As noted earlier, I’ve been looking at portable music players. Bought an Apple iPod, and so far, so good.

It’s a reasonable size (although probably a bit large for jogging). Stores tons of songs (got the 20GB version), sounds good and a good interface design.

I’ve read about the battery issue. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, search for ipod battery problem in any search engine, and start reading. Reports vary, but the battery doesn’t appear to be any worse than other Li-Ion batteries. The big thing is the process of replacing the battery and the cost. I figure a third-party battery will do the trick, and I can replace it myself. That way it isn’t as expensive (about $49 US for the battery).

One other great option for me is Belkin has made a Media Reader accessory for the iPod. What this allows you to do is copy files off a memory card. This means I don’t have to buy any more cards for my camera as long as I have the iPod with me.

One thing Apple did which doesn’t make sense. The 20GB version ships with a docking station. To me, this means I can take the dock and hook it to my pc. Well, I can, BUT I have to use the 1 cable that came in the package. This means I can’t have the dock permanently connected to my pc, and also have it hooked up somewhere else. I have to keep connecting and disconnecting the cable. Major oversite (or another instance of a company wanting to make more money by selling another cable). I’ll be writing an email to them about this, and I’ll see what sort of response I get…