for itunes.... get the shuffle. Its cheaper. Unless you're prone to downloading crap, its fine.</p>
<p>Ipod or any similarly decent 3rd party brand is a better investment than an Ipod Shuffle in my opinion.</p>
<p>I think something besides an Ipod is a better investment than the Ipod OR the shuffle.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that my Shuffle was a gift, so I haven't exactly compared it to other products, but I also have to say that... well, it's adorable. Anyone who sees me using it insists on getting a closer look (which pleases me, attention whore that I am). And it's quite easy to use. But I wouldn't necessarily associate it with buying songs on iTunes; all my music is from CDs or files my friends have sent me (over AIM, I mean). You don't have to buy the songs from Apple, you just have to convert certain formats to make them work.</p>
<p>i have a mini ipod, and i love it sooo much. it holds 1,000 songs and i only have like 200 so far. haha. but def if you want more songs get an ipod or mini ipod. i personally love my mini ipod becasue its so cute and green. its my baby.</p>
<p>An iPod Shuffle is not worth it. I believe the student price of the iPod Mini is $179 (4GB) and the Shuffle is $99 (512MB). So, it's only less than 2x the price and 8x the capacity + screen. I mean, if you're looking for portability, then I guess go with the Shuffle, but the mini isn't that big to begin with. And the full blown iPod has more value; $90 more for another 5x the storage.</p>
<p>Of course, you also have your Zen Micro/Touch and iRivers. Those are priced essentially the same as the iPod retail prices. Same capacity. Zen has FM tuner. iRiver has color screen, FM tuner, and photo viewer. (Can also add video functionality.)</p>
<p>Oh, and the Shuffle, you can't have a playlist or specifically select a song, as far as I know. I mean, other flash players can do that too at the same or lower price.</p>
<p>Creative zen micro is so good. I love mine. They aren't priced too high either. If your looking for a micro-hard drive player this is the way to go.</p>
<p>get a MINI IPOD..... 1000 songs is all you'll need anyway..... plus the mini ipod is far more attractive than any 3rd party brand and the IPOD.</p>
<p>Its also more expensive than the 3rd party brand. :)</p>
<p>don't get a shuffle or a mini, get an ipod</p>
<p>Creative Zen is sooo ugly. I saw the IAudio 3 and thought it was pretty good.</p>
<p>Ipod, definitely - especially the Ipod photo. absolutely awesome. people always say it costs too much money to fill up an ipod, but every has cd's right? just put everything on there. and all of your siblings' cds, and maybe your parents if you're an classic rock addict like i am. music, pictures, and games - what more do you need?!?!</p>
<p>I'm buying an Ipod.</p>
<p>Ipod mini won't cut it for me. I have more songs than its capacity allows.</p>
<p>thats a whole lot of songs majayiduke09.... I just listen to whatevers on the radio</p>
<p>How is this "so ugly"?</p>
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<p>How could someone stand an iPod... There's no display screen, and you cant just go to a song you want to listen to. I would die. Sometimes i only want to listen to one song over and over and over again... This regular iPod is better than shuffle. And the smaller iPods cant store enough for me, and the larger ones can be like portable hard drives. Me and my friends share anime this way so we don't have to wait to download, haha.</p>
<p>Majayiduke09, are you going to duke? if you do then you get an ipod free there don't you?</p>
<p>Shuffle is good if you're working out because it's not sensitive to being dropped or bumped because it has no moving parts. Also, if you're working out, I doubt you'd want to fiddle with the song every five minutes. You can skip forward if you don't want to listen to a song. My dad bought one for working out and has been happy with it so far.</p>
<p>I have a zen micro because I wanted something with more space, since I have more music, and I intend to use it while studying at college to block out noise and while doing chores at home and stuff, so no high impact stuff for me. I chose it because for the same price as an iPod mini ($199... though a mini is cheaper with an educational discount, I wanted to buy mine at Fry's because I had a large store credit) but it is 5 gigs instead of 4 gigs and has a built in FM radio. Also, if the battery dies after charging and recharding a bunch of times, you just go buy a new battery for $40 instead of paying $100 and sending it somewhere. This week Fry's is running a promotion that if you buy a red, white, or dark blue zen micro, you get a free battery with rebate.</p>
<p>Get a 20 gig (or larger) iPod if you don't mind the weight/size, have a big music collection, and maybe want to have pictures (since the new ones will all be photo iPods). If you want space, not apple trendiness, look at the zen touch. For $220 you can get 30 gigs of space, compared to $300 for 20 gigs with apple. I think it might be a little larger and heavier, but I'm not sure.</p>