Hey, Slosh.

Go for as big an iPod as you can afford.

I have a 60gig fifth generation iPod and have owned it for approximately one month. I have 3634 songs and 21.3 gigs of the 60gigs filled, already. Now, I like to use 256kbps VBR to rip my music onto it. This is extreme for most folks, but as many RRers "sound quality" is important to me & I plan on getting one of the new accessories that will enable me to play the iPod through i) my main home system and ii) my television system. So quality will become important in these applications.

Troy is quite right -- the iTunes' latest version allows you to burn at the rate you so choose & it also allows for VBR, which is "variable burn rate" -- this also has the advantage of making vocals and instruments sound just right in the mix -- unlike most mp3s where there's a harshness of either the vocals or the instruments in the mix, if burned at one rate.

I, also, enjoy audiobooks & the iPod is very cool for this. Currently, I'm listening to Brown's the Da Vinci Code, on my iPod.

I haven't tried the video feature (seems too small a screen for any realworld app, but who knows?? the capability is there.

Planning a european trip this summer, so I intend on using the iPod as a portable HD where I can dump my photos into it, at the end of every couple of days' shooting. Plan to bore friends and relatives by playing the trip's photos through the television.

FWIW, more video is going/available digital & it requires more memory, so it might make sense to go for more capacity.

A BIG thanks to everyone here on RR who has helped me with my iPod purchase & my steep learning curve. I know tons more than I did a few weeks ago.

Hope this helps,

audiobill (if you are an educator or your daughter a college student, you can save a small amount, by ordering directly from apple -- you also get free engraving)