First, what is an IPOD. IPOD is just an MP3 player. An MP3 player is a device that stores your music, pictures or video. Think of an MP3 player as a computer hard drive that stores information.

When choosing an MP3 player pick the one that best fits you. The IPOD is a good MP3 player but do you really need to store 20,000 songs? The three main companies that make MP3 players are Apple (IPOD, Nano & Shuffle), Creative Labs (Zen & MuVo) & Sandisk (Sansa e200 series, c200 series & c100 series). There are many more (Samsung, Sony and others) but the first three are the three I see most people have or at the stores.

I like the Sandisk because you get more for your money. It also comes with a FM tuner. The Apple products are good but are over priced and you have to pay extra for some items. The Apple does have many more accessories and those cost extra. Shop around at all the main electronic stores (Best Buy, Circuit City etc.); look at Target, Walmart and all of the office supply stores (Office Depot, Office Max, Staples etc.).

The three main items to look for when buying your MP3 player is the cost, the power source and the memory. The memory is important because if you buy to little you will not have room to put all of your music on it. Then you will have to put some on and take some off when you want to listen to that new song or CD. When I purchased my MP3 player, I thought that the memory amount I selected would be enough. It was not. I always try to save money but when it comes to memory get the next size.

Get an MP3 player with a power source inside the unit that can be recharged and you can listen why it is charging. I found this out the hard way as well. I thought that 15 hours with one AA battery would be enough. It is not. It gives 15 hours for a new battery maybe. I would not recommend MP3 players that run on an AA battery.

The cost is important because it is your money. You want to get the best product for the best price. Shop around a lot and look for the deals. When you find the MP3 player that best fits your needs do not buy it right away. The prices have been coming down. Microsoft is supposed to be launching its own version of an MP3 player. This will drive more competition and hopefully bring better prices.

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