iPods and Zune
My first MP3 player was a Creative Muvo. It only lasted a year. Then I got some generic MP3 player with a small one line screen. It supports playlists and generally works pretty well but the design is not very friendly. It’s David’s now. Then I bought an iPod shuffle for Jane followed by a shuffle for Cassidy. A few months ago we upgraded Cassidy’s shuffle with an iPod 4gig Nano. I’ve "inherited Cassidy’s shuffle, Jane is still happy with her shuffle (Jane wants me to include that she ROCKS because of this).
My next portable music player will probably be a Zune. It may or may not match the experience and design of an iPod, but I bet it will at least come close. The least expensive Zune compares favorable with an iPod Nano. They both cost the same at $149. The Zune has a built in FM tuner and can sync wirelessly. The screen can also display in both portrait and landscape. Although in recent years I’ve split my allegiance between Apple and Microsoft (Jane’s mini, our 3 ipods), we are an XBOX family and the Zune has some nice integration features with XBOX and Windows Media Center that I’m eager to play with.
Yeah, my next portable music player will probably be a Zune, unless I opt to go with the Apple iPhone!
Here are a few interesting articles regarding the Zune: