My ideal travel MP3 player would be:

- iPod thin and very light

- 40gig (I never know in advance what I'll be in the mood to listen to, so I want to carry everything)

- simple monochrome display with decent backlighting

- no gimmicks like video, photo storage, games or fm radios

- 20-30 hours per charge (in case I don't have time or forget to recharge it)

- enough power to drive my Bose QC2 phones without using a headphone amplifier

- with a small remote, so I can hit "pause" when the FA comes for my drink order, or the pilot makes an announcement.

- balance control (my right ear has a little hearing loss, so the stereo field is shifted to the left -- I have a little outboard balance control that I use now)

- Under $300


The Creative Zen Touch 40gig comes closest to this. It's a little bigger and heavier than an iPod and still would need the headphone amplifier, but otherwise has everything on my wish list. The only problem is that it is shortly to be discontinued, and the remote control for it is no longer available, except on eBay from Malaysian sources for $100 or so.

It seems like the focus of manufacturers is on small, light, all-purpose media centers, which are not ideal for travel. All I want to do when I fly long-haul is put my seat back, have a drink or three, put on the phones and some music and just get lost until I land. There's a huge industry for travel luggage. Why isn't there a similar industry for personal IFE?