No Clue

[shokhead]

I know less then zero about MP3 and ipod players as i have no interest in them but my daughter is going to Europe for a month. Lots of planes and buses and down time so which would be easist to use and what do i look for when buying. Some basic's?

[paul_pci]

I know less then zero about MP3 and ipod players as i have no interest in them but my daughter is going to Europe for a month. Lots of planes and buses and down time so which would be easist to use and what do i look for when buying. Some basic's?

You can get the 20G iPod for about $300 and if your daughter is a student she can get a 10% discount, which negates the sales tax. While on the expensive side, iPod is simply the best and has the best interface with the computer: iTunes.

[plextor guy]

First decide how much storage she'll need. The smaller capacity players are almost all solid state devices. The higher capacity players are all hard drive players. Solid state players tend to be more durable. There are a number of variables but it would be safe to say she'll be able to fit roughly 200 songs per GB. 200 sounds like a lot but over the course of a month she might find herself wanting more. If not and since it's your daughter and not son (just demographics, not overt sexism), a 1GB iPod Shuffle might be the most stylish and easy way to go. Good battery life, small, light weight and very easy to use. Other good choices would be similar solid state players players from Creative, iRiver and Rio. You can't go wrong with any of these brands. My personal preference as I've posted in this forum on several occasions is the Rio Carbon, a hard drive player that splits the difference in size and weight between the higher capacity players and solid state players. There is a 5GB and 6 GB version. The Carbon is in my humble opinion the best all-around mp3 player on the market at the moment. It uses a Seagate microdrive that has proven to be extremely durable. Think 1000-1200 or more songs. If she encodes in wma, even more. There really are no negatives with this player. I'm getting at least 14 hours of playback from one charge. No drivers required with Windows or Mac. Another good choice and more stylish would be the newest version of the iPod Mini. If you go this route, make absolutely sure you buy the newest version which greatly improves on the previous version's battery life. Apple is advertising 18 hours which probably means an honest 12 in the real world. There is a 4GB and 6 GB version. Personally, I'd go for the 6. If it were my daughter, I'd go for the iPod Mini 6 GB version. Your daughter will know immediately what it is and appreciate her old man's thoughfulness.