Ok, I'm going to say it right away; iPods are highly overrated, especially nanos. When you buy an iPod, 50-60% of the price is to have the name iPod on your Mp3 player. For starters, to all those "podders" out there, iPods are still Mp3 players, no matter what you think. The following is an actual conversation between a sane person and someone with an iPod:

Sane Person (SP): Hey there, how many gigs does your Mp3 player have?

Podder(P): Well, actually, it's an iPod... *thinking* God, some people are such losers *thinking*

SP: Okay then... how many gigs does your iPod have?

P: *Impatient* My god are you blind? It's an iPod nano! *obscenities*

SP: ...riight... how many gigs does your iPod nano have? *giggles*

P: it has eight gigs and what are you laughing at?

SP: *uncontrollable laughter* I just can't believe you paid all that money for a nano of all things.

P: Ummm, why not?

SP: Well, for one thing, if you were going to get an iPod, at least get the best deal, I mean an eight gig nano is $299.99 whereas a thirty gig video just $294.99. I mean, what would you prefer, lots of memory+video+big screen+cheaper with the video or small memory+small screen+no videos+more expensive which is what you get with the nano?

P: *Flustered* I umm.... ahh... it was umm... a gift! Yeah, it was a gift, I had no choice, I mean obviously I would have chosen the video, God, don't be so stupid!

SP: I'm the stupid one? Ha! You're the one who actually bought an iPod, I mean lets list the reasons you shouldn't have bought one: No radio, no voice recording, extremely expensive, very expensive battery (that only lasts a year and a half according to iPod customer service) iPod needs to be sent away to have the battery replaced, firmware isn't easily cuztomized and the final one (that I can think of at the moment, rest assured there are many more) it may cause long-term arrogance and the ability to think you are above everyone else with an Mp3 player.

P: *near tears*...shut-up, *turns to run away and drops iPod, falls to knees and cries*

SP: Ha! Thank-you Karma.

I think that's gone on long enough. Now however, let us outline the pros of another Mp3 player such as the Sansa Sandisk e280 which you can buy for half the price of a nano at $150, I've even heard people getting them from Bestbuy from as little as eighty-something dollars! This Mp3 player not only has eight gigs (like the nano) but also has a microSD card slot to expand the memory to as much as twelve gigs! Also, it is very sturdy, the battery is cheap (a third the price of an iPods battery) and you can replace it yourself! Furthermore, it plays video, has a radio, can record your voice and is highly versatile when it comes to customizing it. There are hundreds of themes you can find on the web, there is software such as "Rockbox" which you can put on it that allows you to play games and customize your player to an even greater degree than you (at least I) would think possible. Finally, with its sleek and innovative design, it will have podders slobbering all over you and regretting the day they burned holes in their wallets for a toy such as the iPod.

Nuff said.