hey, what do guys think of the new iPods, especially the Nano's. i think the video is cool, but the shape isnt as cool. i need a new MP3 player, and im thinking of the nano, what do you think?

I just use my Sony Ericsson W800i cell phone.
I carry my cell phone with me anyways, it has 4 gig of mp3 memory, a radio, and a camera in case i need to take a pic of some *******.
Carrying that and an ipod just doesnt make sense to me.

I think it will be fun watching pod zombies walk/run/cycle into stationary objects while they watch videos.

I do a lot of bike path riding and I regularly use the iPod shuffle. It's either the first or 2nd generation... holds 240 songs, it's the size of a book of matches. The newer versions hold a lot more songs now...
I just put velcro on the back of it and attach it to a little plastic holder rigged out of a reflector mounting bracket on my handlebars. No video to distract you with either. And the Shuffle has a neat little built-in clip so you can clip it on your clothes (chest pocket, open jacket, etc).
I also use an old Sony am/fm Walkman. I usually switch to the iPod when the radio stations all start playing commercials at the same time (it's a conspiracy I tell you!).
I prefer cheap over the ears headphones. Ear buds seem to suffer from more wind noise than the over the ear style headphones, IMO.

I don't touch Apple products with a 10 foot pole. My wife and daughter do. Personally I think they're vastly overpriced. I've tried them and honestly, I like cheaper players better. I'm currently using a Sansa Fuze 8G, I bought it for < $50 on sale and it's the best MP3 player I've ever had. Plus if I drop it and a truck rolls over it, I'm not that upset.

I bought Apple iPods several years ago before I realized the restrictions they put on their products. Fortunately there is an application I can use to bypass iTunes and that nonsense. What is the situation now? Apple open? Or, is there still an application out there to be able to use the iPod without all the iTunes restrictions?

The Shuffle would be my choice for riding. The new Nano doesent have any buttons that you can feel. I use a 2nd gen nano (4years old) for skiing, Iphone (one year old) in my pickup, and iPod Classic 80gb (3 years old) for my company vehicle. I love apple products. They are well made, reliable, and easy to navigate.
My dad swears by his Sansa. Its been broken and replaced three times by Best Buy (gotta love that extended service plan!).
I suggest going and trying out everything before deciding on anything. Its electronics. Just because one person thinks its the best ever, doesent mean it will the best for you.

Jamie

I like the Sansa Fuze because I can use it without looking. In fact, for most functions I can use it THROUGH my clothes by feel. Also it's completely unrestricted in what it will take and what software it will work with, and it's cheap (Woot has sold 4G versions as low as $23). Also, I've gotten several Sansa players wet, the Fuze in fact I dropped in a bowl of water, and after drying out they all worked fine.

The Fuze is also hands down the best audiobook player I've ever seen. It treats audiobooks differently than other media types, and the treatment is customized specifically for audiobook playback, with an eye towards keeping your place in the book, and managing bookmarks. And Sansa actively works with their users on their forums, and if a feature is requested, it's very likely to make it into a firmware update, and they publish firmware updates fairly often and announces them quickly and publicly.

Whenever I deal with someone who has an Apple product, we spend a TON of time trying to break their media out of the lockdown that Apple has imposed on them. When I deal with someone who has any other product, we just do what we like and it's done. It seems like Apple spends all their time telling you what you're allowed to do and how you are expected to do it. Sansa spends its time helping its users to do what they want to do.

I like the IPOD but not the new ones. They took the FM radio and buttons which were for games! You can still get an older generation IPOD nano. If I'm not correct, the new Nano also removes the recorder!

I've had a Sony MP3 player but it was not seemless at all. ITunes works very well but slowly with my Nano and that's all I want.