In the market for an Mp3 player?

I still firmly believe that the iPod is just something that trendy people (sheeple) buy because the next man has it. However I did do some marketing research and I've seen that the iPod is pretty solid in some aspects. My question is: is it worth it? If so, what's a good model, if it's not than what is another good mp3 player for several gigs of music?

In the market for an Mp3 player?
According to www.ConsumerResearch.com:





Best MP3 player overall.


The iPod nano tops virtually all other MP3 players when it comes to sound quality and ease of use. The latest nano has a new aluminum shell that's more scratch resistant than the first-generation nano. Battery life has been improved to about 24 hours, and the 1.5-inch screen is 40% brighter. Reviews say the nano is the best blend of most attributes, but the nano does not play videos or have an FM tuner, and your music purchases are limited to Apple's iTunes store. The nano is also available in 2GB (about 500 songs) and 8GB (about 2,000 songs) capacities, and it comes in five colors.





Best value.


In reviews, experts say the SanDisk Sansa line of MP3 players have great design, features and value -- the 8GB version costs about $70 less than the 8GB iPod nano. Plus, the Sansa e280 has a larger 1.8-inch screen and plays videos and photos. It has an FM tuner and voice recorder, and a microSD card slot for adding more memory. Another bonus is its user-replaceable battery -- a feature lacking in all iPod players. Though reviews still say the iPod/iTunes system is more intuitive, the SanDisk is an excellent MP3 player for the money, with a 22-hour battery life.





Most features.


Like the SanDisk Sansa e-200 series, the iRiver Clix comes very close to the iPod nano in reviews, plus it has more features. The 2.5-ounce iRiver Clix is heavier than the 1.5-ounce nano, but it has a larger video-capable 2.2-inch color LCD touchscreen that doubles for navigation -- press the screen to scroll and select. Sound and video are given uniformly high marks, and there's a long list of extras: FM tuner, voice recorder, equalizer, Macromedia Flash Player and Flash games, and an alarm clock. Reviews say the Windows-only Clix has a slick user interface and long battery life (20 hours).





Best large-capacity MP3 player (20,000 songs).


The iPod dominates the market among hard-drive players. Experts agree that the iPod system by far offers the most fully integrated music experience, a seamless marriage between the iPod hardware and the iTunes software and song library. The latest iPod plays both photos and video on its color screen, which is now much brighter. An improved search function helps find specific songs. Since Apple MP3 players use a proprietary music format called AAC, you are limited mainly to the iTunes music store for music downloads. A 30GB iPod (*est. $250) is also available.





Nearest iPod rival.


According to reviews, the Toshiba Gigabeat comes closest to iPod in terms of its intuitive interface, small size and excellent audio quality. Like the iPod, the Toshiba plays both audio and video, but the Toshiba plays more music and video formats. Also supported are music subscription services like Napster To Go, and Starz Vongo for movies. The 30GB Toshiba Gigabeat is about the same size as the iPod, with the same-size color screen. If you want a large-capacity player, but are put off by Apple's proprietary music format, the Windows-XP-only Toshiba Gigabeat is the favorite large-capacity player in reviews. A 60GB version is also available (*est. $260).





Budget MP3 player.


This simple MP3 player does not have an FM radio or play videos, and some reviews say it isn't great with audio books, but experts say the Creative Zen V is a nice-looking, easy-to-use music and photo player. It also has a voice recorder and line-in recording -- features missing on the competing iPod shuffle. Reviews say sound quality is excellent, and it runs 20 hours on its battery. The Zen V is compatible with most music formats (except Apple's AAC format) and music-subscription services. The Creative MP3 player is PC only.
Reply:Nano all the way dude.....I was thinking the same but after trying few ... ended up getting an ipod...hehehe
Reply:I think your research is correct, while the iPod might be trendy, it is however still one of the very best MP3 players in the market - specially if you consider all of the accessories available for it.





Which iPod really depends on your needs - I love my Nano, but it does not play the new Apple iPod games, does not play the iTunes Movies/TV Shows, and it "only" stores up to 8GB of music. On the other hand, it is tinny, portable, and it has no hard drive - so it is great for using it while doing heavy sport activities (no moving disc/disc header to be concerned with).





The shuffle is also a great little iPod (but even fewer storage capability 2GB) and no screen to help you select and play your music.





If you want to carry "all" of your music with you and still be able to play videos (and maybe a game or two) the regular iPod Video is the way to go, with storage capability of up to 80GB (it can even be used as on the field photo storage device in case you are running out of SD memory on your camera.)





No matter which iPod you end up choosing, the iPod family of devices is the best MP3 player out in the market right now.





Enjoy
Reply:microsoft zune all the way. my ipod just broke(only 1 month old, and apple said it was my fault. i treated that thing like it was my baby, but mysteriously it just "broke". ipods are cheap and trendy) anyways, i said im not gettin another ipod, so i picked up this zune, and it is pretty rad. you should check out some pics of it. 100% better than the ipod. sure it only has 1 model that is 30 gigs, but you can play 100 hours of video(ipod can only play 40), listen to the radio, store pics and songs. also, you can wirlessly send songs and images. also the screen is huge. it is pretty rad, and i highly suggest you look into buying one of these.