I have a Rio Carbon, 6gig MP3 player and I LOVE it!! At first it was a bother transferring my music to the computer but NOW I can upload whatever I feel like listening to, I can organize music into playlists to suit any occasion (Led Zeppelin for workouts, classical for relaxation, and Christian for attitude adjustment time).

The first one I purchased only lasted a month...I accidentally dropped it into a cup of coffee. The second one I bought met a similar fate...my drink sloshed out of my cup and one tiny, tiny drop landed smack dab on the on/off switch. Dead as a door nail! The third one just up and quit on me, but since it was still within warantee I got a replacement for free.

I finally discovered that I could put it in one of those cell phone holders that clips onto a belt. The player is now cushioned from accidental dropping and bumping and also has a measure of protection from moisture.

I have also learned that the standard ear pieces that come with most devices are just plain JUNK! Throw them away and spend the extra cash on a decent set of earbuds or headphones. The difference is clear to hear! As for me, my ear canals are a little small so ear buds will not stay in my ears so I opted for the noice cancelling headphones. Not only do they deliver great sound but they also discourage customers from engaging idle chit chat while I am working.

Not only are MP3 PLayers good for music, they also can store other types of files, something the iPod cannot do! The iPod will not let you download files to another computer, but the MP3 player WILL!

Another reason to avoid the iPod is the computer interface. Whenever you plug it into your computer it automatically starts to sync your player with your library. The result is multiple copies of songs on your player.

How do I know this? Well, Kid Grouch demanded an iPod for Christmas and made it very clear that only an iPod would do, so, being the good doormat that I am, I obliged the Kid. I set up kid computer with the software and even ripped most of kid's cd's to the computer. It took a while for kid to figure out how it worked but soon got the hang of it.

Those of you with Macs, such as Mir, might be more comfortable with iPod because that is what it was made to work with, a Mac. Otherwise go MP3.

But, of course, that is MY opinion!