Help - iPod advice

Just got a message from friend shopping in New York who has been tempted by an iPod. Asked me for advice but I know little. I feel kind of put on the spot to say yeah or nay.

Friend says has seen:
iPod Nano + charger for $240. up to 500 tunes
or
iPod Shuffle up to 240 tunes, no display screen $129 + 40 for charger.

That's all the info I have at the moment and very little time to research all the online review sites.

Can anyone who has been through the iPod buying process lately offer an educated opinion as to whether either model is worth buying or whether the $$ seem like a good deal?

As ever, any advice on this subjet would be valuable.

Prices are cheaper in the US (save 40-50 euro), Go to www.Bestbuy.com to get the best retail price for ipod in the US. Apple warrenty is global so does not matter where you buy. Nano is charged through a USB port so it does not use a mains charger (a US mains charger would not work in Ireland).
The best nano is the 4GB (1000 songs) only $50 extra for double the memory. Would not bother with the shuffle. For what you are getting there are plenty of non-apple music players that offer bettter value.

Soy,
Many thanks for speedy reply and useful information.
It's a great help. Much appreciated.

Personally, qould go for the 30gb standand IPOD. $299 dollars. Stores photos and video too.

P.S. If you drive, I'd also recommend your friend picks up an ipod itrip or roadtrip. You can then play your collection through your car radio. The roadtrip also charges the ipod as you drive. Think I paid $70 for same.
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Bestbuy definitely stock.

Don't those FM transmitters sort of defeat the purpose of digitising tracks at high bitrates since the loss of sound quality will be significant due to the restricted bandwidth of the radio signal?

Forget about iPODs and have a look at the IRiver....My preference anyway

Just bought a video ipod last week. Looks amazing and much smaller than the previous versions. I had a mini previously but found that the 4 GB was nowhere near enough and it filled up within a few months.

Definitely recommend the video ipod.

Shuffle can get really annoying as you can't pick out the songs you want to listen to easily (although I suppose that's the point of it really)

ClubMan said:

Don't those FM transmitters sort of defeat the purpose of digitising tracks at high bitrates since the loss of sound quality will be significant due to the restricted bandwidth of the radio signal?

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I'll agree that the quality is not as good as a CD but it's still quite good. Fine for longer trips or driving abroad or when you just want something different to the CDs in the glove compartment or can't listen to some albums straight through.

Lauren said:

Forget about iPODs and have a look at the IRiver....My preference anyway

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Interestingly, the current issue of What Hi Fi has a free What MP3? mini-magazine with reviews. The iPod Video 60GB gets best MP3 player - 5 stars.

The Verdict says it all:

It's not just hype that sells iPods - they're the best sounding players you can buy, not to mention the easiest to use.

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The iRiver H320 gets 4 out of 5 stars.

The iPod nano gets best ultracompact MP3 player.
Verdict:

This is a leap forward for the Apple family - even the supplied earphones are better than its predecessors.

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The iRiver T10 only gets 2 stars in this category:

the iRiver T10 is let down by the sound

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