<p>Yeah, my IRiver just went down the toilet (literally), so now I'm looking for a replacement. Right now I'm looking at Microsoft's Zune and Creative's Zen Vision:M. What do you guys think? Other suggestions are welcomed btw.</p>
<p>Oh and I've considered an IPod, but I really don't want to use ITunes.</p>
<p>have you looked at the toshiba gigabeat</p>
<p>Toshiba? Didn't know they made MP3 players. How many gb does it have?</p>
<p>I'd be wary of buying a Zune so soon after it was released...Microsoft's last attempt at making an MP3 player to unseat the iPod didn't go so well, and they pretty much cut out all support for it soon after.</p>
<p>If you want something reliable that you know will have support, just go with an iPod. I mean, they have their downsides, but there's a reason why they're so popular.</p>
<p>I'd wait...isn't there supposed to be a new ipod coming out in a couple months?</p>
<p>Just an update on the video iPod (I think)
I wouldn't get a Zune yet. How big are we talking here?</p>
<p>Get a Samsung K5. They look awesome.</p>
<p>I have a a 30gb video ipod and I wouldn't recommend getting one unless you would REALLY watch videos on it. I basically got the video ipod because I would always miss Lost so I would download it the next day for $1.99 on itunes and watch it on the bus. A few weeks later, however, I found out you could watch it for free on their website. lol</p>
<p>I still use it for music once in a while, but the screen scratches REALLY easily, so I'd recommend getting some sort of case for it.</p>
<p>Get a Zen.</p>
<p>I'm considering a Zen... anybody have reasons/recommendations?</p>
<p>DO NOT GET A ZEN.
I had a Zen mini and it worked horribly. It took forever for the song to change and their iTunes ripoff didn't work for me and it was superbulky. The radio didn't even work on it.
Also, there are hardly any accesories for it.
I agree with the poster above, there is a reason why the iPod is so popular</p>
<p>I have an Ipod and it rocks. The only downside is the low video battery life. It's around 2 hours. but that's the only problem I've ever had so it's a good deal overall. Not sure why you don't want to use itunes though, it works fine for me.</p>
<p>I have a Zen Sleek Photo and I love it. I've dropped it plenty of times and it still doesn't have any noticeable stratches or any problems. Battery life is excellent if you set up a playlist and don't use the screen to change songs. It also has a voice recorder and radio (it works on mine unlike the above poster) which I don't think the iPod has which are pretty nifty. </p>
<p>I've seen the Samsung ones, and they do look pretty sweet, but I don't have any experience with them.</p>
<p>I have a Zen Micro Photo, which is working pretty well for me. Unlike the above poster, when I've dropped mine, it has chipped off pretty big pieces of paint. It has good battery life, but the start-up is slow if I haven't used it in the last two hours. Usually it takes 20-30 seconds to start up.</p>
<p>@GTA player:</p>
<p>i went throuhg exactly what you went through. I ended up getting the iPod. You can always download illegally if you want (but i support my bands and buy their CD's) if you hate buying music. Also Zune sucks. Look at the stats and you'll see iPods win over Zune. As for samsung and all those other things. Those are great if you dont want to spend too much money and btw samsun is better han zen.</p>
<p>I'd say just get an iPod. It seems very reliable and there's tons of accessories out there readily available if you ever want to alter its basic functions. I have an iRiver H320, and it's built like a rock and I'm very happy with it. I don't know anything about their newer models though.</p>
<p>I used to have a samsung mp3 and so did my sister (differnet models). Mine lasted a good year and a half and then it suddenly just broke - it just turned off by itself one day and that was the end of that.</p>
<p>My sister's one lasted 9 months - the screen just froze. It was really weird because the songs would play, but the screen was just frozen and she had no control with what she songs she wanted to hear. And then it just went funky like mine.</p>
<p>I sat on mine while I was doing yoga - and the internal part of the screen broke - and i'm not THAT fat.
My sister's internal screen broke when she dropped it on carpet.
And my sister started having troubles with connecting it to the computer with the USB cable after 6 months (the computer stopped recognising her mp3 - it recognised mine tho)</p>
<p>I have an ipod now and I have one of those wallet style flip cases and they're pretty sweet. I've dropped it on concrete but the case was pretty cushy and cushioned the fall well.
My only problem with ipod is the damn itunes. i HATE transferring the songs into itunes first - but oh well thats life. I've had my ipod for 10ish months and my battery life is still quite ok for an ipod. The samsung had the most wonderful battery life - I could listen to it for a whole week or 2 before recharging it again.</p>
<p>The advantage of iRiver players is that you just click and drag MP3 files into the player's hard drive. None of this iTunes crap.</p>
<p>zune blows, look at the reviews for it. </p>
<p>i just got the ipod nano and i love it, but im thinking about returning to get a 30gb - need more space.</p>
<p>and yes, itunes is crap but ipods are much easier to use(clickwheel)/aesthetically pleasing than 99% of the mp3 players out there.</p>
<p>Toshiba Gigabeat S, Microsoft Zune, or Creative Zen Vision:M. I'd suggest to wait if you want the creative, since they'll probably ome with a better one pretty soon. (its been a year already)</p>