Quote Originally Posted by Kiltedmusiclover
Ok guys I need some help. I am going to purchase a MP3 player.
I thought I remembered a thread about this but my search came up empty.
I am looking at spending around $300. I have a gift card of $200 from my brother to Best Buy, so that is where I will be purchasing it.

So here are my questions:

1. Is Apple the best??

2. How about the battery? I recall that it was very expensive to replace the battery if it
dies. Are there any tricks to ensuring battery life?



3. What about an extended warranty?

I normally do not buy these, but my parents have used theirs 4 times on a portable DVD player.($49)
Any insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
I have a couple of iPods. One I use as an external hard drive at work, the other for music.

Question 1. - I like my iPod. By far, the most accessories are for the iPod. I went to MacWorld a few weeks ago and a third of the booths were iPod related. a recent poll at www.macintouch.com found that the newest version of the iPod was the most reliable too.

Question 2. The battery thing will always be an issue. If you condition it and use it correctly, it should be fine. On the other hand, vendors are selling battery kits for iPods now - for much less than Apple. You might even be able to get one at Batteries Plus now.

Question 3. For laptops and iPods, I recommend the warranty. They are small, mobile and more subject to everything than a stay at home device.

This is my opinion and of course YMMV.

Dale