It is a better MP3 player than any other I've seen. The accessories are part of it, yes. You can get damn near anything for it. Here's a couple more. They are tough. I have the 30GB Ipod with video. It has been dropped numerous times and hasn't skipped a beat. Also, the menu system on the Ipods is second to none. It is the BEST out there, no exceptions.
A friend of mine had another brand that he had to get replaced when it died. He got the replacement and promptly sold it on Ebay. He bought an Ipod and couldn't believe how much better it worked.

Also, the battery life is fine. I get almost two full work days out of mine if I'm listening to music which is what it is rated at (14 hours). However, I watch several video podcasts so I usually don't get that much. It will play video for right at the rated 2 hours, not 15 minutes like somebody said. I usually charge mine every night. My listening during the day is about 1.5 hours of video and the rest is music and it rarely runs out of power. It has a couple of times when I forgot to plug it in the night before and had to chrage it on the way to work.

That said, get the warranty coverage from wherever you buy it. They come with a 1 year from Apple. I originally bought a 20GB Ipod Photo from Best Buy. It took a schitt in the first month (locking up) and I took it in. Their tech looked at it and said he couldn't even run the diagnostics on it and they were going to exchange it. Well, in the time between then and when I bought it the videos came out and they let me get one of those as a replacement because they were the same price and they wouldn't have to order a replacement. So, I got 10GB more space and video capability. Then, 2 months later, that one went out (click wheel stopped working right) and I went back to Best Buy. They were out of replacements so I went to the Apple store and they replaced it. That one I still have and it is fine. I have to hand it to Apple, Ipods are the schitt.

EDIT: For everybody wishing they could hook it up to our cars. Be patient. I called the company that makes the Ipod2Car adapters and they said they were developing one for us. Search for it and you can call yourselves.

 

Ipood 's suck @$$ hard! So fragile! (Tokyo Drift, the guy breaks his ipood) hhaha!!
Honestly though, my cousin has one, and its alright i guess, I just never liked it. I got a creative micro zen, the new one with color screen and stuff... Now THAT'S an MP3 player alright !!

 

A mp3 player is an mp3 player. The audio sounds awsome on my ipod even with my Shure E3c's. It's all about compression when it comes down to audio. If you have shitty mp3's it's gonna sound like **** and if you have shitty head phones it's gonna sound like ****.

Also the ipod has byfar the best navigation and ease of use.

iTunes is a great program and is set up well, it's easy to rip your cd's to iTunes. Also ripping a DVD to watch on the ipod can be a lenghty task, but that will be the same for any other video player.

There are ton's of cases available to protect it and cool accessories that are available for it.

A cool site I check all the time is iPod Lounge

 

This is an MP3 player. This thing sounds aweseome against the ipod's that can also play movies. The same file on two different players the creative zen wins. ... yeah yeah the quality of my image sucks wanna fight about it

 

That song on your ZEN RULES! Desperado is fckng great.

 

yes that song is awesome. the zen is actually a buddies that I borrowed just for the sake of taking the picture. I own neither an ipod or any mp3 player which is why I can say for sure without owning either that the zen is the top dawg in audio quality.

 

I'd still take 100gb Archos av500 over anything... Nothing beats archos in simplicity (i.e. you dont need any goddamn software TO TRANSFER FILES TO A HARDDRIVE)

My brother's old Archos lasted him something like 6 years (not sure on the years, but he got it right when mp3 players were starting to come out) and it would have lasted forever if he hadn't dropped it into the lake!

 

the ipod had tons of support for it. if you have problems theres most likely an apple store in your mall that you could take it to. thats probably what beats out the competition. name has everything to do with it.

 

for the gullibal masses yes name has everything to do with it. People buy 1000 dollar shoes that only cost 10 dollars to make simply because they want to be 'in'. Technology doesn't work that way but apple is trying to make it like that. We wouldn't have advancements in technology if everyone bought mediocre technology and were happy with it. Apple has more advertisments for their products which is why name gets everyone's attention namely the gullibal masses rather than the tech savie user that knows his product is better than the guy with the ipod. It's the same thing with apple computers. Most think they are completely apple parts yet most dont know that their best products are made from pc components (yes pentium proccessors) and all they are paying for is the name. I had a guy tell me his ipod was better cus he could buy an aftermarket fm receiver and I looked at him and said, what about those that have a built in receiver? Are iPods a waste of money? Yes against the best competition for the same price they most certainly are.

 

Just bought a Zen Micro Photo 8GB for $140 at Office Depot last week. I liked it because of the fact that if the battery does crap out I can replace it myself....That and I saved $60 with the rebates hA!

 

Ive had my 2nd gen forever.Love it.Easy to use.Great battery life.Great sound with good earbuds.iTunes software is easy and smooth to use.Great product,along with ALL of the macs that I still own.( I sold my first mac for $400 AND a new fridge in the early 90s )

 

Am I the only one who absolutely *hates* iPod navigation?

 

no I hate it too lets start a club

 

I guess this is the accessory cawpin was so excited about:

Ladies and gentlemen, the iBuzz.