read a review about a cheaper ipod alternative a few days back off cnet and the specs do look impressive. i'll head off to my usual gadget shop later and hope it's available for "window shopping". here's part of the article:

It's been a long time coming as far as the UK's concerned, but SanDisk's Sansa Fuze has finally launched on this side of the pond. It's an MP3 player (http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/digitalmusic/) that comes in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities, complete with an microSD expansion slot.
Inside is support for MP3, WMA (protected and unprotected), WAV and

read the full article at cnet.co.uk (http://crave.cnet.co.uk/digitalmusic/0,39029432,49297361,00.htm)

i know this is old

i bought my son a creative zen, and its really nice

BUT

the shops are full of neat litlle cradle/charging docks/speakers etc for i-pods/i-players/i-touches etc.

why is the whole world only bothered about looking after i-players?

why is the whole world only bothered about looking after i-players?

Because iPods, like them or not, are the most used player today. I don't like them, never have. I have a Zune instead. But I suffer from the same lack of third party stuff as you do with the Zen. iPods with third party add ons are like PC's compared to Macs in a way. The iPods caught on so much that it paid for third parties to make items for them. The other brands have not made such inroads. The same thing goes for PC accessories and software. They have such a user base that you can get all sorts of third party stuff for them whereas you have a harder time doing so with Macs.

So, unless big chunks of the iPod market share are taken out, I don't see the situation changing. :)

seems that way, Bob

be careful round these parts, bob - you might start having too much fun!!

Which parts are those? Chicken parts? Auto Parts?

Parts is parts... (old Wendy's commercial)... :D

Without the accessories, an MP3 player is nowhere near as useful and yes ipod rules that market.

Before the Iphone came out, I bought a Archose Jukebox 6000 (audio only). It was the best price per GB that was on the market, and they still make great products too. At the time, 6GB cost me $300, which was a great deal. And it could act as another computer hard drive (it contained a mini hard drive, just don't drop it).

Their batteries also lasted exceptionally long for that time. And I'm a picky, rechargable battery expert. Using them since 1987.

http://www.archos.com/

I still prefer the iPod though. I can get any iPod because it has every product for every price range. Plus, it has the best quality in my opinion too.

Iphone is an all in one feature containing features on ipod and a phone. So I think save few bucks more and get iphone 3 or 4. At the very least a dual function though expensive...