Which MP3 Player for under $350.00, and Why?
 

Must be at least 20 gigs and reliable.

Ready, set...go.

iPod.

Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox Zen xtra 40gb, currently $219.88 @ Amazon

It's a little heavier than ipod and doesn't have the brilliant user interface. But the interface is not bad, and the price is outstanding. I could not see paying THAT much more for the user interface and weight difference.

It does not have the hard drive lockup problems of the Rio Karma. No itunes, but there is a software company making a very nice interface called the "Notmad explorer".

I bought a Creative Zen Micro. I returned it for an iPod Mini. The main problem with the Zen was that the free PC software really sucked. iTunes software was a lot easier to use.

I've been leaning toward the Zen Xtra, actually. I had a C.L. Jukebox 6 gig when they first came out, and it was very reliable, but had a crappy interface. I like the fact that you can record on them.

record...? Not that I saw

Pity...they must not have carried that feature over to the Zen, then. I was referring to my old Creative Jukebox, the ones that looked rather like a CD player and had a six gig drive. You could record .wav files directly onto them via a line in. Very handy for digitizing stuff like my old practice tapes and things. Also for doing impromptu live recordings.

iPod photo by far.
best design, best sound, best everything.

(i had the dell jukebox 20gb, and it sucked, weights tons and its huge)

iAudio X5 30GB HDD Portable Digital Audio Player

A coworker brought his new one in and it is SWEEET. Color screen which can play movies and show pictures. Native USB which allows for the import of digital photos from a USB card-reader (not supplied).

Size is about the same as an Ipod, maybe even a little slimmer.

They claim a 14-hour playback on the rechargable lithium batteries.

Does anybody have one of these little guys? Small memory, but you can buy extra cards for it and it has some features most mp3 players don't ...

I'll second the ipod recommendation, but only because I really like mine (4th generation 40GB) and not because I have intimate familiarity with other brands to compare against.

I went to buy an iPod Mini on Saturday. Thanks to Best Buy's lack of colour variety and unseen forces I do not fully understand, I walked out of Best Buy with a Sony PSP and an extra 1gb card for music. It certainly isn't the best mp3 player solution, but mine plays Hot Shots Golf and a whole mess of movies too. :P

iPod. It's lickable. :yum:

Maybe soon - there's already the Nano.