Hi all,

Up till now I have avoided/not really needed an MP3 player, however things have changed and i'm looking at getting one. One of the key features for us would be some sort of dociking station with speakers.

I am ready to look at any brand, so all advice to an MP3 novice is greatly appreciated.

sorry... it really has to be an iPod of some sort.

so many different companies make docking stations (with speakers - I've got Altec Lansing in-motion which must be about 5 years old) for them... the iTunes software is great... and believe me, it took me a loooooong time to pass over to the iPod side. ^

Just don't get carried away by having as many GB as you possibly can. I travel a lot, so am very happy with my old 8GB Nano.

Must cast another vote for the iPod ^

There really is a wealth of accessories for it, from in car solutions, to home audio integration & desktop docking stations.

The only way to go ^

I second that. My 8gb Nano is half full and it has three days worth of music on it.

If the docking station is a requirement then the iPod family is your best bet as that is where the majority of efforts on accessories has been focused. If you can get past the docking station then there are plenty of brands out there offering the same capacity and similar device UI, and often additional features (FM radio, recording, etc.) for less money.

s.

Also NOT and Apple person. But I love my iPod. For 80GB is great. I don't so much travel a lot as I go someplace and stay for 4 - 5 weeks at time for about 5 - 7 months of the year. Having ALL my CDs ripped to iTunes is just great.

As to docking speakers, I would just suggest that you consider looking at decent quality powered speakers NOT specifically designed for the iPod. Any set of powered speakers will work and I bet you can get more for you money by buying a set of "computer" speaker.

I have found great speakers to keep in the places I go at pro-audio stores such as Guitar Center and B&H photo.

Good luck and rock on!

I have even found iPod charging/speaker systems in hotel rooms. We have two different speaker systems for them at home as well as a clock radio with docking and charging. The accessory options for iPods are tremendous. I think the iPod is your best bet by far.

Your best bet is either an iPod or iPhone. Realistically, unless you hate the possibility of listening to the same song twice on a trans-pacific flight, you really don't need anything bigger than 8 gb. Look at the Touch or Nano. Also, Apple generally releases new iPods in September for the Christmas season, you might want to wait until then for a new model.

My BF has an iphone and not many docs are made for it. He either has to put the phone in airplane mode (and therefore not receive any calls/text) or there is horrendous feedback. I think the iPhone is also overkill unless you are in the market for a new phone also.

Aside from that: pretty much 90% of accessories out there are for ipods. Most other devices just go by Aux in instead of a native dock. You can't charge AFAIK from an Aux in unless there are MP3 players out there that allow that. If you plan on listening all day like at work I'd rather know that my ipod will be charged and I don't have to constantly charge it when I get home or have it plugged in somewhere else too. With my Ipod docking station I have a remote that can control my 30gig ipod. I don't think aux in allows that either.

Unless there are docking stations built for the specific brand you buy you will get more features out of an ipod dock.

I recently got an ipod touch at a very reduced price from a friend. And I must say I am addicted to it. I have had almost every version of the ipod (nano, shuffle, ipod video, etc.) And I must say that I like the ipod touch the best. You can get more, but I only have 8gb of storage, and it is quite sufficient.

I like to put on some music videos as well as music so the wider screen helps. But the best thing about the touch is that it has wifi on it.

My other half has a little creative zen, and it is very cute and very portable, which the ipod touch is not. The touch is sometimes just a little too big for my pockets. With the zen you can watch video, but the screen is quite small. Also it is windows only which doesn't work for me.

If you do sometimes watch video and want something small the ipod nano has quite a nice screen for its small size...

So I guess I agree with the others here: the best bet is probably an ipod, although there are some good alternatives. If you live close to an Apple store go in and play with the ipods. See which one you like the best. Or maybe go to an electronics store that has lots of mp3 players on display that you can really touch and play with before you buy.

If you have an iPod charging stand, you can use that as a dock. The charging stand has a mini plug connector that can accept a mini plug pin from a cable that has either another mini at its other end or that splits into two RCA pins.

That way, the iPod is charging while you are listening just as it would in any other iPod specific docking station.

Seriously, if sound quality matters at all to you, look around before you buy a product that has an inflated cost and lesser sound quality simply because it can recharge your iPod.

Unless you need a new phone, I agree that the iPhone is overkill. I do need to put mine into Airplane Mode whenever I use iPod speakers, but lots of the new speaker docks coming out are now better shielded and support both iPods and iPhones without interference.

If you're not into paying extra for the ipod brand, my 8gb Sony A728 has been great. Excellent audio, good video, and comes with great in-ear headphones. The screen is a tad smaller than the 8gb Ipod touch, but just as thin.

I was hoping to avoid the Ipod but alas it looks like it might be the best choice.

From ther above it seems it might be the 8gb nano.

I've been really happy for over a year with my 6gb Sansa e270, bought on woot for around $50. I've used it to listen to music and audiobooks on several transpacific flights. But iPod wins hands down in terms of accessories specifically made for it. At home I have a speaker system made for an iPod that came with a little connector that can be used with most other MP3 players, but the remote only has full functionality with an iPod.